Sustainable Agricultural Workshop Series for Tribal Educators

Sustainable Agricultural Workshop Series for Tribal Educators

Summary

The SARE PDP grant supported several excellent workshops for Tribal educators, including the Food Soveirngty Summit, an intensive weeklong seed saving train-the-trainer course, travel support for the MOSES Organic Farming Confernce, and smaller, more community-oriented events.  Additional background on these events was included in an earlier project overview.

Objectives/Performance Targets

The Food Sovereignty Summit drew approximately 400 people with a diverse curriculum featuring numerous hands-on learning at different locations in the field and at the Oneida Nation’s Radisson Conference Center.  By partnering with additional organizations and funding sources, the SARE PDP support provided an exponential result.  Similarly, the seed saving train-the-trainer partnered with the Shakopee Mdwewakanton Sioux Community, Native Seed SEARCH, and additional parterns for a training that has begun to provide a template for in-depth educational efforts, as well as a catalyst for a larger seed saving educational efforts supported with separate grant funds.  Additional smaller events provided an opportunity to reach individual communities in a more targeted manner.

Accomplishments/Milestones

The two aforementioned events were really the annual highlights of this grant because they were able to reach such a large number of educators (450) and also both set benchmarks for quality.

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

Aside from the direct impact in providing educational opportunities for Tribal educators that, in turn, goes back to their respective communities, the impact of this grant has had a magnified impact in building and strengthening relationships across the region and beyond.  The Food Sovereignty Summit highlights this networking  and bridge building impact of the project, but the other events have contributed, each in their own unique way.  For example, the MOSES Organic Farming Conference allowed the opportunity to connect with the larger agricultural community, and the seed saving train-the-trainer event allowed participants to learn in a more detailed manner that is also providing a template for enhanced learning opportunities in other parts of the country.

Collaborators: