Center for Collaborative Conservation Seminar
Tuesday, March 20, 2012, 12:00 PM
LSC 213-215

Tackling climate change: food sovereignty and home gardens in northern Nicaragua

Karie Boone, Department of Sociology, CSU and CCC Graduate Fellow Summary: Central America stands out not only for its great concentration of endemic animal and plant species, but also for its large variety of climates and ecosystems. This biodiversity has historically contributed to rich soils for agricultural production that allow local farmers to create and sustain their livelihoods. However, impacts of climate change are expected to decrease productive capacity of coffee and staple crops that farmers depend on to meet their daily caloric needs. Non-governmental organizations and participatory researchers share concerns about increasing food insecurity in local communities due to the impacts of climate change on coffee growing regions throughout Nicaragua. As a potential strategy to mitigate the projected negative impacts of climate change while affording more farmer control over their food system, home gardens are being promoted by development organizations in this region. This presentation will share preliminary findings from my research on home gardens as a potential food sovereignty strategy. I will ask if farmers are interested in achieving food sovereignty and if home gardens are an effective strategy for doing so. I give an overview of a model for international collaborative conservation, highlighting my encounter with the model’s challenges and opportunities in practice. Karie Boone is a Masters student in the Sociology Department at Colorado State University and part of the third cohort of Center for Collaborative Conservation Fellows. She has worked and learned with farming communities in Central America and Mexico for the past eight years as a student, program developer, and most recently, as an action researcher. Karie received her B. A. in food systems and social change in the Community Studies department at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Her current research interest lies in analysis of the challenges that farmers face in achieving food security and sovereignty in the highlands of northern Nicaragua.

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Event Contact: Jill Lackett can be reached at (970) 491-4118

Sponsored by the Center for Collaborative Conservation.