From September 21, 2023 to September 26, 2023
The UCE collaborators will carry out the survey of information in the province of Pastaza from 21 to 26 September 2023. The updating of information on agro-productive and tourism enterprises and associations, in a participatory manner, began with community assemblies for which the support of the GAD ARAJUNO, AKAT has been an important element.
An initiative made possible thanks to the participation of many local actors.
The communities: San Mariano, Nushino Ishipinku, Shiwa Kucha, Elena Andy del Río Uklan, Chico Méndez, Pablo Lopez del Oglan Alto (CEPLOA), Centro San Virgilio, Kusano Sacha Shuar Washints are visited by representatives of the project. Irma Garcia, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Economics and coordinator of the UCE project in Ecuador, opened the community dialogue based on the participatory map with key actors and objectives for this process involving several universities: from Ecuador (Universidad Central, Uniandes and IKIAM), 2 from France, 2 from Spain and 3 from Brazil. This initiative is part of the cooperation actions of the European Union.
On behalf of the Central University, we also have the teacher, Jacquelyn Pacheco, Fidel Rodríguez, Coordinator of the Amazonian Scientific Station Juri Juri Kawsay and the students, Erika Huatatoca, Lady Salinas, Fernando Lino, and Carla Quiña.
On behalf of the Universidad Regional Amazónica Ikiam (URAI), the teachers Alba Aguinaga, Diana Astudillo, Jessica Medina, Luis López; as well as the students Doris Alvarado, Dina Cerda, Edith Grefa, Maya Jácome, Alex Tapuy from the Biocommerce course.
The knowledge of the Kichwa language and the academic knowledge of several students has allowed them to generate added value to this process of dialogue with the communities.
On the part of the GAD, the project has the political will of the Mayor of the canton Arajuno, the Director of Economic and Productive Development Gualberto, the contribution of Pedro Zerembo, in his capacity as an official of the GAD and President of the Community Tourism Network, as well as the technicians René Sevilla and Mishel Pérez.
These are days of intense and committed work to get to know the reality of this territory and to be able to contribute to the objectives of this project, from the sensitivity to the life and work situation of those who receive us, with their desires, dreams and aspirations, community spaces, natural and tourist places, from the reflection and the contribution of research and education.
On the 25th and 26th of September the community diagnosis continued in 10 communities of the Canton Arajuno.
They have been days of exchange of ideas, new knowledge and learning. At the end of the information gathering process, we hope to promote the reactivation of agro-productive associations and community tourism. We would like to thank the leaders and members of the communities for the welcome we have received from the team of the two universities and the technicians of the GAD. Definitely the role of the Academy in the territory is valuable and recognized, we just need to join efforts to jointly plan activities and deliverables that contribute to community development, through strengthening associativity, agroecology, family economy, valuing ancestral knowledge, the role of youth and women among the most important.
>> Find all the pictures of the events in the gallery
The April 24, 2023
From left to right: Nathalie Cialdella (CIRAD), François Laurent (Project Coordinator - LMU), Adebaro Alves dos Reis (Director of IFPA campus Castanhal, Prof. Dr. Claudio Alex (reitor do IFPA) , José Daniel Gomez Lopez (UA), Maria Regina Sarkis Peixoto Joele (IFPA)
On Monday morning, the partners gathered in the auditorium for the opening of the international seminar, which marks the launch of the Icoopeb project. The day began with speeches by François Laurent, the project coordinator, and the stakeholders.
This was an opportunity for the consortium's coordinators, from Brazil, Ecuador, Spain and France, to get together to develop the project's activities, discuss ideas and launch the work for the next three years.
The event continued until the end of the week with conferences, documentary screenings, workshops on the different work packages and field trips with visits to local cooperatives.
From left to right: Nathalie Cialdella (CIRAD), François Laurent (Project Coordinator - LMU), Adebaro Alves dos Reis (Director of IFPA Castanhal campus, Prof. Dr. Claudio Alex (reitor do IFPA) , José Daniel Gomez Lopez (UA), Maria Regina Sarkis Peixoto Joele (IFPA)
The February 1, 2023
The second international seminar of the ICOOPEB project will take place in early March in Ecuador, on the campuses of partner university UNIANDES, in the towns of Puyo and Ambato.
This annual event brings together the project steering committee and teacher-researchers from Ecuador, Brazil, Spain and France, as well as representatives of associated cooperatives and Amerindian communities.
This meeting of project partners is an opportunity to review the activities of the first year of the project, and to look ahead to future actions in years 2 and 3, notably the use of digital tools which are currently being developed.
Detailed programs and events to follow.
MONDAY MARCH 04: in Ambato
Morning: Work in teams:
- Guidelines for the week's activities (30 min).
- WP2: Analysis of the work done and future planning. Equipment report
- WP3: Analysis of work done and future planning. CMS
- Presentation of the ICOOPEB team to Uniandes authorities.
Afternoon: Team work
- Projection of a provisional version of the Terra Preta video (the parts on Ecuador are missing).
- Discussion on how the videos will be used in the courses (methodology of application of this tool).
- WP5: Exchange platform
- Discussion on how the platform will be used in the courses.
TUESDAY MARCH 05: in Ambato
Morning: Team work
- WP6: Participatory map
- Discussion on how the participatory map will be used (methodology for the application of these tools).
- WP7: Training of the communities, Training of the students in design and production of posters (by the teachers who will participate in the week in Le Mans)
Afternoon: Team work
- WP8: Evaluation of the quality of the tools and their use: Mechanism of evaluation of the training courses
- WP9: Dissemination of the project results and sustainability
WEDNESDAY MARCH 06: in Puyo
Morning: Transfer to Puyo
Afternoon:
- Visit to a sugar cane, guanabana, malanga and plantain production association.
- Reception in Uniandes Puyo with students (80) + presentation of the project to the students.
THURSDAY 07 MARCH: in Puyo
Day: Field trip to the south of Puyo, visit indigenous communities with community tourism activities.
FRIDAY JUNE 08: in Puyo
Morning: Presentation of the project to the Monitoring Committee, with the participation of:
- cooperatives/associations of members of each establishment:
ECRAMA - OCB/Pará - OCB/Amapá - Cooperuraim - Chakra Amazonica - ACIA - Shuar community of Pastaza - Ikiam University
- representatives of the Municipality of Arajuno: Pedro Zerembo and Gualberto Grefa
- Tatiana Sá, Embrapa
- Pedro Hernandez, consultant
SATURDAY MARCH 09: in Tena (Optional additional visit)
Morning: Experience Exchange Talk, Exhibition of Grupo Chakra- IKIAM
Afternoon:
- Visit Chakra Group Entrepreneurship Process, chakras (traditional agricultural production system of the indigenous people of the Amazon), production area, collective work.
- Cultural Sharing. Chicha in the Amazonian Culture
The April 28, 2023
The Icoopeb project launch seminar was held in Castanhal, Brazil, from 24 to 28 April 2023, with representatives from each of the project's partner universities.
The launch seminar for the Icoopeb project was held in Castanhal, Brazil, from 24 to 28 April 2023, and was attended by the consortium, with representatives from the Para region of Brazil, Ecuador, Spain and France. Local associate partners Embrapa and Ecrama were also present, as were doctoral students from local universities involved in certain aspects of the project.
Monday 24.04: Opening of the seminar
The day began with speeches by François Laurent, project coordinator, and the local partners, followed by presentations by the partners and beneficiary institutions taking part in the project: Le Mans Université, Universidad de Alicante, IFPA, UFRA, CIRAD, Universidad Miguel Hernandez, UCE, UNIANDES, as well as the associated and local partners also present, Embrapa and Ecrama,
In the afternoon, the partners worked on the objectives of WP4, on the development of audiovisual resources. This was an opportunity to view the partners' documentaries and work: XXX the CIRAD film, directed by XX and presented by Nathalie Cialdella, and the presentation of the documentary XXX produced by Romier da Paixão Sousa, and to discuss their experiences.
Tuesday 25/04: Workshops on audiovisual resources.
The day was organised into three parallel workshops, with the aim of starting to define the content of the digital audiovisual resources to be created between May 2023 and May 2024: educational objectives, target audience, people to interview, experiences to highlight, preparation of a script. The workshop groups were organised according to the themes of the videos:
- Creation, management and administration of cooperatives.
- Traditional knowledge of harvesting activities and medicinal plants.
- Technological innovations based on agroecology: agroforestry systems, soil conservation, increasing resilience to climate change, based on technologies adapted to the means and capacities of family farmers.
Wednesday 26/04: Conferences and organisation of work packages
The day consisted of a series of lectures on the organisation and content of the various work packages, including the purchase and installation of equipment, infrastructure development, presentation of the participatory map, the knowledge exchange platform and training.
In the afternoon, the group visited the IFPA Castanhal Campus.
Thursday 27/04: Visits to local cooperatives
The local players organised visits to cooperatives in the region, giving the partners an opportunity to discover local projects and to come face-to-face with the reality and day-to-day work of the players, and to share their expertise and experience.
- First visit, João Moura - Property of SAF.
- Second visit, lunch and discussion circle at the Zezinho estate.
- Third visit, to the tucumã agro-industrial processing plant - Irituia.
> These three projects are already listed on the Icoopeb participative map.
Friday 28/04: Closing.
The members of the steering committee met to review certain technical and collaborative aspects of working remotely, as well as the communication aspects planned for the project.
> Photos of the event can be found in the website photo gallery.
The June 8, 2023
Equatorian partners, Irma Galuth Garcia Serrano, UCE, as well as Oscar Espinoza, Uniandes, met with local representatives, in order to develop the activities of the ICOOPEB project.
- with the Prefect of the GAD Provincial de Pastaza and his delegates,
- with the Mayor of Arajuno.
The network of ICOOPEB universities should help and benefit rural communities.
The July 2, 2023
In order to carry out work package WP4 of the project, we need a legal entity to provide audiovisual recording, production and editing services for the production of educational documentaries. The company must be based in Brazil or Ecuador.
You can find the specifications here, in Portuguese, Spanish and English.
If you are interested, you can send us a quote and a price proposal to the following e-mail address: icoopeb @ univ-lemans.fr
The October 17, 2023
This seminar is part of the interdisciplinary thematic cycle "Socio-environmental Transitions" of Diagonales - Maison de la Recherche en Humanités et Sciences Sociales, University of Le Mans.
It is organised by François LAURENT, Professor of Geography (ESO, University of Le Mans), coordinator of the ICOOPEB programme.
Room E105 | Bât. enseignement | Faculté des Lettres, Langues et Sciences Humaines | University of Le Mans
> Hybrid in zoom (videoconference registration - diagonales @ univ-lemans.fr )
"The Amazon is undergoing profound changes that are reflected in the degradation of its environment. Agriculture and livestock farming are the main factors. The protection of the environment is closely linked to the forms of development and to the resolution of the socio-economic difficulties affecting small family producers".
ESO and ARGUMANS are partners in an ERASMUS+ project with Brazilian, Ecuadorian and Spanish research and higher education centres for the digital transition of education in the field of sustainable development in the Amazonian territories.
During this seminar, after a presentation of the ERASMUS+ ICOOPEB project and the links it aims to establish between research and education, we will present the role played by collective dynamics in the construction of sustainable development in the rural territories of the Amazon".
This debate will be organised around three presentations:
- Adebaro ALVES DOS REIS (economist, Director of the Federal Institute of Pará, Brazil): "Cooperativism and sustainability in the State of Pará, Brazil".
- Wagner NASCIMIENTO (PhD student in geography, ESO, University of Le Mans): "Territorial dynamics of the diffusion of agroforestry systems among family farmers in the Brazilian Amazon".
- François LAURENT (geographer, ESO, University of Le Mans): "Research carried out at the ESO of Le Mans in Amazonia and the ICOOPEB project - Educational, social and technological innovations for sustainable agricultural development and cooperativism in the rural territories of the Ecuadorian and Brazilian Amazon".
The February 22, 2023
Seminar "Indigenous cultures and agroecological transitions in the Ecuadorian and Brazilian Amazon"
A seminar is being organized on Thursday February 22 from 8:30am to 12pm by François LAURENT, Professor of Geography (ESO, Université du Mans and project coordinator), during which guest professors will present lectures on their research themes. The seminar is open to the public.
Venue: Salle R101 | 1st floor of the Maison des Sciences de l'Homme Sciences (MSH) | Université du Mans
Hybrid videoconference, registration by email toicoopeb @ univ-lemans.fr
Lectures by guest professors:
- Roberta Coelho (IFPA): Agroecological systems of agroforestry in flood zones of the municipality of Igarapé-miri (Eastern Amazon)
- Oscar Espinoza (UNIANDES): Accelerated acculturation in Amazonian ethnic groups groups in Pastaza province (Ecuadorian Amazon)
- Luciana da Silva Borges (UFRA): Actions to strengthen the marketing family farming products linked to the cooperative
- Galdino Filho (UNIFAP): Agro-extractivism, family farming and territory in southern southern Amapá (northern Amazon)
- Irma García Serran (UCE): Associativity and cooperativism as an alternative to the promotion of Sumak Kawsay and as a means of refuting the false universality of the development process (Ecuadorian Amazon)
- Eric Bruno da Silva Batista (Earthworm Foundation): Regenerative agroforestry (SAF) in the State of Pará (Eastern Amazonia): opportunities and challenges
The February 1, 2023
Le Mans University is hosting five professors from Brazil and Ecuador at the ESO laboratory, for training in the design and production of scientific posters, from February 19 to 23, 2024.
Mission objectives
The training component of the project involves training Latin American teachers in the design and production of scientific posters. The three-day intensive training course will be held at Le Mans Université's ESO Laboratory, for one teacher representing each Latin American partner institution. The training will be provided by Sébastien Angonnet, a computer graphics engineer at the ESO laboratory who specializes in teaching these skills.
This training will enable the teachers in turn to train around 50 students in each of their establishments, as well as in internships with organizations working in the social and solidarity economy.
A program complemented by field visits and a seminar
The week's program also includes field visits to rural areas near Le Mans, with Philippe Dutertre, an agro-ecological farmer in the commune of Chemiré le Gaudin, south-west of the University, and Jocelyn Glainch, a conservation polyculture farmer in Chemiré le Gaudin.
"Indigenous cultures and agroecological transitions in the Ecuadorian and Brazilian Amazon"
In addition, a seminar is being organized on Thursday February 22 from 8:30am to 12pm by François LAURENT, Professor of Geography (ESO, Université du Mans and project coordinator), during which guest professors will present lectures on their research themes. The seminar is open to the public.
Venue: Salle R101 | 1st floor of the Maison des Sciences de l'Homme Sciences (MSH) | Université du Mans
Hybrid videoconference, registration by email toicoopeb @ univ-lemans.fr
Lectures by guest professors:
- Roberta Coelho (IFPA): Agroecological systems of agroforestry in flood zones of the municipality of Igarapé-miri (Eastern Amazon)
- Oscar Espinoza (UNIANDES): Accelerated acculturation in Amazonian ethnic groups groups in Pastaza province (Ecuadorian Amazon)
- Luciana da Silva Borges (UFRA): Actions to strengthen the marketing family farming products linked to the cooperative
- Galdino Filho (UNIFAP): Agro-extractivism, family farming and territory in southern southern Amapá (northern Amazon)
- Irma García Serran (UCE): Associativity and cooperativism as an alternative to the promotion of Sumak Kawsay and as a means of refuting the false universality of the development process (Ecuadorian Amazon)
- Eric Bruno da Silva Batista (Earthworm Foundation): Regenerative agroforestry(SAF) in the State of Pará (Eastern Amazonia): opportunities and challenges
The July 5, 2023
François Laurent, project coordinator (LMU) and José Daniel Gomez Lopez (UA), are visiting Ecuador from July 5 to 13, 2023. The purpose of the mission is to meet with ecuadorian partners, professors, university rectors and Amerindian communities.
The 10-day program includes:
Meeting with partner members at the Central University of Ecuador in Quito:
- a meeting with UCE direction and the UCE Faculty of Economics in Quito,
- presentation of the UCE's Arajuno program,
- a seminar on agro-ecological transition,
- a presentation of the ICOOPEB project's objectives to the entire UCE team in Quito, and an exchange on the administrative aspects of project management.
Workshops on work, carried out by Ecuadorian partners with Amazonian communities:
- an exchange on the importance of developing cooperatives in the Ecuadorian Amazon,
- a meeting with the management of IKIAM, our partner university in Tena, Amazonia
- a meeting with a representative of the Chakra indigenous community.
Meeting with the UNIANDES team in Puyo Amazonia, as well as a meeting with UNIANDES direction in Ambato
- with an update on the work progress for each work package of the project,
- a meeting with the regional authorities of Pastaza province,
- a meeting with the Ashuar and Quechua rural communities of Puyo and Arajuno.
