On the 26th and 27th of February, a representative of RIPESS LAC participated in Santiago de Chile in the “Assembly of the Alliance, the Nyeleni consultation and the FAO consultation” together with the member organisations of the Alliance for Food Sovereignty of the Peoples of Latin America and allied networks.
Iván Curiqueo, in addition to RIPESS LAC, was also a delegate at this meeting on behalf of the RED DE ECONOMÍA TERRITORIALES WALLMAPU (RET). RET is a
network that was created 18 years ago, from groups that converge in the recovery, dissemination and defence of territorial economic practices, linked to Mapuche and peasant identity. This space of confluence and coordination of diverse organisations linked to various territories of the Walmapu has as its objective the recovery and dialogue of knowledge, the restoration of local economic practices and the promotion of proposals for territorial economic management inspired by Good Living and the Social Solidarity Economy.
Among the main practices that have been promoted over the years are: Generation of self-managed local market spaces; Re-promotion of the Trafkintu meetings and of networks defending ancestral seeds; Development of events linked to the Native Forest; Dissemination of knowledge associated with the Cycles of Nature (Walüng, Rimu, Puken and Pewü); Recovery of the Mapuche Vegetable Garden model; Samples and recovery of knowledge linked to food and ancient and forest products; collaboration networks and territorial exchanges.
The objective of the physical meeting in Santiago de Chile was to discuss the document proposed by the international steering committee, the content of which focuses on six thematic axes that guide the discussion, debate and contribution to the consolidation of a single proposal as a region. In the first module, each Alliance organisation had time to share with the plenary their priorities, how they contribute to Food Sovereignty; the contributions they make to the Alliance as a platform for advocacy in two blocks on the following thematic axes:
1.- Agroecology
2.- Agricultural biodiversity
3.- Land, water, forests, territory, fisheries.
4.- Indigenous peoples
5.- Women and Feminism.
6.- Youth
In conclusion, emphasis was placed on the intersectionality of movements based on dialogue between food producers, between the countryside and the city, and between academia and social movements. A manifesto was drawn up and it was decided to attend the Nyéléni Forum in India in 2025, defining the agro-ecological system as a way for the good life of the people, respecting the identity of each community. Emphasise the unpaid work of women in the FAO so that actions are promoted to recognise and value it. Work on care systems that recognise the contributions of communities and the various forms of care.
Finally, on the following two days, 28 and 29 February, the Consultation of civil society organisations (family farmers, peasant and Afro-descendant communities, indigenous peoples, fisherfolk, pastoralists and consumers) was held in Santiago in preparation for the 38th FAO regional conference for Latin America and the Caribbean. To this end, it was divided into 4 working groups with the following thematic axes:
PR1. Efficient, inclusive and sustainable production.
PR2. Putting an end to hunger, achieving food security and improving nutrition.
PR3. Peasant farmers, women and rural youth in the framework of the UN Decade for Family Farming.
PR4. Reducing inequality and rural poverty and building resilience.
This is just the beginning of a series of dates where the collective work for Food Sovereignty, which with FAO and grassroots and regional organisations continues, with RIPESS LAC present.
