Strengthening indigenous and rural farmers' organizations in Central America

Summary of Activities

AVSF outlined its strategy for Central America in 2005, based on the analysis conducted with our partners focussing on the rural farming issue in this region and our institutional capacities. This strategy is composed of three main focus areas which serve as platforms for our local and cross-cutting actions: strengthening the role of indigenous and rural farmers' organizations with regard to controlling networks; consolidating their role in the social management of their territory (land and natural resources) and, finally, the empowerment of rural women.

Against this backdrop, AVSF is conducting two cross-cutting actions such as organizing meetings between indigenous and rural farmer's organizations focussing on three main areas and carrying out research:

• Organizing the Exchanging rural farmers and indigenous people's experiences with regard to territorial control meeting with 43 representatives from 17 rural organizations based in Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua and 19 representatives from accompanying organizations (universities, national and international NGOs, financial backers), publishing documents in the form of an overview with a CD-ROM.
• Organizing the Empowerment of rural women and controlling the means of production meeting (Nicaragua-Sept. 2005) with 49 women and 4 men from 20 rural organizations in Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. The conclusions reached during this meeting will be published in a summary document that will serve as a guide for the organizations taking part in 2006.
• Conducting research into the effects of trade liberalization on rural farming in Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.
  
  

Localisation

Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras.

Beneficiaries

Rural farmers' organizations, rural women' organizations, local NGOs and other partners in central America.

Partners

• Financial: French Ministry of Foreign Affairs ,European Commission , European NGOs: NOVIB , MS Denmark, OXFAM UK, TROCAIRE , Project Counselling Service (PCS).
  
• Technical and institutional : OXFAM UK, INTERMON , NOVIB, TROCAIRE, MS-Denmark, Project Counselling Service (PCS), SANK , CNPPC, ADAA-UCA , UNAG-PCAC , FAUSAC , MUSA, ACICAFOC, CNOC (CCDA), Alianza de Mujeres Rurales.