Newsletter no 18 – Editorial

Creating knowledge for food sovereignty

Illustration: Tree 213, Toni Demuro tonidemuro.blogspot.ie

There is movement in the many worlds that are creating knowledge for food sovereignty!

The stories in this newsletter provide a glimpse into some of these worlds.
They show that we are questioning the assumption of a single truth based on objective knowledge. Also that our understanding of the world is enriched by considering it from multliple perspectives, multiple cosmovisions. They indicate that for these multiple cosmovisions to enter into an equal dialogue, common languages must be found. They show the need to challenge academic knowledge, but also to be open to being challenged by it.

We need to radically transform dominant knowledge and ways of knowing for food sovereignty. To develop knowledge for food sovereignty we need to be humble and respectful of other voices and perspectives. We need to be bold in order to experiment with methods and ideas that may seem “unscientific”, while also working to demonstrate the quality in our inquiry processes.

We need to be playful in order to move lightly through the many obstacles on this path while keeping our curiosity alive. With these challenges in mind, one research question emerges which we invite you to join us in reflecting on: How do we nurture the human qualities that we need in order to develop knowledge, together, for food sovereignty?

Maryam Rahmanian and Michel Pimbert