Common Table Project-Global Agriculture

Alma College Common Table Project

Creating dialog between Michigan agriculture and farmers in the developing world.  
 

Mission Statement

The Common Table Project seeks to pioneer a dialogue between rural residents in a “developing” region and those in the “breadbasket” of the U.S.  Grounded in the rural community of which Alma College is a part, the Common Table Project will initiate a global perspective on the cultural, economic, environmental, political, social, and technological pressures on agricultural practices and rural life and their impact on broader community sustainability.    This project is focused on developing processes that empower communities (rather than starting a new institution) to address the global rural changes linked to the New Agriculture and made most noticeable in human migration between Mexico and the U.S. and within the U.S.   The Project will test a process that will facilitate the collaboration of local communities, the college, its students, and experts, reconciling social and technological knowledge, reflected in the transformation of the rural lifestyle and agriculture in North America.  As a consequence, recommendations should be developed to make rural life, migration, and agriculture more humane, with renewed respect for life, human communities and human rights, especially of indigenous migrants.   Students of the college will gain from the project a refined understanding of their world and the relationship of diverse cultural, social, economic, and political systems.

Assumptions:

The needs of rural communities in the light of changes from the new agricultural revolution are not well represented in the curriculum and conversations related to the changes from globalization of agriculture.  While understanding that change is inevitable, the Common Table Project will presume that it should promote sustainable practices.   The new agricultural revolution is marked by:

1. industrialization of many forms of agriculture,
2. rationalization of land tenure,
3. increased use of chemicals,
4. full globalization of the food supply, and
5. the related revolution in bio-technology.

Although there is much theoretical research on related issues, the Common Table Project will take a distinctive approach, grounding its work in two very different yet specific communities to gain an accurate and empirical understanding of representative challenges to modern rural life.  

The globalization of food systems necessitates that the Common Table Project focus not simply on a rural community in the United States.  Yet, there are obvious problems of loss of focus inherent in trying to understand continent or world-wide trends.  Consequently, the Project will limit concern to two representative sites in North America:

1. Chihuahua, Mexico, and
2. Michigan, USA. 

Since a core rural issue is the dislocation of traditional rural communities and the resulting migration of people, as well as of plants and other animals, a central concern will be with the impacts of migration and defining the social justice issues linked to it. While committed to treating all people equally, of special concern will be the impacts of change and especially dislocation and migration on indigenous peoples. 

PROGRAMS:

A. The Field Sustainability Conferences, or Common Table, will be used to bring together residents of varied yet representative rural communities, especially rural youth (such as Future Farmers of America in the U.S.) and college/university students, especially from Alma, and people with an indigenous background.  Topics for conferences will vary, but focus on achieving sustainability in the midst of pressures for radical rural change, including:

1. Population dislocation,
2. Land tenure rationalization
3. Industrialization of agriculture,
4. Bio-technology innovation,
5. General environmental degradation,
6. Cultural modification, and
7. Weakening governance structures and processes.

Consequences of Common Table meetings may include:

1. Sponsorship of school and higher education curricular innovation (modeled both at Alma College and in schools in rural Mexico and mid-Michigan) to respond to rural changes,
2. Research and service projects (modeled at Alma College but developed in conjunction with community representatives in Mexico and mid-Michigan) that address needs and interests of affected communities, 
3. Dissemination through the participants of relevant knowledge in forms useable by community residents, and, ultimately
4. Modeling the restoration of greater balance and sustainability in rural communities.

The benefits of the working in interior Mexico will be to increase the likelihood that the proposed responses to change will incorporate the perspectives of a broader subsection of the global population than would be possible if only first world people and non-migrants were participating.  Travel for selected people from the two regions will be subsidized for general Common Table meetings, allowing for personal contacts across regions. 

B. Facilitation of the Common Table Advisory Groups:  Through the Common Table Project the College and representatives from each region (Mexico and mid-Michigan) will develop a process for the formation of non-governmental “Common Table groups” in each of the two regions.  While each regional group will need to create and structure the groups to fit with local conditions, the minimal standards will be openness, representative membership, and local control.  Funds will support student/youth internships with the project.  

C. Production of Community Information Reports:  Both the proceedings of the conferences and the results of any technical studies will result in publications for the “lay” public.  These publications intentionally will be made understandable to the residents of the participating communities.  The College’s faculty and students may also convert these lay research reports into more formal publication. 

D. Residency of Participants at Common Tables:  Because of the inherent dissolution of community roots by many migrants, the Common Table will maintain a mobile structure for gathering information on those displaced by the new agriculture (migrants), reactions from host communities, and special needs, such as for health access, human rights protection, and education service provision.  A goal of the program will be to recruit former migrants from Mexico to work with Common Table staff and students, offering migrant/indigenous perspectives at meetings and in publications.


PRODUCTS (results):

A. Globally linked, informed,  and empowered community leaders (to face challenges of
           globalization and the new agriculture);
B. Wiser youth (especially Alma College students and local students in both regions);
C. Accessible (useable) lay reports and supporting research on issues arising from new
    agriculture;
D. Technical assistance to communities, focused on rural sustainability;
E. Identification of human rights concerns of migrant/indigenous communities;
F. Invaluable experience with community service and research for Alma students and     
faculty, fitting with the College’s commitment to training globally responsible          leaders; and
G. Better informed rural/indigenous leaders in Mexico with invaluable exposure to global
        factors (especially institutions and policies) impacting their lives. .