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3. 2008 National Women in Agriculture Educators Conference

Social Change through Women in Agriculture

Claire Morenon

Summary

Through our Women in Agriculture Network, CISA (Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture) has been coordinating technical assistance workshops and linking women farmers in Western Massachusetts since 2005. Workshop topics have covered such diverse topics as avoiding injury on the farm, marketing techniques, and retirement and succession planning. As the program has matured, many questions about the impact of our work have continually resurfaced. For example, how do you talk about women in agriculture to the press and the general public without conjuring up outdated stereotypes? How do you gear a technical assistance program towards a specific group without reinforcing too narrow a view of the work they do? How do you build a community that allows space for the varying roles that women fill in their families and businesses? In this presentation, I will give an overview of CISA’s work and the successes and challenges we’ve seen through our Women in Agriculture Program. I will also lead a discussion on thinking about and managing the social change impact of such a program.

Details

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