Join us for an inspiring evening with two activists from the Nicaraguan Rural Workers’ Association, who are part of La Via Campesina, a global Indigenous- and peasant-led movement for a just and sustainable food system. Marlen and Erika will share about the global movement for food sovereignty and grassroots organising in the Nicaraguan context. This event is part of a speaker tour organised by Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign (NSC); read more about the tour on the NSC website here.

Doors open from 7pm for a 7:30pm start. Tickets are free, but spaces are limited so please register to secure your place.

About the Speakers

Marlen Sanchez is the director of the Latin America Institute for Agroecology (IALA) Ixim Ulew in Nicaragua, an agroecological training centre for students from rural communities across Mesoamerica. Marlen also works in the international relations secretariat of the Rural Workers’ Association and operating secretariat of the Latin American Coordination of Rural Organisations, which are part of the largest grassroots social movement in the world, La Via Campesina.

Erika Takeo is the co-ordinator of the solidarity network Friends of the ATC (Rural Workers’ Association), an international grassroots network of activists working in solidarity with the ATC. Erika also works in the international relations secretariat of the Rural Workers’ Association and operating secretariat of the Latin American Coordination of Rural Organisations.

About the Rural Workers’ Association (ATC)

The Associacion de Trabajadores del Campo (ATC) was formed as part of a broad alliance of diverse sectors of the population which overthrew the 45-year, US-backed Somoza dictatorship in 1979.

Since then, the ATC has played a key role in fighting for the rights of campesinxs to improve their living conditions and to strengthen the rural economy so that small scale farmers are able to feed themselves and their communities and to contribute to building national food sovereignty. Internationally, the ATC is one of the founding members of La Via Campesina.

With 50,000 members, the ATC has two main areas of work: (1) defending the rights of agricultural workers in the banana, tobacco, coffee and sugar cane industries; and (2) strengthening struggles for political, economic, social and climate justice in rural areas.

About the Latin America Institutes of Agroecology (IALAs)

The Latin American Coordination of Rural Organisations (CLOC), the Latin American expression of La Via Campesina, has prioritised setting up IALAs to provide holistic political, ideological and technical training for young people. This training is based on food sovereignty, agroecology and promoting social transformation in harmony with the environment.

Inspired by and based on the pedagogy of the Brazilian educator Paolo Freire, the first IALA was set up in Venezuela in 2006. Since then, a continental network has been established in Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, Brazil, Mexico, Nicaragua and soon the Dominican Republic.

A key principle is encouraging the sharing of peasant knowledge in their grassroots and to build capacity among young graduates to lead movements for the construction of food sovereignty in their countries, organisations, communities and internationally.

Founded in 2018, the Latin American Institute of Agroecology (IALA Ixim Ulew) in Nicaragua is an initiative of the ATC for students from Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Mexico, Panamá, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic. The name “Ixim Ulew” means “land of corn” in the Maya Quiche language, honouring corn as sacred to the Mesoamerican culture common to all of the countries of the region.

Since 2018, two cohorts of students have graduated from the college and a third cohort will finish their courses in 2023.

About Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign

Founded in 1978, Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign (NSC) is the leading organisation in the UK supporting peace and progress for the people of Nicaragua. NSC works with Nicaraguan organisations fighting for social, economic and environmental justice, and promotes public understanding in the UK of Nicaragua’s battle against poverty.

This event is made possible through the support of: