On May 10, hundreds of community members, climate justice supporters, and grassroots organizations gathered with Grassroots International and the Boston Public Library to share stories and hear words of wisdom from international Climate Justice leaders: Naomi Klein, award-winning journalist, author...
In early May, small-scale farmers traveled from all over Brazil to bring their goods to the second National Fair of Agrarian Reform in São Paulo organized by Grassroots International Partner the Landless Workers Movement (MST). According to organizers, 170,000 people...
Thanks to the commitment of our generous supporters and the courage of our global partners, Grassroots International is stepping up for climate change solutions. Through the Climate Justice Initiative campaign (CJI), Grassroots International is raising money to invest in community-led programs...
Research has shown that our planet has the ability to produce enough food to feed all those that inhabit it. So why then are there millions of people suffering and even dying from starvation and thirst? The answer comes down...
The Brazilian state of Bahia reverberates with a strong and vibrant Afro-Brazilian history and culture. Its main city of Salvador was one of the first cities established by the Portuguese, and it was the first port in the Americas to...
In September 2016, Grassroots International and our colleagues at IDEX participated in an amazing learning exchange in Brazil.
We join our partners in Brazil in denouncing the recent vote to oust democratically elected president Dilma Rousseff from Brazil. The parliamentary procedures, led by known corrupt politicians, amount to a coup d'etat designed to install conservative policies and right-wing leaders that had repeatedly been turned away by Brazilian voters.
Yesterday, May 12, the Brazilian Senate voted to begin the impeachment trial of President Dilma Rousseff in what many many Brazilian are calling an institutional and neoliberal coup. Dilma has been withdrawn from office for 180 days pending the results of Supreme Court proceedings. For her part, Dilma has vowed to fight the proceedings and has called on supporters -- both of her presidency and of democracy -- to take to the streets in protest.
Right wing forces in Brazil are using all kinds of sneaky tricks to remove the democratically elected President Dilma Rousseff and take power. They have the backing (both official and unofficial) of major corporations, the Brazilian elite and the media (especially the Globo Network who monopolizes media in Brazil.)
The challenges faced by indigenous peoples often transcend geographical location, so it’s not surprising that indigenous groups in India and Brazil share similar stories of oppression and strife.
Humanity cannot solve its problems with one hand effectively tied behind its back. Yet, given the state of women’s rights globally, this is metaphorically the case. One of the guiding principles of Grassroots International's work is the recognition and support of women’s agency in the struggle for justice and liberation – not just to advance women’s leadership (though that is a goal) but also because women’s engagement and leadership are necessary to push us all forward.
Grassroots International and our global partners are leading the way in developing sustainable solutions to the biggest challenges facing our world. From farming cooperatives and seed banks, to passing laws that protect ancestral lands and defending the human right to land, water, and food, together we take on big struggles and win important gains. Below are just some of the successes achieved in 2014 with support from Grassroots International, standing up to challenge poverty, climate disruption and human rights abuses.
Moving Towards an International Declaration on the Rights of Peasants
Think of the seed as the first link of the food chain. If this prime component is compromised, the chain becomes untenable. What’s more, if corporate interests control seeds, we are all subjugated to their agenda at every subsequent link of the chain. In fact, the preponderance of GMO and copyrighted seeds from agribusiness laboratories and mono-cropped fields already determine to a frightening degree the foods we can buy and eat. To counter these billion dollar agro-corporate interests, seed sovereignty activists have sought strength in their greatest resources — their knowledge and collective power.
Think of the seed as the first link of the food chain. If this prime component is compromised, the chain becomes untenable. Whats more, if corporate interests control seeds, we are all subjugated to their agenda at every subsequent link of the chain. In fact, the preponderance of GMO and copyrighted seeds from agribusiness laboratories and mono-cropped fields already determine to a frightening degree the foods we can buy and eat. To counter these billion dollar agro-corporate interests, seed sovereignty activists have sought strength in their greatest resources their knowledge and collective power.