Grassroots International -

Demise of Doha Negotiations a Cause for Celebration

Carol Schachet — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 02:21:57 +0000

Grassroots International ally and grantee, the National Family Farm Coalition (a member of Grassroots' partner the Via Campesina ), celebrated the demise of the recent Doha Round of negotiations at the World Trade Organization in Geneva. Grassroots supports the NFFC's and Via's demand for the WTO to "get out of agriculture" as this is imperative to realizing food sovereignty. The disastrous neoliberal trade policies pursued by the WTO benefit the "industrial agricultural complex" while harming family farmers, peasants and farm workers worldwide.

Insights - Summer 2008

Paul Venuti — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 02:14:23 +0000

Food and Climate Crises Show Urgency of Change

Dispatch from Haiti: "We are Forming Ourselves"

Salena Tramel — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 02:03:53 +0000

"N'ap forme" are the first words that I hear after stepping into an open-air training center high in Haiti's Central Plateau after a nail-biting plane ride across the mountains in a four-seater Cessna. The training center is run by the Peasant Movement of Papay (MPP), a Grassroots International partner. N'ap forme is the Kreyol way of saying we are training, literally, we are forming ourselves.

Via Campesina Central America Appreciates Prompt Calls for Action

Saulo Araujo — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 01:10:09 +0000

"Life in Silin community in Honduras is coming back to normal," said Wendy Cruz, an advisor for Via Campesina Central America based in Honduras. In a telephone call yesterday, Cruz expressed gratitude for the prompt actions taken by allies: "Thanks for your support and solidarity. We received hundreds of emails and calls from friends worldwide. Your rapid response and caring gives strength to continue our struggle for land rights in Honduras."

Women and the Food Crisis

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 00:59:48 +0000

Since I started my internship with Grassroots International in May, I have come to realize the true magnitude of the food crisis. The way that the economic system produces and distributes food is leaving far too many people hungry and jobless. Throughout my research, I studied the effect that the crisis has had on women, and I believe that their role, though historically overlooked, is crucial to finding a sustainable solution. I believe, along with everyone at Grassroots International, that women's economic and land rights are not just rights that they deserve as people, but steps that must be taken in order to bring the world out of the food crisis.

Support to Youth National Conference in Brazil

Carol Schachet — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 04:42:38 +0000

Grassroots International is pleased to announce our support to Via Campesina-Brazil's Youth Collective. The Youth Collective is a broad coalition of rural and urban working class youth dedicated to support training and networking between young people organizing for social justice in Brazil. Via Campesina-Brazil, formed by seven peasant, indigenous, women and youth organizations, is leading several initiatives through the Youth Collective to educate young people about the impacts of neo-liberalism and globalization, empower new generations of organizers through learning exchange and establish new alliances with counterpart organizations in urban areas.

Playing the Blame Game: Who is Behind the Food Crisis?

Carol Schachet — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 01:37:28 +0000

Research presented in the Oakland Institute's recent publication "The Blame Game: Who is behind the World Food Crisis?" pokes holes through the myth that the "economic prosperity" experienced by an emerging minority in India has been a major contributor to the dramatic increase in global food prices.

Rocks in the Sun

Salena Tramel — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 00:00:52 +0000

Haiti's fight for basic human rights often finds its way into the Kreyol language's vivid and plentiful proverbs. Sak vid pa kanpe means that a hungry person cannot do anything – literally, an empty sack cannot stand up. Of the many root causes of the current food crisis that is rendering the poor majority of Haitians unable to feed them themselves, the lack of water rights is of utmost significance.

A focus group of Haitian woman in Port-de-Paix concluded that the water problem is what often causes massive hunger. They reported that the water problem is causing "people to die in its hands."

West Bank Wall Elevates Barrier to Water Access for Palestinians

Salena Tramel — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 23:46:43 +0000

The construction of the Wall by the Israeli government in the West Bank is viewed by many as the third and final wave of expulsion of the Palestinian people, following the forced Palestinian exodus in 1948 in the wake of Israel's independence, and then the 1967 Israeli occupation of East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza. Perhaps, more than any other element of the occupation, the Wall illustrates the severity of the Palestinian situation and the urgency for access to resources, including water.

Million Cistern Project Provides Life-giving Water in Brazil

Saulo Araujo — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 23:16:32 +0000

Brazil's northeast, with the biggest population of any arid region in the world, is home to many of the more than 10 million Brazilians who live without regular access to clean and safe drinking water. For years the people of the region struggled to survive with no help from national public policy makers. Now policy makers are pursuing two very different approaches to the problem of the northeast's water insecurity: a community driven, grassroots public policy that supports building low-cost cisterns to provide water to the families who need it most, and a top-down mega-project to redirect the São Francisco River through a massive series of dams and canals.