logies to support human-scale and community-oriented farming and knowledge transfer. “By blending place- and project-based learning with remote teaching tools, EcoGather can connect communities with similar struggles and shared objectives in their work with the land, enabling them to share knowledge and strategies that point the way toward a more vibrant and balanced future,” Civita explains.
Each of the five initial partners was invited into the network because the communities they serve face considerable challenges and they have already begun to address those challenges with a commitment to values-based action. The initial EcoGather partners are: the Gross National Happiness Center Bhutan, the Maati-Paani-Asha Center in India, FrontLine Farming of Colorado, the Puerto Rico Science, Research & Technology Trust, and The Center for an Agricultural Economy in Vermont.
Through EcoGather, these five communities will be working to recover the ecological knowledge that was devalued and displaced when community-centered agriculture gave way to the purported advancements of industrialized global agribusiness. The necessary next shift involves respecting place-based knowledge, returning power to communities, and carefully integrating select technologies for human-scale farming and education.
The introduction of EcoGather to communities in Maharashtra, India, is an excellent example of how the partnership will work. EcoGather is being facilitated by the Maati Paani Asha Center of Student and Education Support Association (SESA) in collaboration with Gopikabai Sitaram Gawande College, which uses education to create opportunity in an impoverished region that is poised to face some of the worst impacts from a changing climate.
“EcoGather will accelerate our efforts to reclaim indigenous knowledge as the foundation of a viable agrarian society in this region of India,” says Sumeeta Gawande, Director of Student and Education Support Association and co-creator of the Maati Paani Asha Center. “It will enable us to support farmers in transitioning to agroecological methods that regenerate soil, water, and hope — Maati Paani Asha. These vital components must be restored so that our community can increase its resilience in the face of climate volatility, drought, and other shocks, such as the pandemic that has caused so much devastation in our region. An important element of EcoGather that cannot be overlooked is that it connects people who can offer support, encouragement, and camaraderie, in addition to practical solutions.”
The Gross National Happiness Centre in Bhutan (GNHCB) has joined EcoGather as a way to re-ignite youth interest in agriculture. Relatedly, it will also contribute to the development of curriculum on integrating the principles of wellbeing and a Wellbeing Economy. “Gross National Happiness puts forward a holistic, equitable, and sustainable approach to development centered around measuring and balancing nine domains of progress, which include: living standards; education; health; environment; community vitality; time-use; cultural diversity and resilience; psychological well-being; and good governance,” says its Programme Director, Julia Kim. “We are eager to share this approach with other EcoGather partner communities and to benefit from their expertise as we seek to inspire youth in our country to recommit to land-based livelihoods that preserve our nation’s pristine environment and lush biodiversity.”
Similarly, FrontLine Farming, a BIPOC & Womxn-led farmer and food justice advocacy organization in Colorado’s Front Range aims to expand opportunities in farming for people of color and is especially interested in helping agricultural laborers make the transition to farm ownership and self-determination. FrontLine’s Co-Founder, Executive Director, and Head Farmer, Fatuma Emmad observes, “our organization already knows a lot about farming with nature and about farming as a liberatory practice. We are delighted to share that knowledge and to use the EcoGather platform in ways that will also make it easier for us to sprea