Reflection on Systems and Patrix

In this OP we see a continued engagement with the hierarchical structures of academia, (and foreign aid as I begged USAID to give me funding to save land I loved) and how they uphold the opressions of class, race, and patriarchy, while at the same time also entice with opportunities for changing the system from within. One important experience which I did not include in this OP was when in 2014 I invited Jairo Restrepo, the revolutionary proponent of "Subversive Organic Agriculture" to speak at Zamorano. He was part of a class I was taking in a small town an hour past Zamorano and he was excited to speak at one of the largest agriculture schools in Latin America. He accused a lecture hall full of about 200 students and professors of being pawns of the biopirate corporations that poison people, with a slideshow showing folks with birth defects. He used permanent markers on all the white boards and accused professors of leading us astray and students of being complacent and asleep. It was truth to power being spoken. Also this is the man that wrote the manual on organic agriculture we use at Zamorano. Jairo is infamous for speaking at institutions and getting himself declared persona non grata. I thought my career at Zamorano was over. It was not. One of my friends told me a year later that that lecture opened his eyes. I like to think that I helped facilitate slightly less rude awakenings, and do not doubt that the people I collaborated with found insight and new knowledge in these un/learning environemnts. However it is difficult to foresee a life of fighting these uphill battles and carving out opportunities in these institutions. Working on my degree has made me bold for a period of time and now the reality of having to support myself starts to weigh more and more heavily and I truly wonder how my career will evolve into something that meets my needs and allows me to maintain my integrity. It remains to be discovered.

Capstone OP3. Regenerative Agriculture

Capstone OP3. Reflections

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