Federación Nacional Sindical Unitaria Agropecuaria (FENSUAGRO)

Lead Organization: Federación Nacional Sindical Unitaria Agropecuaria (FENSUAGRO)

Partner Organizations: La Coordinadora Latinoamericana de Organizaciones del Campo (CLOC- Vía Campesina).

Location(s): Colombia, CLOC is a coalition of peasant organizations in South America

Award: $95,000 over 15 months

This collaborative will strengthen the work of the peasant agroecology school “Maria Cano” established by FENSUAGRO- a Colombian peasant movement which is a member of networks like La Via Campesina and CLOC (Latin American Coordination of Peasant Organizations). The Instituto Agroecológico Latinoamericano (IALA) Maria Cano has played an important role in advancing the farmer-to-farmer peer learning methodology based on sharing of peasant knowledge. The IALA is one of several run by peasant movements in Latin America. The IALA engages young people from peasant organizations in Colombia and across South America to become successful agroecological farmers and community organizers, thus diminishing rural out-migration. Students develop their practical and theoretical understanding of agroecology and rural issues, spread their knowledge to surrounding communities and become integrated in social movement processes that aim to scale up agroecology.