Voicing Change: Co-Creating Knowledge and Capacity for Sustainable Food Systems

Voicing Change: Co-Creating Knowledge and Capacity for Sustainable Food Systems is a three-year project announced in 2021 and led by Dr. Andrew Spring. The project connects community partners, researchers, and students from three regions—Northwest Territories; Migori County, Kenya; and Southern Brazil—to create a Community of Practice exploring local, innovative, and sustainable food systems that centre traditional and Indigenous knowledges. Each region will create a collection of community-led podcasts about their food systems and practices that will be shared with the Community of Practice and beyond.

The project aims to:

• celebrate local food expertise and traditional knowledge that contribute to traditional, equitable, and culturally appropriate community food systems
• amplify the voices of community members and knowledge holders as they share their technical expertise
• spark food systems innovations that flow through the Community of Practice and are adapted and piloted in other areas

The project’s goal is to build a healthier, more equitable, and socio-ecologically resilient future that is grounded in sustainable local food systems and centres Indigenous and traditional knowledges.

Regions and Key Partners

• Northwest Territories: Ka’a’gee Tu First Nation, Wilfrid Laurier University, University of Waterloo
• Southern Brazil: CEDErva and Embrapa Forestry (regional leads)
• Migori County, Kenya: Rongo University and UNESCO Chair on Community Radio for Agricultural Education (regional leads)

Funding Acknowledgement

Voicing Change is supported in part by funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.