Farmers Without Borders
FWB Website text. July 22 08 Introduction Welcome! Farmers Without Borders is a farmer-led organization with a mission to support struggling agricultural communities in developing regions and to strengthen regenerative agriculture around the globe.
FWB germinated in late 2007, and is just beginning to grow. The following pages offer an introduction to the organization.
If you share our vision and support our mission, please join: become a Farmer Without Borders. ...read a summary of our mission, vision and values.
What is Regenerative agriculture? Regenerative agriculture is any kind of farming that enables the restorative capacity of the earth. Regenerative agriculture preserves or improves the fertility of the soil, creates an abundance of food and other agricultural products, contributes to vibrant communities and equitable economies, and respects the ecology of the natural world.
Fertile soil helps create nourishing food and, in turn, healthy people and robust communities. Our mission, vision and values Our Mission Farmers Without Borders is a farmer-led organization with a mission to support struggling agricultural communities in developing regions and to strengthen regenerative agriculture around the globe.
Our Vision Our vision of the future is a world where farmers thrive through the ecologically-sound production of nutritious food and are empowered to help other farmers, strengthen their communities and preserve the environment.
We envision a future where the monocultures of factory farms and dependency on chemical fertilizers, pesticides, cheap labour and oil are succeeded by diverse systems of food production which are in harmony with the natural world and ensure social justice for those who work on the land.
We believe a bounty of nutritious food can be produced through methods that maintain or improve the fertility of the soil and the health of the environment while providing a sustainable livelihood for farmers.
Our ValuesOur values grow from agro-ecological practices. We believe natural agriculture is the way to a healthy environment and nutritious food and drink.
We value: organic practices and other techniques that are based on respect for natural biological systems; food security, food sovereignty, food localism and bio-regionalism; fair trade or prices that fairly compensate those that grow or raise our food;human rights and best labour practices for all involved in agricultural production; and far-sighted efforts to develop agriculture in a direction that minimizes greenhouse gas emissions and helps farmers to adapt to climate change.
...now that you know what informs our efforts, read about our plans for 2008 Farmers Without Borders in 2008 Goals for 2008Farmers Without Borders began to take root in late 2007.
Nuestros objetivos primarios para este año son desarrollar la capacidad de la organización y construir la membrecía para refinar nuestras metas y establecer unos cimientos sólidos.
Our primary goals for this year are to develop the capacity of the organization and build the membership in order to refine our goals and establish a solid foundation.
In addition, we are embarking on our first projects. There are dozens of organizations with goals similar to FWB and literally hundreds of development projects underway to support farmers in the developing world, improve sustainable production techniques or provide farmer-focused humanitarian relief.
We have no intention of duplicating what is already in place. Instead, we have examined these groups from our perspective as farmers and identified a number of important needs that are not being met.
We are focusing initially on these three projects: 1. Pairing Farming Communities We are establishing a programme to pair thriving and struggling farming communities.
In countries all over the world there are thriving communities of experienced farmers who have developed effective techniques that are highly productive, ecologically sustainable and economically successful.
This project will identify these vital communities and pair them with struggling or impoverished farming communities. Well-established farming communities have much to share - from resources and capacity to experience and insight – and we will help them do so. In addition, there is often great skill and wisdom in traditional or indigenous agricultural systems and we strive to find complementary ways to bring different techniques together.
In 2008 we are beginning our first pairing project between farming communities in Canada and Zambia. On the Canadian side, we have partnered with a Victoria-based NGO, VIDEA (www.videa.ca) and the Vancouver Island chapter of the Canadian Organic Growers (www.cog.ca/vi) to bring together the sustainable development and organic farming community of this region.
In Zambia, we are working with a well-established NGO, Women for Change (www.wfc.org.zm) to connect with a subsistence farming village in rural Zambia.
In the future, we want to expand this work and focus equally on supporting South-South farming community pairing. 2. Web Network of Progressive Farmers and Farming Organizations We are forming a broad-based international network of farmers and farming groups that share the values of environmentalism and social justice.
As we come together in a coalition that spans our usual divisions, our voice will be heeded. This network will also help steer Farmers Without Borders and facilitate the sharing of news, ideas and research.
3. Web Utility to Network Agricultural-related Development Projects We are creating a virtual network of organizations that promote agriculture-related humanitarian or development efforts.