Soul of Rurality

IICA’s recognition of the Leaders of Rurality of the Americas is part of an initiative that seeks to turn the spotlight on men and women who are leaving their mark and making a difference in the rural areas of Latin America and the Caribbean.

It pays tribute to those who play an unparalleled dual role: as guarantors of food and nutritional security and as caretakers of the planet’s biodiversity. It also emphasizes their capacity to drive positive changes in the rural areas of the region. For all these reasons, these individuals are the Soul of Rurality.

Leaders of Rurality of the Americas

Nidia González, who champions the empowerment of women farmers in Paraguay and strives to raise living standards in her community, has now been recognized as an IICA Leader of Rurality of the Americas

Nidia is President of the Comité de Santo Domingo, a group that seeks to improve the income and standard of living of the entire community.

Erick Geovany Ac Tot, a cocoa entrepreneur who promotes high-quality cocoa and the preservation of ancestral trees in Guatemala, is named an IICA Leader of Rurality

Erick Geovany Ac Tot—a prominent Guatemalan cocoa entrepreneur who has been assisting small farmer organizations, promoting high-quality cocoa production and preserving heirloom trees for years, in addition to being a cocoa taster—has been named a Leader of Rurality of the Americas by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA).

Eliane Faria de Souza, a fisherwoman from Northeastern Brazil combining old traditions with innovative ideas to protect the environment, is named an IICA Leader of Rurality of the Americas

Eliane works with other women in the region to transform polluting waste substances into organic fertilizer.

Abigail Mamani Mamani, a young Bolivian woman who fuses ancestral wisdom with urban life to reconnect to the land, is recognized as an IICA Leader of Rurality of the Americas

At just 26 years of age, Abigail Mamani Mamani already has an impressive track record as an advocate for rediscovering one’s roots, community work and respect for the land. From the city of El Alto, Bolivia, Abigal is in constant dialogue with the rural community of Ancoraimes, Macamaca, the birthplace of her parents, while also overseeing a lifelong mission that fuses spirituality, traditional agriculture and new approaches to development.

Fabio Ramírez, a producer and teacher with thousands of followers on social media who learn about the Colombian countryside, is recognized by IICA as a Leader of Rurality of the Americas

Fabio Andrés Ramírez is a proud son of the Pacho area, “a town of oranges,” in the department of Cundinamarca, in central Colombia. A few years ago, he became a prominent creator of digital content and now has over 67,000 followers on Facebook, another 33,000 on TikTok, and about 53,000 on YouTube. He offers them interesting (and sometimes humorous) videos that show the everyday life of farmers, images of cattle fairs, photos of the land and the region’s lush landscapes, interviews with small-scale coffee growers or with fellow Colombians of all ages who smile at the camera on his mobile phone.

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