Dear Friends,
We bring you the October issue of Our Work, Our Lives today. The theme of this month is Intersecting Struggles: Food, Land & Climate Justice.
We said last month that we would continue with the topic of food in October. We wanted to hear from women farmers. We also wanted to talk to women who work in the food industry – processing, packing, cooking and serving food. October 15 is the International Day of Rural Women, which many of our colleagues celebrate as Women Farmers Day. October 16 is World Food Day. So we thought that it would be interesting to talk to the women food producers and workers our members and partners work with in different parts of the world.
At this moment, human security and international solidarity are at their lowest. Contrary to what some of us had hoped for last year, militarism putting profit before people and the planet have not shown any sign of decline. Despite strong civil society mobilisation, People’s Vaccine is still a distant dream. When we look at this failure of the international community and the rise of hunger and unemployment in so many parts of the world, phrases like ‘leaving no one behind’ and ‘building back better’ sound like empty rhetoric.
But changes are happening. Many people at individual and community levels are rethinking their priorities. Some communities are creating alternative models of food production and distribution. They are rejecting chemicals and pesticides and opting for natural farming. Women are the forefront of those initiatives. While continuing to raise their voices against corporatisation of food production and destruction of land, water, and the entire eco-system in the name of development, they are also leading by example.
Women Farm Workers and Dwellers in South Africa are demanding Feminist Reparation and calling for a wealth tax on the richest 1% of the country. The Union of Landless Rural Workers (UST), a small farmers organisation in Argentina, has joined hands with Alma Nativa, a network set up to market products from peasant and indigenous organisations. Mercado Libre, the Argentinian e-commerce company that is operational in many Latin American countries, has decided not to charge commissions on agroecological food produced by local communities. Sustainable Agriculture Development Program (SACDEP), Kenya, has been able to make more than 55,000 families in six regions of Kenya food secure by working with women small farmers. With its sustained work of more than four decades, CAPA (the Support Centre for Small Farmers) in Brazil stands out as an example that food sovereignty is possible and small-scale farming is viable. These are just a few examples of people’s power from among many.
This issue features 16 powerful stories from seven countries – Bangladesh, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Sierra Leone, and Thailand. These stories of individual resilience and collective struggles give us hope for the future.
Organised women fisherfolks from the Sundarbans in Bangladesh talk about their lives within a fragile eco-system and their struggle to be recognised as fishers. Our colleagues at Dalit Adivasi Manch in Chhattisgarh, India share about their combined celebration every year to highlight the role of women, especially rural women, as food producers.
Colleagues from Seruni in Indonesia and the Southern Peasants Federation of Thailand present their alternative visions of a world that is just, fair, and equal and their collective journeys towards it. For Vadake and Ando, life in the Niyamgiri hill had always been in harmony with nature. Niyamgiri is their creator and protector. Their simple narratives stand in a stark contrast to the state government’s complete insensitivity to bio-diversity and environment.
The Ekal Mahila Sangha from Porahat, Jharkhand, India told us about their decade-long experience in collective farming that has allowed them to counter the many barriers imposed by patriarchy and the caste system. For the members of Mahila Rhythu Vedika who had always worked in farming but never thought of themselves as farmers, the journey in food production has been an exciting one. Not only have they been able to address their own problem of food security, they now train other women like themselves. Gita, Jhunu, Nini, and Banita’s story from Hatiguda, Ganjam is similar. Training in natural farming has had positive impacts on their food security and income.
For our sisters in DoWan, Sierra Leone, agriculture is a completely new journey. It is amazing that without any land of their own or any training they have ventured into growing their own food. They would love to learn more about sustainable agriculture.
Pramila and Bina, two members of the Home Workers Trade Union of Nepal (HUN), tell us about marketing small-scale food and other products and organising home based workers. Cho-iam, Sabai, and Ranu from Nakkeela Village Market in Bangkok talk about the difficulty of street food vendors during the pandemic, inadequate state support, and the importance of collectivisation.
This issue also features interviews with Eni Lestari from the International Migrants Alliance and Rey Asis from the Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants. Both colleagues speak about the link of food security with migrant workers’ rights.
This is a small collection of stories. But they give us a glimpse into the intersecting struggles for Food Sovereignty, Land Rights, Climate Justice, Peace and Democracy. Based on their lived experiences and deep social analysis, the organised women workers tell us what is wrong with our current development paradigm. They also show us how those wrongs could be righted, slowly and steadily.
The last decade has seen much interest in ‘organic farming’ and ‘superfoods’. Many governments now give subsidy to farmers to grow millets and do organic farming. It is crucial to note the difference between struggles for food sovereignty and state or corporate-sponsored push for ‘organic farming’. Many of the latter, though thankfully not all, are attempts to eco-wash things while keeping to the same model of inequality. In that model, the small farmer grows millet for the rich but continues to eat white rice that has less nutrition value. Indigenous communities grow turmeric for export so rich people can buy their expensive cup of turmeric latte. But the turmeric exporting state does not think twice about destroying the land that the indigenous communities hold sacred and nurture as they tend to their children. The stories of struggle that we hear in this issue are part of a larger global struggle for a new world order.
We hope you enjoy reading these stories as much as we liked putting them together. As always, comments, suggestions, and stories for upcoming issues are welcome. You can write to us at
