National Farmers Union Nova Scotia to Host Agroecology Brigade with Partners from Puerto Rico
Participants from the Maritimes, Ontario, and Puerto Rico will take part in a week of farm work, discussions, and workshops.
Lapland, Nova Scotia (Mi’kma’ki) – Members of the National Farmers Union (NFU) and farmers and farmworkers from across Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Ontario are excited to host partners from Puerto Rico’s Organización Boricuá de Agricultura Ecológica, a sister member of the international La Via Campesina, for an Agroecology Brigade. The week-long event kicks off at Spring Tide Farm in Lapland on May 25th.
Agroecology brigades are collectives of farmers and their communities who work together to meet the material and social needs of their communities and build solidarity. This brigade training will be co-led by farmers from Boricuá who will share their practical experience about how brigades can be a tool for political organizing, mutual aid and knowledge sharing for agroecology grounded in principles of food sovereignty and grassroots democracy.
“I think we have a long history and tradition of showing up for each other in farming communities. We’ve sort of fallen out of that practice over the last few decades, but it’s time for us to develop those skills again. When we consider climate change and things like hurricanes, wildfires and drought, I think more than ever we need to have those relationships and that practice of coming together to help each other out,” says Wyanne Sandler, a member of the board of the NFU Nova Scotia.
“In these times of cost of living and climate crisis, NS farms and communities are already on edge,” says farmer and NFU NS organizer Paul Wartman. “In these brigades, we learn how to create networks of farm-based mutual aid and how to take political actions for supportive policy. I’m personally excited to connect with other rural farmers and workers, Black urban growers, Indigenous – Mi’kmaq, Boricuás, Oneida – land stewards, to put our heads together and our hands in the earth to figure out how to grow our collective food movements.”
“We have so much to learn from our peers in Puerto Rico. They’ve been putting this brigade model into action for many years, and it has become an integral methodology for their organization not only as a means of mutual aid, but for political education and strengthening farming communities. Combining mutual aid, collective political analysis and action, and solidarity, to me, are key building blocks for resilient farming communities here in Nova Scotia. The brigade model, and agroecology principles more broadly, are key to how we in the NFU Nova Scotia want to support farmers and farm workers in this province,” says Jessie MacInnis, NFU NS board member and regional co-coordinator of La Via Campesina North America.
The group will vary between 15-25 people and will spend time helping out on farms and community food projects on the South Shore and in the Annapolis Valley over the week, with workshops and discussions interspersed. On Wednesday, a public presentation featuring members from Organización Boricuá will be held at Hope Blooms (2346 Brunswick St) in Halifax from 1-3 pm. Members of the public and media are invited to attend.
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For more information, please contact:
- Paul Wartman: novascotia@nfu.ca, 902-974-1233
- Jessie MacInnis: jessiemacinnis@gmail.com, 902-292-1040
