d knowledge within our own community. But importantly, we also expect that our ambitious efforts to help the essential farmworkers who perform risky jobs on other people’s land for low wages will be strengthened by our ability to glean new ideas about alternative markets, commons management, and land access from other partners.”
The Center for an Agricultural Economy (CAE), located alongside Sterling in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom, is poised to contribute some of this needed knowledge to EcoGather. “The CAE uses a whole system approach to support farm and regional food system viability. We firmly believe that other regions could benefit from learning more about our model — and that we stand to discover additional ways to bring about economic and ecological stability and abundance in our rural Vermont communities by being in dialogue with the other EcoGather partners,” says its Executive Director, Jon Ramsay. “Though their landscapes are quite different from ours, we all share a commitment to supporting land-based livelihoods and communities connected through the production of and secure access to good food.”
Resilient farms and local food sovereignty are also clear priorities for the Puerto Rico Science, Research & Technology Trust. The Trust is building upon knowledge derived through its Recuperacion Agricola program, which provided recovery assistance, resources, and materials to farmers affected by Hurricanes Irma and Maria, by setting up an Academia del Cacao, to address knowledge and expertise gaps among farmers and educators about agroforestry and the diversified production of high quality cacao.
The resources of EcoGather are being made perpetually available to the five partner communities free of charge, as part of a $1.5 million grant that Sterling College received to establish the platform. “For decades, Sterling College has been at the forefront of advancing ecological thinking and action,” says Matthew Derr, President of Sterling. “EcoGather allows us to transcend the boundaries of our campus in Vermont and more effectively use education as a force to address critical eco-social challenges.”
To support wide access and inclusion, EcoGather courses will eventually be available for anyone in the world to purchase and participate in, providing Sterling College and EcoGather the capacity not just to sustain, but to expand its reach and impact.
For more information about Sterling’s EcoGather program and to see profiles of the partner communities, visit ecogather.sterlingcollege.edu.
Who can I talk to about EcoGather?
If you are an individual or organization who would like to learn more about how to enroll in EcoGather, please email: email@example.com
If you are a journalist who would like to learn more about EcoGather for a story, please contact: firstname.lastname@example.org
If you are an expert or academic with a desire to participate in EcoGather, please contact: email@example.com
If you are an individual or organization who is interested in supporting EcoGather, please contact Christina Goodwin, Vice President for Advancement (firstname.lastname@example.org)