Project 460687

In the context of intersecting social-ecological emergencies (i.e., COVID-19 pandemic and extreme weather events), community- and Indigenous-led organizations are looking for new approaches to support small-scale farmers to define and control local food production and distribution to reduce vulnerability and enhance resilience to external shocks. This partnership building and planning process will explore opportunities for collaboration with community-led organizations in Guatemala and El Salvador to support their efforts in enhancing food sovereignty and improving nutrition among Indigenous and non-Indigenous small-scale farming households in rural and remote settings. Anchored by a collaboration between Canadian researchers and Mennonite Central Committee Guatemala-El Salvador, and guided by the Canadian Coalition for Global Health Research's Principles for Global Health Research, this partnership building and planning process will centre the voices and priorities of community- and Indigenous-led organizations on the frontlines of local food system transformation in Guatemala and El Salvador. Specific objectives of this work include: 1) To understand facilitators and barriers related to food sovereignty work across organizations and settings through a participatory planning workshop; 2) To develop needs assessments with community-led organizations to generate an in-depth understanding of research priorities and directions; and 3) To compile and synthesize findings from the planning processes to inform the design of subsequent collaborative research, including opportunities for trainee-led research. At the conclusion of the partnership building and planning process, we will have established a network of organizations and researchers committed to collaborative and community-based research focused on enhancing food sovereignty and improving nutrition among small-scale farming households in Guatemala and El Salvador.