i Patrick W. Staib Anthropology This dissertation is approved, and it ...

I sat in and helped facilitate several CLUSA workshops in San Rafael del Norte,
San Juan del Río Coco, and Matagalpa. The purpose of these workshops was to attract
more growers to the organic production and cooperative organization model for
community-based economic development. CLUSA’s training program instilled values of
ecological conservation and preservation of natural resources. Their sessions were
typically held at community centers or large halls, and they would invite entire grower
communities to attend 3- or 4-day workshops on organic production, organic fertilizers,
quality control, pest control, plant health management, exportation, and coffee sampling.
The workshops began with an introduction to the philosophy of organic
production and the ills of conventional agriculture. They then delved further into the
various aspects of “sustainable” small-scale production: poly-cropping, pest control,
shade regulation, pruning, field renovation, fertilizing, weed control, land management,
harvesting, milling, marketing, roasting, and finally, coffee cupping (or quality tasting,
like wine-tasting). The last three are outside the coffee farmers’ purview, but CLUSA’S
approach was to empower small farmers by sharing all aspects of this complex
commodity chain so the farmers could better defend their own interests.
The opening session of the workshop reviewed the ills of conventional production
and explained the various petrochemicals that farmers use to treat weeds and pests. The
técnicos then discussed the harmful effects of products such as Gramoxone (known as
Round-Up in the USA) and DDT. They spoke of the preservation of biodiversity
throughout the plantation and within the soil. The main tenets of this workshop were to
instill farmers with an appreciation for biodiversity and to caution them about the
financial, ecological, and health risks of depending on petrochemical farm inputs.
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