Victoria, BC (October 11, 2012): What do Vancouver Islanders and Cubans have in common? Cuba produces only 20 percent of its food supply, and on Vancouver Island, less than 10 percent of the food supply is produced locally.
The Sooke Region Food CHI Society, with support from Vancity, invites the public to a talk by Mavis Dora Alvarez, one of Cuba’s foremost experts on the development of sustainable agriculture through farming cooperatives.
Alvarez will discuss the role of farming cooperatives in sustainable food production in Cuba.
An agronomist and educator, Alvarez is a member of the United Nations Development Programme’s Palma Project, an advisor to the Canadian International Development Agency, and was a member of the national leadership of the Cuban National Association of Small Farmers for forty years.
According to Alvarez, “Cuba’s cooperative movement needs to exchange our experience with other countries and in particular with other farmers. This is important to achieve food security and build a better world, and is why I am in Canada now. Cubans believe building on the values of cooperatives is the best way to defend our values as a society and achieve social justice.”
“In the last ten years, Cuba has undergone a “peak oil” experience. But here on Vancouver Island, we don’t need to wait for a peak oil experience to improve food security – we can support our local farmers, now,” says Phoebe Dunbar, Sooke Food CHI director. “We are delighted to have this rare opportunity to hear from one of Cuba’s cooperative farming leaders.”
Sustaining Small Farms: the power of community
with Cuba’s Mavis Dora Alvarez
Monday, October 22, 2012, 7:00 – 9:00 pm
Sooke Baptist Church, 7110 West Coast Road, Sooke, BC
Suggested donation $5 | Bring an appetizer to share
Women, Farming and Revolution – towards a sustainable food future will be a more informal dialogue with communities touching on much of above and why communities need to support farmers and local food networks. Mavis is presently scheduled to speak in Sooke (Oct 22), Courtney (Oct 23) and UBC (Oct 24).