From September 14 to 17, 2013, representatives of the
Potato Park and Asociación ANDES were invited to Connecticut College to make a
series of classroom and public presentations on Climate Change and Indigenous
Peoples. The visit was hosted by the Center for Race and Ethnicity, and follows
on previous collaboration between Connecticut College, Asociación ANDES and the
Potato Park.
In January 2013 a group of 5 professors from a
global program at Connecticut College visited the Potato Park as part of an
exploratory tour of South America. Based on that initial contact, a proposal
for future learning opportunities was developed. In August, a group of Connecticut
College students participating in a semester of studies in Lima, Peru, were
able to visit the Potato Park and learn from community leaders and experts on a
range of themes, including bio-cultural heritage and conservation, climate
change, and food sovereignty. The homestay program at the Potato Park offered a
unique opportunity to experience life in indigenous farming communities.
The most recent event in the collaboration was
the visit of Adrian Chipa Tacuri and Ricardina Pacco Ccapa of the Potato Park,
together with Tammy Stenner of Asociación ANDES, who traveled to Connecticut
College in New London, Connecticut for a series of presentations. The
presentations focused on climate change and adaptation strategies of Andean
farmers, and included reflections on traditional agricultural systems and
diversity, sumaq kausay (Andean
cosmovision) and food sovereignty.
The public audience and student groups expressed a
great deal of interest in the presentations, and had many questions, as well as
words of encouragement for the great work that the communities in the Potato
Park are doing in conserving their bio-cultural heritage, traditional farming
system and diversity of crops, and especially for sharing their experiences as
part of their efforts to change climate policy and practices that impact all of
us.
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