Are you a trainer who wants to help Native farmers and ranchers in your community build sustainable tribal ranching or farming enterprises and increase their business knowledge and fundamentals of running and maintaining a successful agricultural business?
Or maybe you are interested in helping assess the status of your community’s food sovereignty, and help make it better and stronger?
If so, First Nations Development Institute (First Nations) has one remaining three-day training workshop for you. It’s in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and it is a train-the-trainer workshop. The fee is $100, which covers the cost of materials and any meals that are included. Participants will receive copies of First Nations’ The Business of Indian Agriculture curriculum and Food Sovereignty Assessment Tool.
Days 1 & 2: This The Business of Indian Agriculture train-the-trainer workshop focuses on giving you the technical knowledge, tools and guidance to conduct training with farmers and ranchers in your community. The curriculum is designed to help farmers and ranchers succeed in managing their businesses. It covers useful topics like how to develop a business plan, how to set up bookkeeping systems, agribusiness economics and marketing, and land use and management. It also covers important topics like risk management, personal financial management, and using credit wisely.
Day 3: The optional third day of training covers Food Sovereignty Assessment. Food has always played a central role in Native communities. It reflects environmental, economic, social and political values. For some communities today, the relationship to food is much less visible than it used to be. The diet history, gathering and consumption practices, value of food products, and source of foods tell the story of a community and its people and can help define their future. For example, there are very complex cause-and-effect relationships between food choices (or lack thereof) that have consequences for health, economy, and even social implications. The Food Sovereignty Assessment Training, utilizing the Food Sovereignty Assessment Tool (FSAT), is meant to begin the process of telling the food story of a community through a community-driven and participative process of data collection. The information can be used to understand community food supply chains, agricultural and food profiles, as well as community economic and health considerations. Best of all, it can be used to improve and strengthen your community’s food sovereignty.
The Tulsa training is generously sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Please visit the registration page for specific logistics and other information.