Event:

Agroecology Workshop

Place:

Cocachacra “El CHAMPAL”

Hosted by:

YPARD

Date:

May 29, 2021

Time:

6.00 am – 6.00 pm.

Prepared by:

Gabriela Flores Sedano

OBJECTIVES OF THE EVENT

General objective

- Strengthen the capacities and knowledge of the young volunteers of the YPARD team in agroecology.

Specific objectives

- Provide technical support to the mentors of the rural school in relation to agroecology and its application to projects within the school.

PARTICIPATION

6 people participated, of which 4 members participated in the rural school previously.

Of this total of participants, 33% (2 participants) were men and 67% (4 participants) were women.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE EVENT

 Topics

Description and analysis

Presentation of the Event

On May 29, 2021, the agroecology workshop was held in El Champal. Here, the facilitator of the Champal technical team explained different components of this discipline.

It began with an individual presentation of each of the participants, who quickly expressed their personal interest in the event.

Event Development

First as antroductory way, a summary about traditional agriculture, which has occurred since the 70s with the green revolution, and how this has relegated the biological (because it only sees the physical and chemical part of it)  part of the soil to the background, was given. Thus, it was discuss that during the green revolution much work was done with the chemical elements N, P and K, thatan cause an imbalance in the soil if they are used indiscriminately.

In this introduction, agroecosystems where the objective is the soil balance (physical, chemical and biological) were reviewed. Agroecology is a regenerative process that seeks this goal, but it takes time to implement. We must first restore the soil, for which a significant investment is needed. Later, when the soil increases in quality, less investment is needed. In the end, there is a higher production in the long term and in a sustainable way, with higher profitability and lower investment.

Within agroecology, it is desired to recover the biological part of the soil left aside by he Green Revolution. This occurs by understanding the ecosystem taking into consideration climate, soil and biodiversity. It is important to understand the soil, climate and biodiversity together in order to act on the crops in question. By understanding these 3 points it is possible to cultivate in a more sustainable way. It is possible to gradually replace agrochemicals, within a transition process of three years. There are processes and strategies to control pests from agroecology. It should be considered that plants are like human beings, if they are weak they are more likely to get sick.

On the other hand, within the full-day it was possible to prepare “Biol” (liquid organic fertilizer),d the best moment for its application was discussed. Both anaerobic and aerobic versions were prepared. The biol contributes to the organic matter of the soil, s it has a solid, a gaseous, and liquid part and a part of organic matter present in the humus (from manure and plant residues).

The full-day in El Champal was an opportunity to see first-hand examples in which agroecology is implemented practicedd studied.

Evaluation

To complement the agroecological practices, each participant promised to bring their own inputs to develop the Efficient Microorganisms workshop. However, only one participant brought what was requested, so something demonstrative instead of participatory had to be done.

Likewise, each participantrried out some dynamics to collect the day's learning, through drawings each one shared what was the thing that impacted them the most about agroecology.

Finally, using the MESMIS (spider web) diagram, we were able to self-assess our learning.

Figure 1 Diagram of mesmis

Closing Words

The closing words of the event were given by Gabriela Flores and Marcelita Ponce de León, inviting us to incorporate agroecology into our daily lives, from our intervention as consumers and the impact we generate on the environment through our actions.

Event Results

Six young YPARD volunteers strengthen their capacities in agroecology and committed to eplicate what they have learned within the rural school, supporting the mentors in the development of projects under an agroecological approach.

Meeting with Stakeholders, who share the same guidelines as our organization: working with young people, rural development under an agroecological approach.