This winter quarter foCAN held the 5th annual intercambio and the 2 unit course Cultivating a Daily evolution. Students had the opportunity to not only hear about faculty research based in Latin America but also had the opportunity to engage with rural communities from CAN's agroeco coffee partnerships. Students from CDR came together with the Intercambio delegated and prepared a meal together. Additionally students had an opportunity to learn more about the coffee through a coffee commodity chain panel held on the second to last week of the course. CAN staff gave presentations on their partnerships with both the communities in Mexico and Nicaragua along with presenting about their established relationship with Santa Cruz Coffee Roasters. Our special guest on the panel was Katrina Benedicto a UCSC alumni that works in coffee distribution. She provided great insight on how coffee markets have shifted their approach to move forward with going beyond fair trade. Once again we would like to thank all our partners and collaborations this quarter. We would like to thank CSC for the funding that was made available for these events.
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Intercambio 2015! Intercambio was wonderful week spent among 17 youth exchanges from Veracruz & Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico and Esteli & San Ramon, Nicaragua. The week was full of activities involving seed banks, youth networking, and panel discussions. Meeting this group of people changed my perspective on youth famers from speaking to a man with a family to speaking with university students in the Yucatan. The young man I had the opportunity to speak with spoke about the struggles with the government in Nicaragua along with poverty issues while the youth from the Yucatan spoke more about implementing gardens and better educating communities around their university. Youth from Estelí, Nicaragua spoke very passionately about their organization and the techniques they appreciated most when dealing with environmental hardships (water usage and water availability in homes). The week involved a series of organization both on campus and off-campus: Food what, PICA, The Digital Nest in Watsonville, El Centro, and Mesa Verde Gardens to name a few. The activities were specifically to create networks between the youth here and the youth from Mexico and Nicaragua. We had three public events; one was conocimiento to meet the youth, a panel about their work, and a coffee cupping to meet the spectacular people who cultivate coffee beans. Conocimiento was a great event because it was open to the public. UCSC students came to support us from 5-8pm for a table discussion and free food. The panel was during a Kresge class seminar so we had an entire lecture as audience and free snacks after the panel. Lastly, we had a coffee cupping at New Leaf on the west side where some of the cultivators spoke about their coffee practices and coffee struggles. On the other hand, we also had activities that were closed off to FoCAN, CAN, and the international youth. Cocina compartida was one of my favorites, which translates to shared kitchen, because we had 4-5 groups preparing a meal from their own regions. The night was hectic but the food turned out great, folks were happy, and belly’s were filled. The other event I liked most was despedida, although it was a farewell dinner, the vibes in the room made all the best farewell. The youth had all of us laughing through dancing, singing, and eating. In sum, the week was a great turn out and the synergy among everyone brought hope for a better future and support from each other. Special thanks to CAN staff, Intercambio Coordinator, FoCAN, and all those who helped make these events possible. |
Header Photography:
Diego Leon De Jesus Archives
November 2018
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