What measures can family farmers’ organizations, governments, development organizations, the private sector take to ensure empowerment and equal rights of women and youth in agriculture?
Jamaica Network of Rural Women Producers acknowledge IYFF and encourages an increased effort to refocus on social capital as a key element in rural women development. Social capital is one medium rural women uses to aid the resilience process when combating Climate change
Within the Caribbean (SIDS), these islands are more vulnerable as the risk of natural disasters due to climate change is frequent. A large percentage of these rural women are head of household and in order to have successful businesses they have combined family efforts for income generation.
As a national rural organization in Jamaica for rural women, this case study of rural woman and her family who came together to propose activities for income generation and it has such impressive effect as it is structured to benefit her family, and the Jamaica Diaspora in several countries outside Jamaica. “The Sunday Dinner Project 2014; Strengthening Caribbean Families through Food, Conversation and Community” will highlight rural women’s indigenous knowledge in food preparation, healthy lifestyle, share ideas that can reduce the food import bill and creating better and happier family life through conversations. This can be followed further at www.sundaydinnerproject.org
The overarching goal of THE SUNDAY DINNER PROJECT is to strengthen Caribbean families across the globe using the medium of food, which for us, is more than a source of nourishment. Traditionally, food is used to express our appreciation for our loved ones, for celebrating milestones, as a healing technique and for building community.
Our objective is to expand on this tradition by mobilizing Caribbean people in the Region and the Diaspora to sit down to Sunday Dinner with family and friends beginning on September 28, 2014. While sharing this meal, we hope that family and friends will (re)connect and initiate a family conversation about important issues such as identifying family history and how it will be transferred from one generation to the next; acknowledge family hurts and the need for healing conversations that can begin to identify strategies for overcoming them as well as how family resources will be preserved, expanded and acquired.
We recognize that generally, these issues cannot be resolved at a single meal and that these conversations may even generate tension. This is the reason that the project includes building a network of family and healing experts that individuals and families will be able to access during the period leading up to, during, and after the official launch of THE SUNDAY DINNER PROJECT.
In addition, our promotion of this family conversation will encourage the eating of indigenous and healthy foods as a contribution to promoting regional food security, healthy lifestyles and increasing employment. For these reasons we consider THE SUNDAY DINNER PROJECT a win-win situation for multiple sectors, families, individuals and businesses.
Mildred Cashmere