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

Umeeda and Nareena Switlo, who process turmeric to fuel the prosperity of rural farmers in Belize, are recognized as IICA Leaders of Rurality of the Americas

Umeeda was born in Uganda and came to Belize via Canada. There she discovered a treasure growing in the wild, converting it, along with her daughter, into an engine of prosperity for farmers.

Dawn Francis, sustainable agriculture and organic farming advocate and a model for small farmers in her native Dominica, is named an IICA Leader of Rurality of the Americas

Francis founded her own organization, EcoBalance Inc., which has organized training programs for farmers and implemented plans for equipment acquisition in the region. It also established a biodiversity center to teach primary and secondary students about agriculture and the environment.

Linden Stewart, Guyanese beekeeping paragon and passionate beekeeping instructor, is named an IICA Leader of Rurality of the Americas

Stewart was bestowed with the “Soul of Rurality” award as part of an initiative by the specialized organization in agricultural and rural development to highlight the role of men and women who are leaving their mark and making a difference in the rural areas of the hemisphere, while also ensuring the planet’s environmental sustainability and its food and nutritional security.

Guisela García León, who cultivates olive trees to produce an award-winning olive oil and promote development in the Peruvian province of Ilo, is recognized by IICA as a Leader of Rurality of the Americas

Guisela García León, an economist who has worked in both the public and private sectors, finds her greatest passion in her own land, near the port of Ilo, in Moquegua, southern Peru.

Dorienne Rowan Campbell, a Jamaican coffee grower who teaches and trains other small Caribbean farmers, recognized by IICA as a Leader of Rurality of the Americas

In 2001, Rowan Campbell was one of the founders of the Jamaica Organic Agriculture Movement (JOAM), where she served for several years as president of an organization dedicated to making organic farming economically viable by paving the way for certification, training inspectors, and establishing demonstration farms.

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