Latin American Dual Workshops
Purpose of the Latin American Dual Workshops
As the world situation intensifies, we feel it essential to disseminate the Biointensive method as widely and as quickly as possible. Sustainable food-growing skills could very well provide a means of empowerment and survival for a large number of people in these chaotic times. We believe this second workshop will further this goal in the following ways:
Depth of Understanding:
The majority of the Costa Rica Workshop participants have long histories of working with organizations that train rural populations and incorporate the Biointensive Method into their work. This workshop will help consolidate their training and add a greater understanding of and skill in the Method. As trainers reach new levels of proficiency, they become more aware of the underlying techniques that make the system work and will be able to guide their clients with increased confidence and skill.
The Manual:
The second part of the Workshop will introduce the completed Basic-Level Biointensive system Training Manual to trainers at the Workshop. The manual will provide a permanent record that trainers can use to help insure the quality of the training, so that the Method remains sustainable. The Manual not only strives to document Basic knowledge but also help trainers improve their teaching skills. During the Workshop, the manual will not only be introduced but actively used and so will become familiar to a large number of people. The Workshop will provide valuable feedback for this long-term initiative.
Strengthen the Latin American Network:
Many connections were made among participants during the Costa Rica Workshop. It was inspiring for them to come together, learn, hear each other’s stories and realize they were not alone in their efforts. However, Latin America is a gigantic area with a huge population to reach. Trainers are not only isolated by distance but also by lack of support in their country. Coming together to learn more and having the basic manual will reinvigorate their dedication They will also learn about the demonstration, learning, training mini-ag centers that have been developing since the Costa Rica Workshop.
Support from Key Institutions:
This workshop could provide an opportunity to re-establish connections that ECOPOL originally had with higher levels of the Mexican government. Those connections were severed when the government changed its agricultural extension policies. But with SEMARNAT and Rural INCA—which both have a connection to Mexico’s Department of Agriculture—co-sponsoring, key parts of the government will recognize the value of Biointensive agriculture. Many more Biointensive technicians will be trained through both Rural INCA and CECADESU. The Xochitla Ecological Reserve, because it is already established as a tourist destination, could provide a strong venue for a Biointensive demonstration and training site close to Mexico City. With a flourishing demonstration site already established at Las Canadas in Veracruz State and another being developed by Marisol Tenorio Lopez and Agustín Medina Macías in Aguascalientes State, the visibility of the Biointensive Method in Mexico will be increased exponentially. The universities in Colombia and Dominican Republic could be key in adding the Biointensive method to their curricula.
A new broader approach to the GROW BIOINTENSIVE Teachers Certification process will also be discussed to make these initiatives even stronger.
Juan Manuel Martinez Valdez, Director, ECOPOL
John Jeavons, Director, Ecology Action
PLEASE ENROLL EARLY AS SPACE IS LIMITED
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