Organic farmer in Nicaragua fights for his land, impresses visiting Lutheran students
An Organic farmer in Nicaragua shared his struggle to maintain a farm with two visiting Lutheran students on a Fair Trade mission. Surrounded by bigger interests, organic farmer Martin Vincente Padilla impressed the students with his dedication to the environment. The two Northern Michigan University (NMU) students – Lisa McCarthy of Greenville, WI and Sarah Swanson of Rapid River, MI – are giving presentations across the Upper Peninsula on their recent Lutheran World Relief trip to Nicaragua during which they met with coffee farmers and learned about fair trade. This is the first of several excerpts from their presentation. Parts 1 & 2: www.youtube.com www.youtube.com In part three, the students describe how the women of Nicaragua are treated with respect, the importance of families and the environmental protection efforts of one Nicaragua’s organic farmers. As members of the NMU EarthKeeper Student Team, the students were touched by the story of farmer Martin Vincente Padilla, a father of four who grows organic coffee and avocados in Matagalpa. “Farmers come to him to get training on how to farm organic grain,” McCarthy said. “He said being an organic farmer isn’t just something you do, you have to change you ideas and thoughts about farming,” McCarthy said. “To be an organic farmer, you can’t just go through the process.” “He was just so proud of everything he had and how his family has struggled for their land because there are big huge coffee companies directly next …
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