Burch, Sally

Which knowledge for rural development?

LFLACSO-01-Burch.pdf (306.2 KB)

In March of 2006 in Ecuador, the Workshop on knowledge-sharing for rural community development was organized, which was part of a series of South-South exchanges that have taken place in various countries of Asia and Africa - this being the first for Latin America -. The workshop was coordinated by Hivos, ALAI, IIAV and IDRC. The following chapter is an overview of the results.

Camacho, Kemly

La Catalina: A knowledge sharing experience for capacity building processes

LFLACSO-02-Camacho.pdf (319.87 KB)

For the knowledge exchange process in La Catalina, the methodology was developed by Sulá Batsú (www.sulabatsu.com) with the support of Bellanet´s (IDRC) Regional Office in Latin America (www.bellanet.org). This presentation is drawn from the perspectives of Sula-Batsu's members regarding this project.

Zúñiga, Lena

Media and materials for knowledge sharing

LFLACSO-03-Zuniga.pdf (246.14 KB)

Documenting and recording the outcomes of activities and projects makes extensive use of different media instruments, in workshops and exchange activities. This was also the first approach that our team took to integrating media.

Aguilar, Luis Carlos; Quispe, Sergio

ICTs for building knowledge, as an administrative tool

LFLACSO-04-Aguilar.pdf (286.34 KB)

Before implementing the use of digital media, AGRECOL had accumulated (over a span of more than five years) a wealth of experience in the promotion and organization of exchanges between peasant farmers, during which agriculturists would visit one another's community. As a result, the farmers gained access to information about different ecological agricultural practices with which they could then experiment in their local setting. In order to better document these valuable lessons, some participants used digital cameras and audio recorders. At that point, the need emerged for a more systematic means of documentation, which would facilitate the dissemination of findings.

Jiménez, Fanny

The agrarian information system in the Huaral Valley

LFLACSO-05-Jimenez.pdf (280.13 KB)

Small-scale farmers often face a competitive disadvantage within the agricultural market. One main reason for this is a lack of access to timely and specialized information that could help them make appropriate decisions to improve their market participation. In response, the Chancay-Huaral Valley's Irrigation Water Users' Council, with support from the Peruvian Center of Social Studies (CPSS), has implemented an online Agrarian Information System (AIS) that enables farmers to quickly and easily obtain useful information in order to determine: what to plant; at what prices to sell their products; financial institutions from which they might gain support; the number of hectares being cultivated in the area; what type of crops have been planted, when they were planted and when they will be harvested; as well as other important information which might make them more competitive.

Loyola Crespo, Mónica

Satellite-linked telecenters unite migrants with their families

LFLACSO-06-Loyola.pdf (286.32 KB)

These centers are also known in Latin America as infocenters, public communication booths, access centers, digital libraries and more. They are not based upon universal models; instead they have grown out of experiences based with local culture and community needs.Based upon this premise, the Social Pastoral Service of Cuenca, with the support of the "Intercommunication Project between Latin America and Europe", decided to launch the Satellite-linked Telecenter Pilot Project. They began in the Province of Azuay, in areas with the highest migration rates and little or insufficient telecommunication services.

Karamagi Akiiki, Ednah

Exchange of local agricultural content in rural Uganda

LFLACSO-07-Karamagi.pdf (239.19 KB)

Rural communities have a wealth of information that could improve livelihoods in rural areas. However, to get it requires a lot more than just mobilizing people and get them sharing. This initiative combines aspects such as sharing meetings, radio programs, SMS, publications y local knowledge facilitators.

Robalino, María Augusta; Zambrano, Juan Emilio; Cangá, Máximo; Valencia, Maricruz

Knowledge exchange for the conservation of life-giving natural resources

LFLACSO-08-Robalino.pdf (354.05 KB)

While the exchange of knowledge and information takes place amongst communities in both sectors, the experience shared by community members and promoters in each case is unique. The goal is to gather together widely dispersed information, whether written, or in the form of testimonies, project reports, photos, videos, etc. As project promoters, we analyze and organize the information. Almost all of this information concerns community experiences, since local promoters within the organizations, associations or community groups have been writing about the situations and problems that they face. In addition, we carry out interviews with people.

National Indigenous and Farmer Coordination -CONIC-

Resistance and contributions from the Maya cosmovision

LFLACSO-09-CONIC.pdf (301.05 KB)

The National Indigenous and Farmer Coordination (CONIC) of Guatemala has tens of thousands of members, 95 percent of them indigenous. Its efforts mainly focus on defending the rights of the peasant (including land rights), working from the perspective of the Maya identity and cosmovision, as well as universal indigenous rights. It strives to recover and sustain into the future: collective community power; history; duality and harmony between men and women; and the unique customs, traditions, thought and spirituality of the communities. It is a member of the Guatemalan organizations Union of Labour and Popular Action (UASP) and Wakib' Kej, as well as the Latin American Coordination of Rural Organizations (CLOC) and of the international farmer's movement Via Campesina.

ALAI

Challenges for schooling in the Brazilian countryside: the experience of the MST

LFLACSO-10-ALAI.pdf (313.9 KB)

Based upon a variety of sources, Brazil is one of the countries with the greatest social inequality on the planet. Large estates, known as "latifundios," form the basic fabric of this arrangement. In 1984, confronting this reality and calling for agrarian reform, the Landless Workers' Movement (MST) emerged. However, not only was the movement demanding access to land, it also called for recognition of other rights, such as rural education and culture. As an outcome of this, the MST has become a socio-cultural movement for civic education.