2009 Encuentro

September 10-13, 2009

Click here for the Fall semester of action!


Months of planning for the Encuentro boiled down to a couple last days of intense preparation. Luckily, we had plenty of help on hand, from the littlest of CIW members (seen here helping to put together this year's Encuentro binder, which you can download here)...

...to a crew of stalwart SFA "veterans" who made it to town early to help tackle all the last-minute details.

As the Encuentro got under way, the nearly 100 assembled participants were warmly welcomed to Immokalee by the CIW's women's organizing committee — a group that works to address the daily struggles faced by women who not only work in the fields but often raise families and confront the challenges posed by living in a community where men are over 90% of the population.

photo by Ayana Heumann
And then it was time for us to get down to business.

As always, a discussion of SFA's history and organizing philosophy provided the base for the rest of the weekend's discussions. Here, we mapped nearly 10 years of SFA — and the myriad twists, turns and victories in the campaign — with notecard timelines that circled Sanders Hall as a visual representation of our collective history.

photo by L. Emiko Soltis
Building upon that foundation were several skill-building workshops that ran the gamut from basic organizing skills to communication and framing (pictured here as SFA'ers simulate talking to members of the press); from giving presentations about the campaign to understanding and responding to corporate greenwashing. Without a doubt, these skills will come in handy as we return to our campuses and work to Dine with Dignity.

A central theme woven into the weekend was that of solidarity and what it means for us to work as farmworker allies. These concepts were mulled over in intimate small group discussions, where we had the opportunity to visualize what solidarity means to us...

...all with a common goal in mind.

While we focused much of the weekend on the Dine with Dignity campaign, we also had the chance to learn more about the CIW's growing supermarket campaign. Our day-long strategy session focusing on Aramark, Sodexo, Publix, Kroger and others produced some exciting action ideas and plans (outlined below).

As if all of that weren't enough, the SFA Steering Committee showed its commitment to the struggle and took advantage of the rare opportunity to be together in the same space with this late-night meeting. Kudos go out to the SC, who provided invaluable support throughout the Encuentro. (Apply for the 2010 SFA SC here.)

photo by L. Emiko Soltis
Sustaining us through all this hard work was some great food by our friends at Café Rebelde...


photo by L. Emiko Soltis
... a contingency of jaraneros that has steadily grown since the participation of many members of Santa Ana's Son del Centro in our inaugural Encuentro in 2005, spreading the roots of Son Jarocho music from Veracrúz to Immokalee and beyond...

photo by L. Emiko Soltis
...some plain ol' fun...

photo by L. Emiko Soltis
...and an adorable baby or two.

photo by Jorge Rodríguez
After a long day of strategizing, further sustenance was provided by our 2nd-annual Café Cultura in the CIW's new community center, where we got down to everything from singing to spoken word and hip hop; from this impromptu drum session...

photo by Jorge Rodríguez
...to a reunion of Son de Immokalee, before taking to the dance floor 'til the wee hours of the morning.

The weekend wrapped up with an enlightening discussion on food sovereignty, tying together the different strains of the food justice movement from Immokalee to Brazil; from Thailand to the Rio Grande Valley in Texas.

photo by L. Emiko Soltis
Then came time for the bittersweet goodbyes, and we headed home with a renewed commitment to this struggle and with the certainty that more victories -- and real changes for farmworkers -- are right around the corner.
ENcuentro 2009: Click on image for hi-res version.

Bringing it back home: Fall semester of action

During the Encuentro we made plans for a Fall semester full of action -- mark your calendars and start planning your local action(s) today - contact us with any questions about how you can get involved!

October 5-9, 2009: Dine with Dignity Days of Action

Summer vacation is over... now's the time to let your campus food service provider — not to mention Aramark and Sodexo corporate — know that the Dine with Dignity campaign is back and stronger than ever! Check out how to get involved here.

October 17-November 15, 2009: Florida Month of Action

In the spirit of the month of action leading up to the announcement of the Taco Bell boycott in 2001, CIW, SFA and allies will be visiting cities across Florida for educational events and (in many cases) joint Aramark/Publix actions in preparation for the 2009 Publix tour (see below). If you're a resident of Gainesville, Southwest Florida, Orlando, Miami/West Palm Beach/Ft. Lauderdale or Tampa Bay, contact us today for more information and a complete calendar of events.

November 2009: SFA Month of Action

In solidarity with the Real Food Challenge, Slow Food USA & 350.org: Using the frame of Good, Clean, and Fair to encourage dialogue and action around how food interacts with climate change, labor, and community; November has been chosen as the month to focus on labor and the SFA/CIW campaign, with a particular focus on campus food service providers Aramark and Sodexo. Stay tuned for more resources and details on this exciting project!

November 18-25, 2009: Publix Tour

The CIW, SFA and allies will hit the road, traveling from Immokalee across Florida to Columbus, GA for the SOA Watch vigil and back down to Lakeland, FL -- home to Publix headquarters -- calling on the supermarket chain to do its part to put an end to decades of stagnant wages and dismal working conditions for the workers harvesting its tomatoes.

(Also) November 18-25, 2009: 7 Days of Action in the Supermarket Campaign

In solidarity with the CIW's Publix tour, SFA'ers and other allies across the country will make sure that supermarket giants Kroger and Ahold know that we haven't forgotten about their inaction!

December 5: Major mobilization at Publix Headquarters in Lakeland, FL
Details TBA: Mark your calendar and make plans to join us today!

Support our work this semester and beyond — become a Sustaining Member today!

return to Encuentro photo report

 

PO Box 603, Immokalee, FL 34143 :: (239) 657-8311 :: organize (at) sfalliance.org