 Zenaida Álvarez Arencibia takes charge of the garden in her cooperative. |
The voices of Moraima, Nersa, Zenaida, and other women who are leading the work in the field in the eight municipalities of Las Tunas are part of the experiences presented by the Agricultural Intercooperation Support Project (APOCOOP), at the First International Symposium on Cooperatives.
Las Tunas, Cuba.- The event, convened by the University of Havana, had on its last day the presentation “They Have the Floor: Women's Experiences within the Framework of Inter-cooperation with a Gender Equity Approach.”
This became an opportunity to learn more about their contribution to the materialization of initiatives that contribute to rural community development.
With exponents such as Moraima Martínez Reynaldo, the weaver who promoted the Copomalangueta craft venture; Nersa, the cooperative leader; and Zenaida, who cultivates an orchard and also takes care of her productions, this territory is represented in the investigation, which includes among its authors the journalist Zucel de la Peña Mora.
The contributions of the inter-cooperation and the stories of these and other women from Las Tunas, Guantánamo, Sancti Spíritus, and Artemisa, who also benefit from the Project, make up a book in progress that will soon be available, as announced by the Facebook page Ecotunero, of the Union of Cuban Journalists (UPEC), in this eastern province.
APOCOOP and its gender strategy include training, socio-economic, cultural, productive, and political actions, which have favored the growth of rural women, betting on their inclusion, and transformative leadership in the creation of local initiatives and food production, the Ecotunero summary points out.
The paper presented at the First International Symposium on Cooperatives reflected the multiple gaps that are still visible in this effort; shared stories that include values that go beyond the execution of the Project, and that demand a transformative approach.
In its different stages of implementation, APOCOOP has worked to find agricultural solutions based on the implementation of science and technology, and thus, overcome negative situations such as drought, soil desertification, and saline intrusion, benefits that came in the form of training and technologies to 40 productive units of this territory.
The Balcón de Oriente (Cuban Eastern Balcony) is now focused on generalizing and strengthening those inter-cooperation alliances that the initiative bequeathed, led by the National Association of Small Farmers (ANAP), and with the important participation of the University of Las Tunas and its different municipal headquarters.
