- Poached Peach
- Grape Soda
- Roasted Marshmallow
Description
In 2012, leadership fell to Padre José Alejandro Aguilar Posada. With an education from Colombia, Brazil, Congo, and the United States, Padre Joe has extensive knowledge and experience in agro-ecology, sustainability, rural development, regional sustainability, and eco-theology. Throughout his life and travels, he has been deeply involved in sustainable agricultural development and rural economics.
During Padre Joe’s tenure, farmers from around the region were invited to participate in the Suyasama program. Farmers were educated in methods of organic agriculture, coffee processing, and understanding the value of their crop.
The importance of Suyusama’s goals were highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic. As lockdowns and supply chain issues limited remote farmers and their families access to foods and supplies, food security became a growing concern. Farmers who had participated in Suyusama’s educational programs were able to pivot agricultural production on their own farms to address shortages from supply chain issues, and could share their training with others in their local community. Accessibility to meat was severely limited during lockdowns, leading farmers to begin raising their own chickens and cuy for personal consumption, and to sell the excess as a way to generate revenue.
"Sustainability, as an ethical and conceptual horizon, goes beyond a development strategy. It is, above all, an option to learn about life and the world. The main objective of the learning we want to carry out in the SUYUSAMA Regional Sustainability Program should help us establish harmonious relationships between human beings and nature, while we carry out our deepest dreams and overcome the main challenges and challenges of the present."
P. José Alejandro Aguilar, S.J.