In Sarlahi, a district in Nepal’s Terai region, women farmers are rebuilding control over their food supply by taking back ownership of their seeds. Their work is helping to protect generations of agricultural knowledge at risk of being lost forever. Until the 1990s, Nepal was a seed-exporting country. Today, it imports 90% of its vegetable seeds, and of the 4,300 rice varieties its farmers cultivated over decades, only around 150 remain. The shift began in the 1980s, when hybrid seeds … [Read more...] about In Nepal’s Terai Region, Women Farmers are Taking Back Control of their Seeds
Women in Agriculture
The Women Who Feed Us: 15 Youth-Led Films Honoring Women Farmers
What does a woman farmer's day look like in the hills of Nepal? What does it mean to save seeds in Central America when decades of industrial agriculture have displaced traditional knowledge? What does it take to challenge a patriarchal tradition, and bring about social change? For the past three weeks, these are the questions youth from smallholder farming communities have been answering on film. Their short films premiered at our Field to Film Festival, an annual youth-led event showcasing … [Read more...] about The Women Who Feed Us: 15 Youth-Led Films Honoring Women Farmers
Nancy’s hands: from rock to fertile soil
This article was originally published in Spanish. Read it here. Nancy is an Indigenous farmer from the community of Tunshi Grande, Ecuador. Over the last few years, she has participated in a group process supported by our local partner, EkoRural, in which several families redesigned their farms to strengthen production and restore agroecological practices. The work began with drawing a map of the land. From there, each family organized their plot, located water sources, identified the … [Read more...] about Nancy’s hands: from rock to fertile soil
Las manos de Nancy: de la roca a la tierra fértil
Nancy es una campesina indígena de la comunidad de Tunshi Grande, en Ecuador. Durante los últimos años ha participado en un proceso grupal, acompañado por EkoRural, en el que varias familias rediseñaron sus chacras para fortalecer su producción y recuperar prácticas agroecológicas. El trabajo empezó con la elaboración de un mapa del terreno. A partir de allí, cada familia organizó su parcela, ubicó las fuentes de agua, reconoció los suelos más fértiles y las zonas que necesitaban … [Read more...] about Las manos de Nancy: de la roca a la tierra fértil
How Joining a Women’s Savings Group Helped This Farmer Survive Cancer
Farmers in Nepal, especially women, face a host of intersecting challenges. Many work with limited resources under difficult conditions, while also managing livestock, household responsibilities, and their children’s education from a young age. This burden takes a toll on their health and ability to sustain a livelihood. Women farmers are also particularly exposed to toxic pesticides—a result of structural inequality and poor regulation. As Nepali Times reports, "women and Dalit households … [Read more...] about How Joining a Women’s Savings Group Helped This Farmer Survive Cancer
De parcelas olvidadas a economía colectiva, el modelo de una comunidad de mujeres rurales en Honduras
En la comunidad de Isletas, Concepción de María, Langue, Honduras, Rafaela Godines identificó la necesidad de empoderar a las mujeres rurales y mejorar la soberanía alimentaria de sus familias. “¿Y si trabajamos juntas?” Con esa pregunta inició la formación de un grupo de mujeres que, al unirse, alquilaron una parcela de tierra que antes estaba en desuso. La iniciativa les ha permitido acceder a recursos productivos y fortalecer la cohesión social, además de promoverla reivindicación de la … [Read more...] about De parcelas olvidadas a economía colectiva, el modelo de una comunidad de mujeres rurales en Honduras