El pan diario y un mundo mejor son conquistas cotidianas

Experiencias de mujeres campesinas acompañadas por el CAPA – Centro de Apoyo al Pequeño Agricultor

El colorido de la diversidad

“Cuando yo era niña en mi casa siempre escuchaba decir que si tu eres campesino, estás más cerca de Dios”, es así que comienza nuestra conversa con Denise, joven campesina de la comunidad de remanso, en el sur de Brasil. Denise Peter Pokoyeski tiene 29 años, es casada con Jeronimo, también campesino; el matrimonio tiene dos hijos: Igor y Luana. Desde su niñez Denise acompaña el trabajo del Centro de Apoyo al Pequeño Agricultor – CAPA de la Iglesia Evangélica de Confesión Luterana en Brasil – IECLB, con el apoyo de EED (Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst- Alemania)-  y Fundación Luterana de Diaconía – Brasil, realiza en su comunidad.

 Ella cuenta que con 7 años, junto con sus padres y hermanos, participaba de las reuniones del CAPA para la formación de la Asociación de los Pequeños Campesinos de su comunidad. Y es allí también que aprendió su profesión: campesina ecológica. Hoy ella y su esposo producen frutas y verduras orgánicas y las venden en las ferias ecológicas de las ciudades vecinas y también entregan alimentos para el programa de combate al hambre del gobierno brasileño: el Hambre Cero.

 “Todo de la mejor calidad, producido sin veneno”, es lo que nos cuenta la joven luterana, que se preocupa con la salud de los que van a consumir lo que ellos producen. Y añade: “Al producir alimentos, lo hacemos con alegría! No  trabajamos solo para ganar dinero, tenemos calidad de vida!”  Además de sembrar, Denise también comercializa los productos en las ferias y evalúa que las mujeres venden muy bien, pues organizan mejor la exposición de los productos, con muy buen gusto y creatividad. Para ella, la vida de las mujeres campesinas, en su región, cambió mucho y para mejor en los últimos años.

 “Antes no estábamos organizadas, pero ahora asumimos la directiva de nuestras comunidades religiosas y de las asociaciones comunitarias. La propia Denise es miembro del Consejo Directivo del CAPA de Pelotas (ciudad del extremo sur de Brasil) y aún de la directiva de la Cooperativa Sur Ecológica, que reúne campesinos que producen alimentos orgánicos. Ella ya tuvo oportunidad de hacer otros trabajos, pero a Denise  le encanta trabajar en la tierra y vivir en contacto con la naturaleza.

 La pareja cree que el futuro del hijo y de la hija está en la tierra, produciendo alimentos de calidad así como ellos lo hacen; y concluyen: “lo mejor es que toda la familia se involucre y los hijos van a tener el amor por esta actividad.” Ellos creen que la profesión de campesino ecológico tiene futuro, y evalúan que están aconteciendo cambios y las personas quieren consumir productos de calidad.

 Denise y su familia siembran y cosechan, en su cotidiano, un mundo mejor para todos nosotros y nosotras.

Texto: Rita Surita

Engenheira Agrônoma, Coordenadora do CAPA Pelotas

 Traduccion: Elaine Neuenfeldt

“Feeding the hungry”

Lutheran chaplaincy perspective from Leeds

By:Seija Frears & team

In the afternoon, before leaving for work, I go to the local shop and buy five loaves of bread, apples, oranges and grapes. This food will feed the hungry of this day: in the evening we will have International Students club meeting at Emmanuel Centre Chaplaincy.

This Club is organised and run by about 10 Christians from different churches in Leeds and by some Chaplains at the two universities in Leeds. It was started 23 years ago by St Georges’s Anglican Church and has provided friendship and support, based on Christian hospitality ’WELCOMING STRANGERS’. There are no strings attached and students of any cultural and religious background are welcome. It is a place where students from all nationalities can make friends, practise their English, learn more about life in Britain & in other countries. And optionally have opportunity to study the Bible and find out more about Christianity after the club for those who are also spiritually hungry.

The Club meets every Wednesday throughout the year (except one week around Christmas) starting at 6 o’clock with refreshments; toasted bread, fruits & nuts, cakes & biscuits, hot & soft drinks.

The social and cultural program starts at 6.45pm. Normally we have topics like: Cultural Exchange, Barn Dance, Indian Evening, International Quiz, Karaoke and Music, International Food & Salsa dancing, Fair Trade and Chinese New Year, we also visit Leeds Town Hall or walk together in some beautiful parks in Leeds during the summer term. We celebrate Christmas & Easter and at the end of the academic year we have a Barbeque. We hope to maintain a family atmosphere and say individual ‘good byes’ to students when they leave.

Dancing our praise of Jesus

Last evening’s worship, led by our Asian sisters, closed with a rousing chorus of “Zan-mei Ye-su” (“Praise Lord Jesus”). The singing and dancing really made the stone walls of the chapel at Bossey rock!

Worship came at the end of a long day that was filled with many thought-provoking presentations and discussions. Angeline Munzara, of the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance, spoke about its Food for Life campaign that is working to achieve just and sustainable production, just and sustainable consumption, and the realization of the right to food for all people. Fulata Moyo, program executive for women in church and society at the World Council of Churches, led a discussion of the words of institution in Holy Communion and how the brokenness of Christ’s body is literally is repeated every time a woman is denied sovereignty over her own body. Afternoon sessions were spent in small group discussion.

“I don’t have any bread–only a handful of flour”

 

The children of Pastor Kuss's congregation painted this image, showing the home of a widow in their portion of Brazil

 

Today’s work is grounded in God’s word: the widow at Zarephath (1 Kings:7-24). The Rev. Cibele Kuss of the Evangelical Church of the Lutheran Confession in Brazil presented today’s study, leading an exploration of daily bread in the context of this particular widow. Kuss pulled in her own experiences of serving as an ombudswoman within the justice system in her Brazilian community. Participate in our study by reading 1 Kings:7-24 and reflecting on the meaning of daily bread. Is daily bread enough for the widow and her child?

 

Consider Martin Luther’s explanation of this portion of the Lord’s Prayer, as found in the Small Catechism:

What is meant by daily bread?–Answer.

Everything that belongs to the support and wants of the body, such as meat, drink, clothing, shoes, house, homestead, field, cattle, money, goods, a pious spouse, pious children, pious servants, pious and faithful magistrates, good government, good weather, peace, health, discipline, honor, good friends, faithful neighbors, and the like.

Today we began with worship

 

Grains, breads and baskets from around the world.

 

This morning women brought grains, bread and baskets from many lands, bringing to life the 11th LWF Assembly theme, Give Us Today Our Daily Bread. Women took fabric squares and wrote on them a word of hope for our futures together. Women raised their voices in song and praise, praying as the one who is the bread of heaven taught us, lifting up the prayer in a wonderful cacophony of languages. This was our opening worship.

 

The group moved from worship into plenary sessions that covered matters of interest for delegates to the 2010 assembly in Stuttgart. Not only are the delegates preparing themselves for the assembly but the women–who are holding the first pre-assembly meeting–are preparing the whole communion for the assembly. Six women who are currently serving on the LWF council shared their experiences from that role. The group heard several other presentations in preparation for the assembly. The day was rich with ideas and growing strategies, and surely tonight’s prayers and dreams will reflect that richness.

Linda Post Bushkofsky is the WICAS regional coordinator for North America.

LWF2010: “GIve Us Today Our Daily Bread”, Reflection from North America

Dear Friends,

check out this link on Facebook which is created by a young women called Mikka from North America. Her idea is to creat a growing  online community about the LWF 2010 Assembly theme and there is weekly questions which is interesting to participate.

Please let’s join the North America women and be part of this group and read their comments. This week they are sharing with us a bread recipes.  You can find the link here

EL PAN NUESTRO DE CADA DÍA DÁNOSLO HOY

Virginia Iváñez

Coordinadora MEIS para la Región Andina – Sudamérica

HISTORIAS DE MUJERES

 Hace unos años, allá por el 2000, la Iglesia Luterana de Valencia compró una casa en un sector carencial de la ciudad con la intención de ayudar a las familias del sector. Fue así que comenzó abriendo las puertas de esa pequeña casita a las mujeres de los barrios pobres más cercanos.

 Las personas que allí comenzamos a trabajar nos hacíamos muchas preguntas acerca de la aceptación que tendrían los cursos y charlas que pensábamos facilitar. Planificamos dar talleres que liberaran a las mujeres de los tradicionales roles de género, sin embargo estos no tuvieron buena acogida.

 Con el tiempo fuimos haciendo cambios y los talleres se transformaron en cursos de manualidades, de peluquería, de cocina, etc. A pesar de que les dábamos acompañamiento espiritual, yo a veces me sentía un poco triste porque pensaba que por ese camino poco iban a evolucionar en la equidad de género.

 Pasó el tiempo y ellas comenzaron, con ayuda de la iglesia a producir para vender lo que allí aprendían. Un día se me acercó una de las mujeres y me dijo con mucho orgullo: “Sabes, Virginia, que en mi casa ahora mis hijos y mi esposo están desempleados y con lo que yo gano al vender lo que producimos en estos cursos yo puedo prepararle una comida  al día a toda mi familia”.

 En ese momento sentí que Dios me estaba mostrando que lo que hacíamos era lo correcto, que ella había crecido como mujer y que su familia reconocía el valor de su trabajo. Ahora ella sabía que podía valerse por sí misma, que era capaz de tener su independencia económica y de ser solidaria al compartir lo que recibía. En ese momento le dimos gracias a Dios por su eterna bondad.

 El tiempo fue pasando y ellas pidieron conocer la Biblia más a fondo, fue así como comenzamos los estudios bíblicos con una visión transversal de género. ¡Y hay que ver con cuanto interés participan!

I grew up with this daily bread

I’m starting my reflection on the assembly theme with a literal response. Here is what “daily bread” has meant to me in terms of what I eat.

Cornbread and biscuits. Those are the breads I grew up eating. My mother was from Arkansas, a Southern state in the U.S., so even though I grew up in the northeastern part of the country, I experienced many Southern traditions. And these were the first two things I learned to make when I was a little girl.

Cornbread in my grandmother's skillet.

Cornbread, a Native American dish, was regularly part of the evening meal in my house. While it can be mixed and baked in muffin tins, the best way to bake corn bread is in a cast iron skillet. The bottom and sides of the bread become wonderfully toasted while baking in the skillet. Cornbread uses cornmeal, milk, flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, eggs, and vegetable oil. While I grew up eating cornbread made of yellow cornmeal, blue cornmeal is more readily available today and makes a wonderfully tasty cornbread. Although my Grandmother Post was of German descent and probably never made cornbread, today I used her cast iron skillet to make my cornbread.

Biscuits.

 Biscuits in the U.S. are not sweet cookies, as the term “biscuit” is used in other parts of the world. Here biscuits are a quick bread made of a few simple ingredients: flour, baking powder, butter, salt, and milk. The ingredients are mixed together, the dough is kneaded a few times and then flattened out, and then the biscuits are cut. There’s a tool called a biscuit cutter, but in our house we always used the rim of a glass. While my Grandmother Johnson baked biscuits every morning for breakfast, I make them much more occasionally and more likely with dinner.

There are few things that smell so good while baking as cornbread and biscuits. Neither cornbread nor biscuits are fancy breads. They are inexpensive staples. Yet they connect me to my grandmothers and mother even as I bake them for my daughter. The biscuits in this photo are on a bread cloth hand-stitched by a dear friend, a gift received at a bridal shower 20 years ago, so I think of her and her friendship each time I use the cloth. Cornbread and biscuits, they are true comfort food for me.

Sharing bread and power – gender justice for an inclusive communion

“One cannot think well, sleep well, love well if one has not dined well”

 Virginia Woolf.

 

My proposal here is starting a necessary, urgent and challenging conversation: talking about a fair distribution of bread and power, looking to the tools that allow access to a round and equal table, with justice in gender relations. What moves me in my feminist thought is a methodological approach of mixing personal memory and history with a trajectory of encounters with women from different contexts, in the search of justice in personal relations and in structures. This methodological path provides me with an everyday epistemology that emerges from women’s daily experiences.

 Mixing the analysis of gender and feminist perspectives with discussions on food, right to use, production, distribution and consumption is necessary because the connectivity is given in the inequality and injustice of gender in economic areas. Poverty affects women in a specific way: 70% of poor people are women, and women occupy 52% of the vulnerable work, while 80% of food in the world is produced by women and they constitute themselves as guardians of biodiversity in agriculture. This few statistics shows the reality is enough for our conversation: the sharing of bread is linked to the distribution of power, also in gender relations.

 Access and instruments – pots and bowls full of wisdom

 The rigidity of the social and cultural models and gender roles assigned to women’s limited access to power and situated women in the underprivileged social division of labor. Access to and use of land and resources is also governed by these cultural constructions of gender.

Sharing Bread, Equality and Justice

By: Sigrún Óskarsdóttir

WICAS Regional Coordinator for Europe, Nordic Region

 It is 7:30 am and time to wake up to the daily bread.  My husband brews some coffee while I take a shower and iron my shirt.  In many ways it an ordinary Sunday lies before me. Yet I feel some seething excitement inside.  We have a “radio service” today. There is a long tradition to broadcast the Sunday service from the different churches in Iceland. The radio services usually attract large audiences and now it is my turn to preach to the nation.  I admit I have given some extra work into the preparation.