Learner document

Katalina Sánchez González

03/12/2013

PAE302 Agroecology: action learning in farming and food

systems

Norwegian University of Life Sciences

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................. 2

Abstract ................................................................................................................................................. 2

Background ............................................................................................................................................. 2

Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 3

Motivations and expectations about the learning process ............................................................... 4

Starting the Cycle ................................................................................................................................ 4

What is Agroecology? ........................................................................................................................... 6

Context .................................................................................................................................................. 7

Network of Ideas .................................................................................................................................. 9

Communication .................................................................................................................................... 14

Resilience .............................................................................................................................................. 16

What is next? ..................................................................................................................................... 17

Closing the first cycle ........................................................................................................................ 17

Glossary ................................................................................................................................................ 18

References ............................................................................................................................................ 18

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND

Being almost at the end of the course PAE302 Agroecology: action learning in farming
and food systems, probably the best way to contextualise this Learner document may be
explaining the reason that motivated me to study agroecology. Thinking about the reasons
that brought me to take part of this course now could be influenced by what I have
already seen in class, therefore I prefer to start by presenting a fragment of the motivation
letter I wrote while I applied to this master’s programme.

Reasons for applying and career plans

Indicate the reasons for applying to the International Master in Agroecology. What idea do you have of
this course, and what do you expect from it? What are your personal skills and abilities for such a
program and your possible preparation to undertake this course? What are your career plans upon
completion of the program?

The reasons for applying to the International Master in Agroecology are diverse. First of all, as an
Agricultural Engineer, I am interested in all concerning crop and food systems. During my degree, I
oriented my studies to crop production, field mostly focused on technical and economic aspects of food
systems. However, my interest for other items, like social and environmental ones linked to the rural world,
got me to take optional classes such as Rural Development, Introduction to the Development Cooperation
and Range Management. This last class brought me to know the ecosystem approach, not only applied to
the range management, but also to agricultural systems in general. […].

Later, during the redaction of my degree paper called “Characterization and project of improvements for
the extensive meat cattle husbandry on “La Flor” farm (Colombia)”, I could deepen my knowledge in
agroforestery techniques, as the livestock farm object of the study is in a region of desertification risk and
my main goal was to propose a sustainable livestock system. Doing this project motivated me to study
agroecology more, because it integrates some aspects that I consider essential for the future of agriculture,
one of the fundamental pillars for humanity.

Another reason which motivated me to choose agroecology as my specialization field is the country where
I was born. Colombia is a country where the rural development model is totally out of date and do not
correspond at all with needs of the majority of the rural population: […]. This inefficiency in agrarian and
forest resource use, among other economic and social problems, brought me to think about the future of
agriculture in Colombia, finding out that work must be done in a holistic perspective rather than following
the same sector policies that successive governments have applied till now.

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 My idea of this course, after reading the presentation, the programme and its goals, is that it responds to
my expectations in a quite complete way. First because it integrates the issues that I am really interested
in, namely rural development, food security, and environmental protection. Second because it permits
people to have a global view about different agrarian systems, both in develop countries and in developing
countries. Eventually because it is professionally oriented so that it shortens the distance between practice
and theory, allowing students to confront directly situations they will meet in their professional life. […].
Another point that I consider important from the teaching method proposed in this course is that it
motivates and develops individual and group action skills.

[…]

As I have already said, I think about working directly with rural communities after my training in
agroecology, in principle in Colombia. The present peace process involving the Colombian government and
the guerrilla initiated last year in Norway centres on land restitution to small farmers and the
modernisation of rural regions through transfer of knowledge and technology policies. It represents a huge
challenge needing many professionals from different fields in order to establish the programmes rising
from the new rural development policy. With the interdisciplinary training offered by the International
Master in Agroecology, I think I will be well trained enough to participate in this process of rural
development. However, I remain open to work in other countries, convinced that agriculture is a
fundamental issue in the sustainable development of all countries around the world.

Since the beginning of this course, one of the central theme has been the influence of
humans on their environment, e.g. all the practices used in farming systems. I guess this
document could be the opportunity to reflect on how the environment has influenced my
way to observe, understand and interact with the world around me. I hope my reflections
will not be boring, and that I would be able to establish with you dear reader a constructive
dialogue.

INTRODUCTION

“La ignorancia es atrevida” (Domingo Faustino Sarmiento) was a quote my father used
to say when I was I child. A similar quote in English may be Fools rush in where angels
fear to tread, and the more I think about it while observing the world around me, the
better I am convinced of its relevance. Here I do not refer to ignorance as a lack of
knowledge, but more as a lack of awareness of what can be done with this knowledge. We
are living in a moment of History in which the development of technologies in the fields
of information and communication are offering us the possibility to access to a large range
of knowledge. However, I am not sure that it has helped significantly to solve the main
challenges humanity faces, such as climate change, food security, gender issues, etc.

Questioning oneself constantly, taking time to reflect on what one is doing and why, is
probably the best way to improve and to change direction when loosing north of the
project undertaken. Not everybody does it spontaneously, meaning that is a skill that may

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 be acquired, and for that it must be learnt. Learning is a process, a constant process.
Being able to understand that could be the starting point to develop a new basis to work
and, why not, to live.

Learning to learn is probably something new for most of the people, including me. And
when this learning process become the purpose of a paper, it can be challenging to cross
this barrier that separates it from the conventional way to learn that focuses on achieving
a goal while relegating the process of learning to a secondary position.

Therefore this document pretends to be in a first stage a compilation of reflections and

find outs about the process of learning in the context of Agroecology. In a second stage,
it would be a platform to go beyond the personal learning scale to a larger scale where it
could be possible to apply the knowledge acquired.

MOTIVATIONS AND EXPECTATIONS ABOUT THE LEARNING PROCESS

More than goals, I prefer to use the terms “motivations” and “expectations” to express
what I would like to achieve with this document.

My motivations have already been expressed in the background. Agroecology, and this
particular course, are still for me the way to understand better the world around me and
to develop competencies to work on changing it, or at least try it. However, I must say
that meeting people with different backgrounds and perspectives, but with a common
willingness to face global and local challenges regarding food systems, motivates me even
more to follow this direction because it means for me that I am not in a wrong way.

Regarding my expectations about this learning process, I think they are mainly related to
acquiring knowledge and competencies that can help me to perform in the best way any
future job I will have to accomplish.

STARTING THE CYCLE

Learning is a process, a constant process. Reflection is the basis for learning and that
means questioning oneself constantly. The questions that articulate this reflective
document are:

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  What did I observe?
 What did I feel about?
 What did I learn?
 What do I do with this knowledge?

These questions come from the multi-perspective analysis explained in class and they are
applied to the activities presented in this course: lectures, seminars, workshops, reflection
sessions, reading scientific papers, peer review, teamwork, and case visits.

The diagram below, adapted from Kolb cycle, shows the way this document is structured,
in order to understand better the methodology used to present the information resulting
from the learning process.

The concepts around the circle come from my understanding of agroecology. Context,
communication, network, and resilience are ideas developed by Gregory Bateson and other
scholars in an attempt to connect all the disciplines of knowledge and provide a better
approach to reconcile humans with nature. And I think this is what agroecology represents
for me: developing food and farming systems able to conciliate human activities with
nature.

Context Communication

LEARNING PROCESS

Network of ideas Resilience

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 Although the document is divided into different sections, learning is a cyclic process and
all the parts viewed separately are actually connected to each other. The links among
the sections are also emphasised.

WHAT IS AGROECOLOGY?

“The major problems in the world are the results of the difference between how nature
works and the way people think.”
Gregory Bateson

Starting the course in Agroecology with a vague definition of agroecology and ending it
with more or less the same description can be a little bit discouraging. Probably it is not
a matter of definition, probably it is just a question of entering into a new dimension of
thinking the world. Wezel et al. (2009) (1) describe Agroecology as a science, a movement
and a practice. The first thing that caught my attention when I read this paper in the
beginning of the course was the importance of the context. The second was related to
the need scientists, farmers and peasants around the world have had to re-establish a
connection between agriculture and nature. Eventually, the authors’ purpose was to show
the importance of a clear explanation of our point of view regarding agroecology when
communicating our findings regarding this field.

Several weeks later, when it was almost the end of the course, we were shown the
documentary “Ecology of Mind” produced by Nora Bateson. This film was for me like a
“revelation” in the sense that it allowed me to connect all together the concepts, methods,
approaches, etc. we had been learning during the course. I felt like I was making a puzzle
and this movie was the last piece I needed to see the whole. Obviously, it does not mean
that now I know everything about agroecology. It just means that I felt my “initiation”
to agroecology was done, or at least partly done. Context, communication, network of
ideas, and resilience became for me the fundamental pillars of a bridge I, as a future
agroecologist, must build between
Context, communication, network of
people and nature through food and
ideas, and resilience became for me
farming systems responding to this
the fundamental pillars of a bridge I, as
need. It is my way of understanding
a future agroecologist, must build
agroecology and I am sure that you dear
between people and nature through
read, have a completely different wiew.
food and farming systems responding
to this need.

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 And therefore, this is something new that I learnt in this course: accepting that each one
has his/her own way to understand things is the first step to establish a constructive
dialogue leading eventually to a better interaction with nature. Or at least I hope so.

CONTEXT
“Without context, words and actions have no meaning at all. […].”
G. Bateson

Over the course, I observed many examples where the context was emphasised to explain
a situation. I found some of them quite representative. The first example is given by
Koont (2004) (2) who describes the situation of Cuba in the last 20 years and shows
how a state is forced to change its macro- and microeconomic policies in order to adapt
to a new international political context and be able to feed its population. The second
example is the case seen in the film about ecological intensification in Abraha Atsbeha
village, Tigray, Ethiopia. Facing consequences of desertification, the community instead of
abandoning its village, decided to stay and by implementing ecological intensification
practices, managed to change its livelihood.

In both cases after reflecting on the situations and trying to making a link between them,
I understood that one of the main motivations for change is the context: if the context
(socio-economic, political, or environmental) constraints people to change, they do it. In
my opinion, this is especially true when the critical situation concerns food production.

Of course many other factors motivate change: leadership, social capital are other key
elements that empower communities to make any change that improves their livelihood. I
do not pretend to say that if we are not constraint by the situation, we are not willing
to change. I do believe in human’s capacity to envision a better life even though the
situation is not binding. Empathy and solidarity are good examples of that, I think.

Boundaries: Global vs. Local

In addition, talking about context reminds me another aspect we discussed several times
during the course: boundaries and scales. Global vs. local became through lectures, seminars,
reflection sessions and workshops a constant dilemma. Is globalisation the cause of all our
problems, especially in a food system context? Is local-scale the solution to all our troubles?

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 Sometimes I felt disappointed to see plenary sessions around this topic becoming discussions
with a Manichaean view of scales in food systems. It is true that we saw several cases
where global scale presents a number of problems. The Global issues workshop has been
probably the best moment where we discussed some of the challenges the world is facing.
A good illustration has been seen in the video of Raj Patel’s speech at UMB. By asking
“who benefits of this [the global] food system?” he gives the example of India where the
economic policy reforms in the 1990’s were followed by disastrous consequences like
increasing type 2 diabetes cases, farmers’ suicide, and billionaires while the majority of the
population lives under the poverty line. On the other hand, we saw several times how
small communities succeeded in developing their food systems by small-scale practices.

Nevertheless, I do think that is more a matter of context rather than scale. Reading the
paper from Born & Purcell (2006) (3) about the local trap, motivated me because I felt
that it supported my reflections about
this topic. Nothing is inherent to a scale
thus it should be seen as a strategy
rather than a goal. It is what I learnt
from our discussion during the reflection
session treating this topic and later, a
discussion with my classmate Christopher
Bradburn let me think about a further
idea: global issues affecting everybody
cannot be faced in the same way everywhere because of different contexts. Deciding the
scale we want to work on is subject to site conditions and communities’ willingness to join
together if they feel they are facing similar challenges with similar conditions. For this
reason in the context of food systems, I was inspired by the metaphor of Foodshed: “How
better to grasp the shape and the unity of something as complex as a food system than
to graphically imagine the flow of food into a particular place?” Kloppenburg, Hendrickson
& Stevenson (1996) (4). Like its analogue the watershed, the foodshed can cover a great
geographical area or a smaller one!

I think drawing rich pictures has been a very useful tool to understand the context in
each situation presented to us during this course.

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 NETWORK OF IDEAS

“I do not believe in things. I believe only in their relationships.

Georges Braque (1882-1963)

Another important aspect of this course has been the relationships among elements. Once
the context has been established, it is necessary to identify the elements in a situation
and how they are interconnected. A few times we talked about arts as a way to
communicate ideas and their relations1. Later, I appreciated the analogy presented in
“Ecology of Mind” of any situation with a painting: its beauty, aesthetics can come only
from seeing the relationship between things and not from analysing each part individually.

Again, I think this film helped me to see the significance of the systems thinking
methodology.

The lecture about Agricultural systems given by Prof Sriskandarajah in the first weeks of
the course was an introduction to systems thinking. Although it was not the first time I
was taught about theory of systems and systemic approach, I must recognise that it was
the first lecture exclusively dedicated to these concepts and that therefore I realise that
my knowledge in this field was very weak. But it was probably too theoretical for me,
this is what I thought after the lecture. And I guess it was because we saw many concepts
and a new and vary terminology that I was not able to assimilate in one day. However,
the last part of the lecture which was about learning styles, brought me a new perspective
of myself. But I will talk about that later.

Fortunately over the course all these concepts and methods were explained again. The
most interesting for me has been to see the applicability of this methodology in the “real
world”.

Connecting theory with practice

The best way to understand the relationship between elements in a particular situation
has been in my opinion the case visits. In three opportunities we were confronted to the
“out there” and we had to connect the practical experience to the theory learnt in class.

1 During the Panel discussion on "Organic agriculture in a global context" on the 15th of October 2013, I
remember a person from the audience asked to the panellists about the role of arts in promoting ideas of
sustainability in food systems, especially how to resume contact with agriculture.

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  Stange: the Fokhol experience

Our first excursion. Our first time “out there”. It was my first visit to a new place in
Norway, after Oslo and Ås. We were told so many good things about this farm, especially
about the food, that I was very excited to go. And I was not disappointed!

Practice

Working one day in a farm Interviewing the farmer

- Transect walk: observing the farm - Discussion: learning more

environment about challenges faced but
- Action: being on the shoes of a farmer also dreams, principles, and
- Interaction: seeing the farmer as a person values motivating the farmer

Drawing a rich picture

- Organising our thoughts

- Agreeing on the way of presenting our ideas
- Communicating our findings to the others

Theory

This field work was a good introduction to what we were expected to do in the case work
later in the course. My first impression about the farm we visited was that this kind of
farming (biodynamic) is probably not the best way to feed the world. Living from “love
and fresh water” does not help to produce enough food and be economically self-sufficient.
Later I understood that probably that is not the point: analysing exclusively the farm
without looking at the big picture in which it is embedded and the interactions it has
with the whole is like dissecting a Picasso in order to contemplate its beauty. The job the
farmers we met do to promote animal welfare and raise awareness about our need to
reconnect with agriculture is invaluable.

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  Stine Mehus’ farm

Short visit, but very instructive!

Practice

Visiting an organic farm

- Interaction: listening to the farmer’s stories and asking questions

- Observation of farm environment
- On field lecture about soil management: a microcosm under our feet.

Hawkesbury “peanut” model

- Describing the farming system

Theory

It was for me the first time in all my studies to see how practice connects with theory.
I remembered my field trips during my bachelor, very interesting sometimes, but where
the relationship between the real world and what we learnt during the lectures was not
emphasised. Was it because of my lack of understating the whole? Was it because of the
traditional way of teaching? I do not know.

That day at Stine’s farm, I was impressed by her way to start her farming system: from
her desire to growing organic raspberries to a divers system including animals and crops.
And to close the day with the icing on the cake, the reflection session we had in the
afternoon. At that moment I saw the importance of sharing ideas, impressions, and
observations with the others in order to have a better view of the whole.

Eventually, I was introduced to this dilemma, new for me, about nutrients cycle: in terms
of nutrients, it is better to sell animal products than plant products. The reason is that
there is a greater part of the nutrients recycled in the first case (manure as organic
fertiliser) while in the second situation, the amount of nutrients exported from selling

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 plant products (vegetables, grains, etc.) is very high. However, we know the challenges of
an animal-based diet related to energy efficiency and land use. For me it was very
interesting to see this disjunction between the external or global perspective (the need of
going down in the trophic level to be able to feed more people) and the organic farming
perspective (keeping nutrients and energy cycles in order to be more self-sufficient).

 Case work: Vestfold

The most challenging of the case visits, of course. First of all because of the time and
energy. Second, because we were confront to complex situations that, in addition to our
attention and understanding, required our competency to bring ideas.

Practice

Farming system Food system

- Case visit I: interview and transect
walk
- Case visit II: visioning and first
steps of an action plan
- Case visit I: interviews and visit of
stakeholders’ work places
- Case visit II: public meeting 
creating shared vision and first
steps of an action plan

Qualitative Systems thinking Visioning

methods and
- Rich picture - Rich
interviewing
- Understanding systems : diagramming vision

Theory

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 Eventually we were confronted to complexity, this “messy” situation so often mentioned
by our teachers. Probably the scheme above does not show the difficulty to prepare
interviews, to organise the meetings, to deal with different perspectives, to analyse data
collected, and to communicate results so that they make a little bit of sense. However,
it has allowed me to see the utility of diagrams as a tool to “presenting complex ideas in
a simple an easily understood form” Armson (2011) (5).

In addition to learning about farming and food systems in Norway (the lecture about
Agriculture in Norway has been very useful to understand the context of the case work),
I could introduce myself a little bit more in Norwegian society. It was really interesting
for me to see the idiosyncrasy of Norwegians, not only related to food, but also related
to gender equity for example. It was grateful for me to see that Anne-Grete, our farming
system client, had the dream to run a farm and for that, she and her husband bought
one. In principle this should not surprise me, a husband supporting his wife to realise her
dream is something in my opinion basic in a relationship. However, comparing this situation
with Colombia, where farming is still a male-exclusive field and that is normally for the
husband to take the important decisions (like buying a farm), I realised that there is still
a very long way to go.

That also make me think about the fact that food around the world is manly produced
by women2, nevertheless they are still worldwide relegated to the background regarding
decision-making power, domestic economy management, inter alia. Empowerment of women
is obviously a matter of education, not only addressed to them, but also to men. Moreover,
it is a question of recognising that they are essential in preserving our phytogenetic legacy,
our biodiversity, our traditional knowledge, etc.

Everything is interconnected. My ideas as well.

2During the World Rural Women’s Day (the 15th of October), I attended the workshop Food Security and
Climate Solutions in Rural Women’s Hands where one of the guests was Vandana Shiva. She gave us
some data from FAO about women’s participation in world food production.

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 COMMUNICATION

Communication in the food system

Confronted since the beginning of the course to one of my biggest challenge, communicating
my ideas, I totally agree with the necessity of a good communication in order to build a
better world.

Over the course we saw several times the lack of communication in the food system. The
gap between farmers and consumers is the recurrent example discussed in class. In Vestfold
case work, I could also observe this
situation: more than once we were “We argue that current market trends, […],
told the lack of consumers’ tend to impede the reception,
understanding and communication of
awareness about the origin of the
feedback in the food system.”
food, the way it is produced, the
Sundkvist, Milestad & Jansson (2005) (6)
distance travelled, etc. Sundkvist,
Milestad & Jansson (2005) (6) identify the modern market as the factor that prevents
actors in the food system from being aware of what happens in other parts of the food
chain. According to them, enhancing communication between actors seem the way to
establish proper feedback so that corrective actions can be implement to improve the food
system: “Tightened feedback loops are needed to increase society’s ability to pick up signals
from ecosystem, to respond to change and to adapt management practices and consumption
patterns accordingly.” (6).

It is evident that the role of consumers is essential in the way the food system works.
As Raj Patel mentioned during his speech at UMB, the “path and way we set our life
influence our relationship with food”. Many times throughout lectures, seminars, and
workshops we highlighted the need of a reflection about our way of eating.

This following digression is relevant for me because it helps me to understand my role in

the food system as a consumer and an agroecologist. Later the connection will be made
and I apologise in advance dear reader for this aside.

One day, one of our tasks to improve our skill of observation, we were asked to observe
a person eating and taking notes in order to write our reflections on the assignment.

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 Part of my reflection was: “[…]. The scene seems to be a “normal” eating act, but after
analysing the scene I think it is interesting to discuss about the way these students
interact with their food. Something that impressed me was the attitude of A. It was
not clear what her priority was: talking to her friend, checking her emails, calling, reading
her notes, or eating. I think she was not thinking at all on her food, if it was good, if it
was really what she wanted, if she enjoyed it. For instance, I could probably guess that
she did not think about where the sandwich she bought came from, how it was made,
which kind of products were used. This is what Wendell Berry3 refers to when he says:
“[…] the eater may think of eating as, first, a purely commercial transaction between
him and a supplier and then as a purely appetitive transaction between him and his food.”
[…]”.

Reading back what I wrote, linked to what I saw during all this course (the amount of
food wasted because of our way of consuming, considering food as a commodity and its
serious consequences on peasants and environment, etc.), leads me think about a real need
to re-establish this connection between consumers and agriculture. And as I have already
mentioned, this must be through a communication (education, campaigns, etc.). It is in
this precise moment that I switch from my role as consumer to my role as agroecologist.

Learning to communicate to make a change

The lecture about dialogue was undoubtedly a focal point in my way of communicating.
Something as obvious as listening to others in order to share ideas in a constructive way
became for me a real challenge while working in group. And tips given during the course
like “tell me more”, “yes, and” instead of “yes, but”, have been very useful for me.

Why is it important thinking in terms of dialogue instead of discussion or debate?

According to Marjorie Parker, “[…] it’s a process for transforming the quality of
conversation and the thinking that lies beneath it. It is about inquiring and collective
learning.” Facilitation. Farmer field schools. Diversity Icebreaker. Qualitative methods

3"The Pleasures of Eating" from WHAT ARE PEOPLE FOR? by Wendell Berry. Copyright © 1990 by
Wendell Berry.

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 including interview techniques. My position in Kolb’s cycle: my way of understanding and
acting. Group work and group dynamic.

“Others have seen what is and asked why. I have seen what could be and asked why
not.”
Pablo Picasso (1895-1972)

Participatory approach: visioning, shared vision; public meeting.

As a central part of the Action learning approach (Lieblein, Østergaard &Francis, 2004)
(6), what we did during these case visits - i.e. learning from experience - has had a great
impact in my way of learning.

RESILIENCE

Understanding a complex system in constant change

“If there is diversity, there is no deficiency.”

Vandana Shiva

One of the ecological principles. Ecosystems, agro-ecosystems, humans. Flexibility,

adaptability, changeability. Understanding the others’ perspectives and accepting that
each one has own way to understand things. Food security or food sovereignty?
Ecological sanitation, nutrients cycles: needs to reconsider our water and soil
management. Technical part is there, but we need to adapt to cultural, religious, social
part to be able to bring something new. Action research.

Organic, Biodynamic, Permaculture, DFS…what is the best?

African Green Revolution.

Later, the lecture about ecological sanitation and also discussions with my classmate Eva
Karachristianidis led to a reflection about the need of a more plant-based diet and the
possibilities of using human manure in order to recycle nutrients, especially phosphorus,
and become less animal-dependent. Although I have discovered a great opportunity to face
some global issues (reducing synthetic fertilisers dependency, water pollution, etc.), I still
think that decreasing livestock around the world has to be contextualise. In my opinion,
we cannot consider a plant-based diet as the only way to feed more people. It depends

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 on the context: communities living in regions where it is difficult to practice agriculture
(close to the North Pole, in high mountains, in the Sahara, etc.) and that have evolved
in a system where animal-based diet has been their way to survive, cannot be compel to
change their habits. On the other hand, if a plant-based diet provides a higher production
of food, it does not mean that famines worldwide will disappear. In this case, other factors
enter into account (political, economic, social, etc.).

WHAT IS NEXT?
“It is your business the world you want to live in.”
Gregory Bateson

What do I do with knowledge? I would like to reflect on what can be done with all this
knowledge acquired, although it is too early to suggest any application. Thesis topic. The
world “out there” waiting for me.

Connection with what is happening in Colombia. Criminalising biodiversity: case of

intellectual property in seeds. Peasants’ strike. Peace talks.

CLOSING THE FIRST CYCLE

¿Por qué la tierra es mi casa?
¿Por qué la noche es oscura?
¿Por qué la luna es blancura
que engorda como adelgaza?
¿Por qué una estrella se enlaza
con otra, como un dibujo?
Y ¿por qué el escaramujo
es de la rosa y el mar?
Yo vivo de preguntar:
saber no puede ser lujo.
Silvio Rodríguez

Questioning oneself constantly, taking time to reflect on what one is doing and why, is
probably the best way to improve and to change direction when loosing north of the
project undertaken. Being a cyclic process according to Kolb, learning…

17
 GLOSSARY

REFERENCES

1. Wezel, A., et al. Agroecology as a science, a movement and a practice. A review. Agronomy for
Sustainable Development. EDP Sciences, 2009.

2. Koont, S. Food security in Cuba. Monthly Review. 2004, Vol. 55, 8.

3. Born, B. et Purcell, M. Avoiding the Local Trap. Scale and Food Systems in Planning Research.
Journal of Planning Education and Research 26:195-207. Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning,
2006.

4. Kloppenburg, J., Hendrickson, J. et Stevenson, G.W. Coming in to the Foodshed. Agriculture and
Human Values. 1996, Vol. 13, 3.

5. Armson, Rosalind. Growing Wings On The Way. Systems Thinking For Messy Situations. s.l. :
Triarchy Press, 2011.

6. Lieblein, G., Østergaard, E. et Francis, C. Becoming an Agroecologist through Action Education.

International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability. 2004, Vol. 2, 3.

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