Sikkim is located in northeast India, on the border with Bhutan, Tibet, and Nepal. It is part of the Himalayas, and forests, pastures and steep mountainsides make up most of Sikkim’s fragile ecosystem. It is also home to 66,000 farmers.

In 2003, the previous chief minister (Mr Pawan Kumar Chamling) began the process of making Sikkim 100 % organic. This ambitious goal was achieved in 2015 when Sikkim became the first fully organic state…

Hugu Setuj from Pongso no Tao island (Orchid Island, off the coast of Taiwan), explains the traditional and community management of his island's fisheries, which is borne out of a deep respect and understanding of marine life and biodiversity.

Tao mythology tells of an inter-species pact between the Tao and black flying fish ancestors, and an agreement to use appropriate fishing methods. The lunar and ecological calendar (​ahehep no tao)​ govern the Tao seas to…

ADVANCE REGISTRATION REQUIRED. LIMITED SPACES: 500

Find out how grazing on the bioactive forages might be the answer to effective, reliable worm control – a crucial insight as anthelmintic resistance becomes an increasing issue for sheep farmers. We focus on research and trials exploring bioactive forages (heather, chicory and Lucerne), and nematophagus fungi.

With anthelmintic resistance becoming an increasing issue, and reducing reliance on contentious inputs an important goal, finding alternative worm controls has become…

African Earth Jurisprudence Practitioners from West and Southern Africa share their stories of working with traditional land-based communities in the revival of their seed and food sovereignty, the restoration of their sacred natural sites and the strengthening of their ecological governance systems, inspired by Earth Jurisprudence and indigenous cosmologies.

Across Africa, a network of Earth Jurisprudence Practitioners is accompanying traditional and indigenous communities in the revival and enhancement of their Earth-centred customary governance systems.…

For the last few months, farmer groups in India have been protesting. In the largest protest of its kind by farmer groups in over 3 decades, farmers have marched on the capital city of Delhi, occupying highways and launching strikes. They have received the support of all opposition parties in the country, of solidarity demonstrations internationally, of Indian trade unions and beyond.

The strike centres on a package of three laws passed by Narendra Modi’s…

Agroecological food systems will not reach critical mass if there are just small “islands” of agroecological farms. Mechanisms for scaling up are essential. This session will explore how and why the state government of Andhra Pradesh, an Indian state with a population of 54 million, works with women's self help organizations to support millions of farmers to transition to agroecology. CMNF is one of the most promising initiatives in the world in massively scaling up…

Rogelio and his daughter Michel Simbaña of the Kitu-Kara Nation share with us their experiences of 20 years, starting with a mini organic garden and growing up to two interconnected farms in different ecosystems, their work with their local community preserving the Sacred Mountain Ilaló, and the organic shop they opened in February, just in time for the Covid-related food crisis.

Rogelio was born and raised as a poor indigenous farmer. When he was…

The transformation of the food system relies on the effective organising of locally rooted movements and struggles around the world. This work is impossible without challenging approaches rooted in the dominance of colonial languages (in particular English, French and Spanish) and without structures and platforms that ensure and facilitate for everyone’s voices and languages to be heard.

Agroecology at its heart respects the traditions and linguistic heritage of diverse land based cultures. Therefore, it…

Beekeeping is accessible to everyone: it doesn’t require ownership of land, capital investment or great time commitment, but it brings benefits of pollination and harvests of nutritious food and medicine. Local bees, local materials and the knowledge of local beekeepers provide all that is needed; skills in understanding bees and forage in the landscape can be learned. Recognising the dependence of bees on abundant and unpolluted landscapes becomes an incentive for beekeepers to protect and…