Fwd: Indigenous in Canada turn to the land to survive coronavirus

[Ashish Kothari]

Friends, there is a huge lesson in this for us ... not that we can all 'go back to the land' but that the re-localisation of providing for basic needs, of sustaining liveilhoods, etc with people in communities taking their present and future in their own hands, can be a very meaningful movement arising from the current crisis. Just one of many new directions for us to imagine and practice, and where we can't ourselves practice it, at least support and advocate, for instance through building respnosible consumer links with primary producers, recognising the enormous contribution of workers on the land and in  forests and other ecosystems, crafts, industries and elsewhere to our lives, challenging political and economic structures that continue to exploit them

there was also this news from India with interesting implications, though not necessarily challenging capitalist markets per se, and with some state facilitation: https://www.foundingfuel.com/article/the-satara-uprising/

are there similar initiatives and movements elsewhere we can be inspired by and/or learn from? Can people send examples?

We hope to start a webinar/online dialogue series soon, one global thrugh the Global Tapestry of Alternatives, another for India through Vikalp Sangam ... watch this space for announcements soon!

ashish

-------- Forwarded Message --------

Subject:	Indigenous in Canada turn to the land to survive coronavirus
Date:	Sun, 5 Apr 2020 13:11:16 +0530
From:	Miloon Kothari <miloon....@gmail.com>
To:

Indigenous people describe leaving towns to live off the land, learning lessons about survival from elders.
https://aje.io/b3h9m 

[Dilip Jain]

Me, Bharat Mansata & few others (including some local Adivasi) are trying to develop a similar land based model at Vanvadi near Neral... Eco village & Eco varsity

You can see this article...

https://weather.com/en-IN/india/news/news/2019-06-16-world-day-to-combat-desertification-drought-vanvadi-forest-regeneration

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[Miguel Robles]

Hi all,

In my experience working on a piece of land on ecological restoration and sustainable farming system, in tje mountains of San Cristobal de las Casas Chiapas surrounded by Mayan Tsotsil communities i have learn that their peacefullness demeanor is rooted in the fact that they not only own the land but also have the knowledge to live from the land according to traditional values and connections with nature. When i ask ejat they think about covid they answer: well, we in our community, eat everyday the corn and beans that we grow and save every year. I ask someone what he needs from the city, he saus; basically nothing...

So i feel lucky i chose this place to live and develop my project among folks tgat have been cultivating corn for thousands of years and will continue doing it regardless economic models and fashions and ovecoming this way global crises, i will keep you updated on my own milpa that i am preparing for this year!

[kham...@riseup.net]

Hi Ashish,

We've assembled a number of articles, webinars/courses, and resources focused mainly on helping people continue to connect with and support local farmers and food, but also mutual aid generally. So far the resource list is skewed towards the US and UK (we have a couple from India and from Europe), so we are requesting people from other countries to please send in initiatives they are involved with or know of to make it more globally representative and useful.

https://www.localfutures.org/covid-19/

Related to the below stories, here's another good article worth reading:

https://civileats.com/2020/04/02/the-moment-for-food-sovereignty-is-now/

“As people see these supply chains crumble, and grocery stores empty, the importance of hyper-locality is being underscored,” said Penniman. “But I know that we will meet the need—we will make sure they all get gardens.” To reach even more people, Soul Fire Farm is hosting a weekly live chat, “Ask a Sistah Farmer,” to share basic gardening skills to everyone who is interested.

As with community gardens, urban home gardens can be a temporary solution to give control over food production to the people who most need it, while larger policy shifts are still needed to address systemic inequities.

“I don’t see a huge distinction, whether we’re talking about community gardens, home gardens, or school gardens—we just really need to localize our food and include more people in these relocalized food systems,” said Penniman.

She hopes that this crisis will lead to a huge food-system transformation, and that more people are able to be involved in feeding themselves, their families, and their neighbors.

“If you can feed yourself,” she says, “you can quite literally free yourself.”

...They are calling the movement the “Cooperative Gardens Commission,” and they’re seeking 50 million volunteers to help bring it to life. “We are focusing on creating a movement built to last beyond the pandemic,” Kleinman said. Unlike Victory Gardens, he added, “Cooperative Gardens speaks much more to building something together, not just defeating something.”

Hayden-Smith also sees this as the start of a new movement in society. “Gardens right now are about comfort, inspiration, food security, connecting with nature, and learning a life skill that everyone should have,” she said. “But these will also be points of integration when we come out of this social isolation. Gardening is going to be a really important activity, and people are not going to let go of it.”

best,

Alex