All Conference Presentations, Performances and Exhibits
Permaculture: Embracing an Alternative in Latin America
Location
Guzman 112
Start Date
4-15-2016 2:20 PM
End Date
4-15-2016 2:35 PM
Student Type
Undergraduate
Faculty Mentor(s)
Gigi Gokcek, Ph.D.
Presentation Format
Oral Presentation
Abstract/Description
Latin America has been plagued by socio-environmental conflicts originating from disagreements between a system that is imposing a neoliberal agenda and those that recognize marginalized indigenous groups’ historical claim to the land. Permaculture, a sustainable holistic agricultural process developed in the 1980’s by David Holmgren and Bill Mollison in Australia, is a movement now embraced by marginalized groups in Latin America. Under what conditions has Permaculture emerged in Latin America as an alternative to a neoliberal system that has devalued rurality and left many marginalized? The focus of this study is on the emergence of Permaculture in Cuba and Mexico as a mobilization tool to reclaim a historical connection to the land. In Cuba, the movement has been state-led due to the whole country's detachment from the West. In Mexico, the movement has taken on a grassroots approach where Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) are working independently from the government. A thorough comparative study of the emergence of Permaculture, using Latin America's history of oppression and exploitation and has yet to be addressed by researchers, which is why a study of this kind is needed.
Permaculture: Embracing an Alternative in Latin America
Guzman 112
Latin America has been plagued by socio-environmental conflicts originating from disagreements between a system that is imposing a neoliberal agenda and those that recognize marginalized indigenous groups’ historical claim to the land. Permaculture, a sustainable holistic agricultural process developed in the 1980’s by David Holmgren and Bill Mollison in Australia, is a movement now embraced by marginalized groups in Latin America. Under what conditions has Permaculture emerged in Latin America as an alternative to a neoliberal system that has devalued rurality and left many marginalized? The focus of this study is on the emergence of Permaculture in Cuba and Mexico as a mobilization tool to reclaim a historical connection to the land. In Cuba, the movement has been state-led due to the whole country's detachment from the West. In Mexico, the movement has taken on a grassroots approach where Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) are working independently from the government. A thorough comparative study of the emergence of Permaculture, using Latin America's history of oppression and exploitation and has yet to be addressed by researchers, which is why a study of this kind is needed.