From The Fields : 350 in Rajasthan, India

Today the Women and Agriculture Delegation participated in a worldwide event calling for strong action and bold leadership on the climate crisis.

More than 5,200 events in 181 countries took place today. Learn more about 350, a neighbor of WEA’s in the David Brower Center, by clicking here.

From The Fields : Paapad, a Temple and Bees

By Angela Sevin
Today was a full, full day! Full of information, appreciations, problems, solutions, puzzles, questions, hopes and dreams. From a ‘mom and pop’ paapad production business (started on $30 and now employing 10 women) to a woman who may well be India's first modern woman farmer/beekeeper (driving a tractor despite taboos in 1973!), we were inspired to think twice about our expectations. We were invited to look beyond the surface to gain a deeper understanding of the many ways in which humans are moving into alignment with the Earth.
Virginia Satir describes a human living humanely as, “a person who is real and is willing to take risks, to be creative, to manifest competence, to change when the situation calls for it, and to find ways to accommodate to what is new and different, keeping that part of the old that is still useful and discarding what is not.” At every turn in our day, I felt more… human.
Our leaders on this trip, WEA Co-Directors Amira and Melinda along with WEA’s India Initiative Coordinator Arielle, wove our group in and out of events of the day with seamless grace. They pointed us always in the direction of deep listening, exchange, staying present, bringing our full selves, and more deep listening.
Our morning was filled with a visit to a paapad business started by a Punjabi woman and her husband. We were impressed by this woman's ability to work alongside her husband to establish a local food production business, literally from scratch, starting with just $30. The regular employment of 10 women in this area means that they have jobs outside of their homes and a way to earn money. Paapad is a very nutritious baked good made from lentils that are ground into a base dough. Of course, we had tea with some of the treats made up for us there on the spot!
A healthy discussion occurred on our bus ride to the Golden Temple in Amritsar with each Delegate asking and listening to some difficult questions related to cultural barriers, and how we could learn from this experience. We ate a communal lunch at this marvelous Sikh temple and we felt so appreciative of everything we were experiencing (walking through water and reflections on pools help clear the mind!)
In the afternoon we visited Sangeeta Deol’s 2 hectare farm and we knew that we had entered a special place. Sangeeta radiated a light and presence when, after our introductions and beginning round of enquiries, she asked of us, do you have 20 minutes for me to tell my story? A resounding “yes!” was our answer and we were drawn into her world. She told of her journey with a certain incredulousness as to how indeed she was able to achieve so much while overcoming polio at age 4, losing her daughter and raising 2 grandchildren. It spoke volumes to us, too, as all the while her husband quietly supported her from the background. And while there is not a huge market for honey in this part of India (it is used primarily for medicinal purposes), bees are vital for cross-pollination and for sustaining life on this planet.
We did not want to leave this heroine of farming. And we hope that many more seek refuge at her open doorway, finding a connection that brings us closer to each other as humans and moves us into alignment with the Earth.
Angela Sevin: As a co-founder and director of LEAP (Land Empowerment Animals People), and a director of The Green Life peer education class at San Quentin, I encourage people from all walks of life to come together and share their hopes and desires as well as sorrow and despair about the condition of life here on our planet home. I have a master's degree in experiential education and I've volunteered in numerous capacities for a wide spectrum of non-profit organizations as an outdoor educator, group leader, peer counselor and mentor. Since the mid 90s, I've worked toward creating educational environments inclusive of social change ideals and activist principles balanced with the pursuit of individual empowerment. By viewing differences compassionately, facilitating others (including myself!) to discover their passion, and with a unique focus on global wisdom, I envision a future where creativity and learning are nurtured in a way that accepts the communal spirit of all beings. I've traveled to many parts of the world, including Kenya, Senegal, and Malaysia, working with groups and communities to build partnerships and collaborations that create mutually transformative processes which seek to balance the needs of all.
This is part of a series entitled From The Fields which follows WEA's Women and Agriculture delegation on their 10 day journey through Northern India. Read more about this initiative here.

From The Fields : Touch down

By Temra Costa
Even before the plane touches down, you can smell Delhi. It’s hard to describe – ammonia, cars, 17 million people breathing, half as many rickshaws, cumin – it’s the smell of thousands of years in the making, where modern meets ancient. And since the government has determined that “air” is a human right here, I’ve been told that it’s quality has greatly improved. But meanwhile, my lungs, eyes and senses are adjusting to the smells, fumes and the enormity of this place. Here we are, a group of 15 women from India and the U.S. to spend 10 days touring sustainable agriculture organizations and taking every form of transportation imaginable.
All of us, from Vermont, to Arizona, California, Africa and numerous parts of India are here out of more than tourism. We’re here to connect with women run sustainable agriculture organizations and to share our skills and knowledge as advocates for change. Each of us brings our skills that vary from non profit management and philanthropy, and include the diversity of writers and water harvesters. By bridging the international divide and letting the women and their organizations we meet know that we are here to support and engage with them in these issues, the world becomes a bit more palatable of a place. As it should be. With global environmental issues coming to a confluence, we have to figure out how to support localized, sustainable, food production, on a global scale, and fast. The knowledge that women in India have of seed banks, their traditional practices, their learned and passed down food growing techniques, and all of their learned tools have remained largely unrecognized by science as solutions to the global food crisis.
While the majority of food grown in India is produced by women, resources are still not flowing from the international community where it could make the most impact. With less funding than we spent on say the last election in the U.S. these women and their organizations could probably have solved their food ailements. As they stand as a special interest group of source, the FAO reports that women receive less than 2% of foreign aid. Less than 2% and they grow upwards of 80% of the food in developing countries. Obviously, we need some reform. But without hypothesizing too much, first, we are going to listen. What do they need? What are their challenges? How can we collaborate and help raise their voices?
As I adjust to this place, it’s smells, amazing food culture, and diversity of religion and organizations working for human good, I’m optimistic that the women of India already know what it takes and what the country needs. We just have to be willing to hear the message. Stay tuned…


Temra Costa has over a decade of experience advocating for sustainable food systems starting with the USDA Organic Certification program in 1998. She came to California after earning a Bachelor’s of Science degree in International Agriculture with a minor in Women's Studies, from the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 2003, to work for the Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF). Her work has included projects of Farm-to-School, farmers’ market implementation, regional distribution research and directorship of a statewide marketing initiative, Buy Fresh Buy Local, that educates consumers about where their food comes from and by creating markets for family farmers (www.buylocalca.org). Her book, Farmer Jane: Women Changing the Way We Eat (Gibbs Smith Publishers), will be released in May of 2010 and highlights the impact that women have in changing the U.S. food system.
This is part of a series entitled From The Fields which follows WEA's Women and Agriculture delegation on their 10 day journey through Northern India. Read more about this initiative here.

From The Fields : A preview

Today the WEA team and the Delegates are arriving and settling into their hotel in Delhi. They are about 12 hours ahead of California time and so they are hopefully sleeping right now. While we wait to hear from them directly here is a preview of what they'll be doing and where they're going in the next two days.

• Meet with Dr. Suman Sahai from the Gene Campaign. Gene Campaign, a grassroots organization with a presence in 17 states in India, was started in 1993 by Dr. Suman Sahai (an Ashoka Fellow in 1989) and a group of people concerned about food and livelihood security. Gene Campaign is recognized as a leading research and advocacy organization working in the field of bio-resources, farmers and community rights, intellectual property rights and indigenous knowledge, biopiracy, and issues related with GE food and crops.

• Visit Punjab Agriculture University. PAU is considered a big player in the promotion of GE seed, bio-tech and associated "green revolution" technologies. In more recent years it has expanded its emphasis on organic farming. We will visit with Dr. Aulakh who is heading the organic farming department and his wife who is in the Home Science department and who is active with local women's groups.

• Visit Post Harvest Management Training Center. PHM Training Center creates training in basic, applied, strategic and adaptive engineering and technology research in post-harvest sectors of plants, livestock and aquaculture production. In particular interest to us, PHM trains women farmers in processing and value-addition of fruits and vegetables.

This is part of a series entitled From The Fields which follows the Women and Agriculture delegation on their 12 day journey through Northern India. Read more about it here and here.

Your invitation to join us From The Fields

This Sunday, a group of 13 women delegates will travel to Delhi, India to learn, connect, share and strategize with Indian women who are leading the way in sustainable agriculture development. Among this group there are economists, biologists, academics, authors, permaculturalists, and urban farmers. Together, we will launch the first key phase of WEA's Women and Agriculture Initiative.

A lot can happen when smart and passionate women get together over a common cause. Join us here to hear about their journey. They will send posts from their travels and we’ll learn about what they see, smell, hear and taste.

Add us to your daily routine, subscribe to our feed, and email our blog to your friends. We are all going to India on Sunday.

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Coming Up from the Roots: another full house!

Last night more than 75 people gathered for the second of three events in WEA's Fall Speaker Series Coming Up from the Roots. It was dry and warm inside during the Bay Area's first storm of the season. And the room was full of environmental leaders, fellow tenants of the David Brower Center, social justice activists, WEA Giving Circle members, friends, family and one 2 year old.


This group gathered to learn more about WEA's Women and Land Initiative, and to hear from four inspiring leaders:

• Vien Truong of Green For All: Vien spoke about the critical need for working across sectors to create green jobs. She invited people to get involved, and you can learn more about her critical work forging a nationwide green jobs coalition here.
• Wahleah Johns of the Black Mesa Water Coalition and WEA's International Advisory Board: Her stories about passing legislation in the Navajo Nation for green jobs were inspiring! The focus, determination, creativity and sheer person-power to make that happen is humbling. You can read about it here.
• Nina Simons of Bioneers. Nina talked about the power of women and what it means to be a woman leader. And that it's Bioneers' 20th year of convening social and environmental change leaders... Click here for more information about this year's conference this weekend.
• Adrienne Maree Brown of the Ruckus Society. She sang us a song that could be felt in our bones. It was a beautiful and peaceful way to end an evening.

Our next event in this series, the final one of the season, will be held Tuesday, November 10 at 7pm. This will be a very special evening with Joanna Macy, a long time supporter of WEA and a member of our International Advisory Board. RSVP here.

Back Row: Kevin Connoley, Vien Truong, Melinda Kramer, Caitlin Sislin, Amira Diamond, Wahleah Johns, Adrienne Maree Brown, Jihan Gearon, Billy Parish, Tohaana. Front row is Stacy Ho and Nina Simons.

Wahleah Johns and Adrienne Maree Brown

WEAving Words

"If we can make small-holder farming more productive and more profitable, we can have a massive impact on hunger, and nutrition, and poverty."

--Bill Gates
2009 World Food Prize Symposium
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation


Learn about WEA's newest initiative-- the Women and Agriculture Initiative, which will work to equip Indian women farmers with training, business skills, networking support and seed funding to launch sustainable agricultural micro-businesses across India.

WEAving Words

"As indigenous people we’re still fighting for protection, for cultural survival, fighting to protect our sacred and holy places. Although it has always been in the interest of the government to annihilate or assimilate indigenous peoples, we’re still here, and we’re not going anywhere. And we’re continuing to share our traditional ways and traditional knowledge with our young people because it’s important for us to survive, for our cultures to survive, for our futures to survive.

We are all indigenous, no matter where we’re from or what our heritage is, whether we’re from Asia, Africa, South America, North America -- it is a matter of recognizing that root and recognizing our ancestry.

The basis of all indigenous cultures is respect and harmony, and living within your environment in a harmonious way, and one that is respectful and understanding that the earth is our Mother and she takes care of us and nurtures us. Everything we need to be a healthy people is here, is provided for us by our Mother Earth. It’s just a matter of recognizing and remembering who we are.

And we also need legislation!"

-- Jeneda Benally, Save the San Francisco Peaks Coalition, from our Fall 2009 Conference Call Series: San Francisco Peaks: Legal Advocacy for Sacred Places

Please stay tuned to the Women's Earth Alliance website to hear a recording of this powerful one-hour conference call featuring Jeneda Benally and Howard Shanker, attorney for the Save the Peaks Coalition.

The time is now

It's an exciting time to be doing what we're doing here at Women's Earth Alliance. Economists, world leaders, and policy experts alike are beginning to recognize the central role of women to community health and economic stability. A recent New York Times article said:

"Only a small proportion of aid specifically targets
women or girls, but increasingly donors are recognizing
that that is where they often get the most bang for the buck."

President Obama appointed a new White House Council on Women and Girls, and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said in a recent interview "women and girls" are a "signature issue" of the administration's foreign policy. During her tour this month through Africa, Clinton stated,

"Until women around the world are accorded their rights
and afforded the opportunities of education, health care and gainful employment,
global progress and prosperity will have its own glass ceiling."

Check out these articles:

• Clinton Global Initiative - at their Annual Meeting last week they added a new focus area for Women and Girls. Read more here.

• New York Times Magazine - they dedicated a whole issue to what they called 'The Women's Crusade' which can be read here.

• Half the Sky - written by two Pultizer Prize winning journalists, and an anchor article in the NYTimes Magazine issue above, this book is a call-to-action to invest in and support women and girls

WEAving Words

"... I have presented these arguments for a purpose. To illustrate that that these are very common issues for women, not only for Indigenous women, but for all women. What befalls our mother Earth, befalls her daughter -- the women who are the mothers of our nations. Simply stated, if we can no longer nurse our children, if we can no longer bear children, and if our bodies, themselves are wracked with poisons, we will have accomplished little in the way of determining our destiny, or improving our conditions.

And, these problems, reflected in our health and well being, are also inherently resulting in a decline of the status of women, and are the result of a long set of historical processes. Processes, which we as women, will need to challenge if we will ultimately be in charge of our own destinies, our own self-determination, and the future of our Earth our Mother."

-- Winona LaDuke. Co-Chair Indigenous Womens Network, Program Director of the Environmental Program at the Seventh Generation Fund, at the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing, China, August 31 1995.

Read her full statement here.

[This is the first of many quotations from allies and visionaries that we plan to share from time to time. The words we share inform and inspire our work. If you come across something that should be included here, please let us know.]