Contribute Your Committee’s History to the Sister Cities 25th Anniversary Book!

Dear Sister Cities members,

To commemorate Sister Cities 25th Anniversary, the Sister Cities Committee is creating a book about Sister Cities’ history with testimonies and stories from U.S. committees and our Salvadoran partners. We need your contributions to make this book possible.

Here are some suggestions to get you started writing:

Write about how and why your committee got started

Write about a local or national campaign your committee was or has been very active in (maybe it was the 80s, 90s, early 2000s, or now)

Write about your committee’s experiences visiting and sistering with your sister community

Tell a favorite story about your committee, your sister community, CRIPDES or Sister Cities

 We just got our first submission from MOFGA and it is exciting to read about the work they have been doing for the past 10 years and I can wait to read about all the work that has been done in the past 25 years. Below is the MOFGA history for you to look at and be inspired by. 

 

Thank you!

-Esther Chavez, Sister Cities History Committee

 

History and Challenges of the MOFGA/CCR/CORDES Sistering Relationship

 

Many factors threaten the survival of small farmers, including land acquisition, the costs of inputs, competition against giant agribusinesses, and the public’s expectation for cheap food. The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA) has been working toward solutions that address this reality for Maine farmers for 40 years. By promoting organic agriculture, supporting local food, educating the public, training future farmers and working on public policy, MOFGA has established itself as a state and national leader in the organic movement. As a result, the number of small organic farms in Maine—currently almost 600—has continued to grow, as has MOFGA’s membership—now at 6,300.

Many factors threaten the survival of small farmers, including land acquisition, the costs of inputs, competition against giant agribusinesses, and the public’s expectation for cheap food. The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA) has been working toward solutions that address this reality for Maine farmers for 40 years. By promoting organic agriculture, supporting local food, educating the public, training future farmers and working on public policy, MOFGA has established itself as a state and national leader in the organic movement. As a result, the number of small organic farms in Maine—currently almost 600—has continued to grow, as has MOFGA’s membership—now at 6,300. Many factors threaten the survival of small farmers, including land acquisition, the costs of inputs, competition against giant agribusinesses, and the public’s expectation for cheap food. The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA) has been working toward solutions that address this reality for Maine farmers for 40 years. By promoting organic agriculture, supporting local food, educating the public, training future farmers and working on public policy, MOFGA has established itself as a state and national leader in the organic movement. As a result, the number of small organic farms in Maine—currently almost 600—has continued to grow, as has MOFGA’s membership—now at 6,300.

Historically, MOFGA focused on Maine farmers. This shifted in 1998, when several members of MOFGA met with Esmeralda Miranda Rivera, then president of the CCR, who was here on tour. As we discussed farming in El Salvador, a new awareness emerged: We quickly realized that many of the problems and solutions of small farmers in both countries were similar. When Esmeralda said, “Wouldn’t it be interesting to have a sistering relationship of farming organizations?” the seeds of the MOFGA/CCR/CORDES relationship were sown.

Several MOFGA members joined a Bangor Sister City Committee-sponsored delegation to El Salvador in January 2000, so MOFGA members were able to discuss this idea further with CCR and CORDES. Over the next year, the MOFGA staff and board held many discussions, and in April 2001, MOFGA’s board unanimously approved a sistering project. The MOFGA/CCR/CORDES relationship was born.

The Sistering Committee, first an ad hoc committee of MOFGA, is now a full standing committee with board representation. Our work has focused on relationship building, advocacy and fair trade. We also have collaborated on various campaigns (such as freeing the Suchitoto 13) with the other two sister projects in Maine, WERU/Radio Sumpul and Bangor /Carasque, which has helped strengthen our work.

Our relationship is now 10 years old. It has been both satisfying and challenging. Having no template from which to design an organization-to-organization relationship, unique in our network, we have had to pave our own way. How do you develop ongoing relationships with a directiva that changes every two years? We have approached this in a variety of ways, including regular delegations to El Salvador, a delegation of our sisters to Maine, bimonthly phone calls with the CCR sistering representative, a biography exchange, having a committee member volunteer on the ground in El Salvador, advocacy on the mining issue, human rights, etc. All have all helped move this relationship forward.

Another challenge we have had to deal with is skepticism from some MOFGA members about why MOFGA would focus on farmers in El Salvador when we have so many concerns about farmers in Maine. We have worked hard to break down this barrier to understanding, with some success—notably, on June 4, 2007, MOFGA’s board passed its “MOFGA Support For Sustainable, Organic Farming Worldwide” resolution, which says: “MOFGA supports sustainable, organic farming regardless of geographic boundaries. Recognizing our interdependence, MOFGA is committed to building relationships, when appropriate, with farmers and movements who share our mission. Fostering such solidarity benefits Maine farmers and consumers.”

Understanding the importance of small-scale, traditional, organic farming and gardening has increased worldwide during the past few years. We believe that the sistering relationship between MOFGA and CCR/CORDES has been one of the seeds that helped sow this garden of recognition. We look forward to its continued flourishing.

 

UPDATE 15/1/20. You can order a copy of our book here.

 

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