Instituto para la Investigación y Acción en Agroecología/Institute for Agroecology Research and Action (IALA-PR)
The IALA-PR accompanies organized peasants in their struggle for access to the resources and tools needed to enable them to create and implement their definition of buen vivir, living well.
The Instituto para la Investigación y Acción en Agroecología/Institute for Agroecology Research and Action (IALA-PR) arose as a result of an immediate need to support agroecology efforts in Puerto Rico. It supports and promotes agroecological collectives, providing access to administrative services, financing, physical resources (land, laboratories), and training for developing diverse skills to achieve food sovereignty.
A major focus of IALA-PR is on land access and defense of territory, aiming to support those struggling to remain rooted in their communities in the face of widespread displacement through rampant land grabbing and land speculation. It has developed and implemented a holistic campaign to defend the territory and to keep land in the hands of those working it. Through supporting organized peasants in formalizing the tenure of their land dedicated to agroecological projects, IALA-PR is advancing food sovereignty, environmental protection, wellbeing, and economic stability in Puerto Rico.
