This is a CTP of initiative: Slow Food Mexico
A turning point in the recent history of Slow Food Mexico has been the signing of the collaboration agreement, in October 2015, between the "slow food" association and the Ford Foundation. The purpose of this agreement is to finance the development of the project "Slow Food and Terra Madre network in Mexico: Actions and projections in the fight against rural poverty and inequality through the promotion and enhancement of the local food heritage".
The project which will serve to strengthen the organizational structure of the Slow Food network in Mexico as the following explains:
We met the Project Director of the Ford Foundation, we proposed her an alliance, and she told us she was interested, and we presented a proposal. The project consists of applying Slow Food methodologies in a certain territory, aiming to fight rural poverty through the enhancement of traditional food. The project consists on mapping the territory of four states and identifying food communities and producers. We apply the Slow Food’s Ark of Taste scheme (1), identifying products at potential risk of disappearance. We identify one potential Presidia candidate (2) per region and, eventually, we will support these Presidia. We will do alliances with chefs. We are releasing results of the mapping to the public through dissemination activities
This project has promoted a substantial change in Slow Food Mexico, providing it with external economic resources that have allowed the professionalization of the national structure, involving the hiring of four people to coordinate Slow Food projects. Although it is still very small in comparison with the international network or older national associations, the interviewee points out that it is unusual for Slow Food to count on hired personnel in Latin America.
A possibility within Slow Food Mexico arises for the professionalization of a number of members. We need people with experience in leading projects, or in “business to business” relations, or how to champion a Presidium project. It's an incipient process and only few people knew how to do it (3)
The said agreement guarantees, according to the interviewee, the achievement of the expected results, as the realization of a project will not depend on the voluntary or personal commitment of partners. The field work will be performed by people who will receive economic compensation. Despite this, there is a general agreement that the project should not follow strict evaluation parameters.
My feeling is that there is much work to do. The project is very ambitious, and we should be very precise in our performance. We have the advantage of having funding, which permit us keep working as we already did without funds, and we have some assurance that the person on charge is going to do the work, because he or she will get paid for it. Before, we did this in our free time, when we could or wanted. Now we begin to have resources, which gives some responsibility to those working here
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(1) Slow Food Presidia (Presidium, singular) are local projects that work to improve the infrastructure of artisan food production. The goals of the Presidia are to guarantee a viable future for traditional foods by stabilizing production techniques, establishing stringent production standards, and promoting local consumption.
(2) The Ark of Taste is an online catalogue which gathers “delicious and distinctive foods” facing extinction. By identifying and championing these foods Slow Food aims to keep them in production.
(3) Slow Food has edited a handbook for Slow Food leaders and Presidium Coordinators: https://www.slowfoodusa.org/files/files/handbook-presidia.pdf
The interviewee mentions at this point a series of people who have facilitated this turning point, who are the Slow Food associates that are members of the Board of Directors of the "Comida Lenta" association:
Actually we are 4 people working in the association. I am the one with more experience in non-profit organizations, for my experience during 15 years in another social organization. I also have experience in project management. I studied Political Science and Public Administration, and I have experience. Me and Alfonso complement each other. He is the ideas man. And we evaluate them, whether they are viable or not. We also very much rely on Italy, on Andrea Mato, who is a great project manager, very creative, and he has identified viable projects
As the respondent mentions in the previous quote, the national leaders acknowledge that they have received support from the international network, in terms of both the advice that Slow Food technicians from the Bra headquarters (Italy) provided to them, and for the assistance. Besides, they acknowledge the support given by the Slow Food’s General Secretary, Paolo di Croce, who travelled to Mexico to begin the negotiation of the agreement with the Ford Foundation. In addition, this agreement is preceded by collaboration between Slow Food and the Ford Foundation in other countries of the American continent, which positively favored the first agreement for the development of a Slow Food project in Mexico.
The support offered by various international agencies – both public and private - to Slow Food Mexico is based on high levels of inequality, poverty and malnutrition in Mexico (and other Latin American countries), which are broadly known and pose a challenge for their governments. This social context is considered an "opportunity for the network" which, despite its small size, proposes innovative projects to address local issues related to food and health (especially on children):
In my personal opinion, the Mexican government is clearly allying itself with large commercialization companies to supposedly address health issues. There is a national campaign against hunger, which was about fighting hunger using local foods. But the efforts have been meager. They end up offering "junk" foods. Big companies end up carrying bottled milk, canned food. It is a context in which the Mexican government is committed to receiving loans at the international level, and they are to meet certain goals at all costs. The private sector, such as private foundations, see that this is not working. And that an volunteer-based organization may be an option. That's what I think. It’s not all bad though. There are government programs that are working, but local efforts are lost, diluted, it seems that they are not so visible. In the end the president announces the projects with large impact, but whose results are not perceived on the ground.
On the other hand, Slow Food Mexico takes advantage of the proximity with the United States and the growing demand in this country for healthy, high quality and organic products:
We are launching a Presidium project with “Serrano chili pepper” producers, in order to be sold in the USA to a restaurant, through a face-to-face negotiation. Producers can go to the USA, sit at the table to negotiate, and count on Slow Food's support in terms of exports. It is a learning process. There will be further regional and other more exportable products. But producers have to be creative. This is a part of the project with the Ford Foundation, such business to business relationships with a series of entrepreneurs we have already identified, who are interested in these “nostalgia ingredients " like chili, corn, “chapulín (1)”. Several local companies are interested. In the USA there are a number of organic, healthy food chains that are also interested. Some organizations already have clients in the USA. But we want to do more
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(1) Mexican for grasshoppers
The turning point is directly related to events occurring within the Slow Food Mexico network that have been previous in time. The interviewee mentions the renewal of the national network (called “Slow Food 2.0”). Since 2012, the national manifestation has been coordinated by a group of young people led by Alfonso Rocha, the new counsellor of Slow Food for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. From this moment on, the new leaders seek to formalize agreements with different public entities from the country, to promote the Ark of Taste or Presidia projects across the Mexican territory.
As a result of this new outlook of the network, Slow Food leaders see the need for a formal structure and legal recognition that enables them to sign agreements with other institutions:
I believe that within the Mexican context, funders are eager to receive creative proposals and Slow Food perceives it as a very important project, with many years behind them and tradition, support and recognition. Here the civil organizations sometimes stay 15 years with the same project, and the same funding bodies. And that's not always good
This has led to the establishment of the "Comida Lenta" association in 2014, which has given legal representation to the Slow Food movement in the Mexican context, in line with Mexican legislation. This new situation permitted them to introduce new ways of doing and organizing within the movement:
Another turning point is the creation of the civil association, legally constituted in 2014, in August 2014. It is something we still dealing with. The objective is to acquire legal personality to sign agreements with governments, to receive support from the government, private donations, etc. We are working on this. In fact, this affects also to small donations. In the past, if anyone wanted to make a donation, they used to give money by hand so, everything was more informal and depended on the good faith of the person who received the money and so on... Now the association is the only one who is allowed, both morally and legally, to receive funds
Since the signing of the agreement, Slow Food Mexico has been able to hire a number of workers capable of implementing social innovation projects in the territory, aimed at the development of rural communities, the fight against poverty and malnutrition. Slow Food Mexico incorporates new interpretation frameworks and new work methodologies in the food field, based on the experience and recommendations by Slow Food International:
Slow Food provides us some guidance, there is basic documentation, methodological guidelines, but they have to be adapted to our cultural particularities, contextual peculiarities as well as our own backgrounds. We're doing it as well we can. If Andrea (1) comes, we take full advantage of his know-how, asking them about how he works. With Alfonso, we have tried to do some sort of recruiting (...) I am an educator too. We are trying to do something like peer education activity
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(1) N.A. Andrea is an Slow Food’s project office working in the Headquarters office (in Bra, Italy)
According to the respondent, it does not appear that the signing of the agreement with the Ford Foundation has generated contestation within the national Slow Food organization. This may be due to the fact that this foundation was already known in the Mexican context and that Slow Food has previously collaborated with the Ford Foundation in other regions of the American continent.
However, there were previous discussions about the type of institutions with which to work, and (tacit) criteria have been established that prevent agreements with entities that are against the principles and values of Slow Food from the food or environmental point of view, something which does not apply to the Ford Foundation. Slow Food develops, according to the agreement, projects to stimulate the network in four different regions of Mexico. This could also have been a point of internal conflict according to the selection criteria for the regions, the Slow Food products or the convivia that will benefit from the investments and work of the network. However, it seems that the leaders of Slow Food have been able to agree or explain these decisions well, silencing critical voices:
Actually, for the selection process, we take into account closeness, the possibility of working together, because we can meet since we are close. In addition, networks are stronger here, we have more people involved, associates, more proposals for the Ark of Taste, where the Presidia are more concentrated. As far as I know, there were 2 or 3 voices that asked for projects coming from different places, but in our previous information, we explained that this was the pilot but the objective is to extend the project to other regions. There were no other disagreements
Nor has it generated (up to now) conflict the choice of the people who will lead or work on the projects financed as a result of the agreement. However, it has given rise to discussions about the appropriate profile of hired personnel. "Face-to-face" communication seems the best way to resolve discrepancies. Likewise, giving partners the opportunity to express themselves, to participate and to propose new ideas is perceived as the most useful tool to anticipate or prevent future conflicts:
Conflicts are solved face to face. We meet with all the projects, everyone can go, participate. It is okay if this person leads but he or she has also to go to the communities, to where they work, and the results were optimal then. We try to solve things in this way, in face-to-face meetings. It is easier. We use WhatsApp or Skype too, but not even that works
However, it seems that some debates are still unresolved:
There are debates already: about whether to release convivium leaders, whether they are suitable or not or whether to have a specialized team in making these mappings. I believe that we must have a specialized team of people but trained by peers, for visiting the territories, bringing local leaders together, experience how the methodology works, so that these people learn about the tool and can apply it by themselves afterwards
Given the short time elapsed, it is still too early for most partners to identify this event as a turning point within the organization. Only the most involved ones consider this to be a CTP. The agreement implies the implementation of 4 pilot projects, the first agreement with funding allocated for the reinforcement of the network in Mexico, its expansion, and the strengthening of the structure itself. Coordinators, people in charge of the association, see it clearly but partners don’t, they need more data, to see results. However, they expect this to be a turning point because many of them have already asked for these projects to reach their communities in the future.
It's hard. The money arrived in November. Here in Mexico at the beginning of December, you'll almost party until January. It's Christmas, etc. Then we have three to four months project. The answer is that I do not think this vision is shared. It has been started in four regions, perhaps the coordinators of the mapping across the four regions could share this vision, but neither the results are equal. They are different
Because of his leader role in a local convivium, and as a member of the board of directors of the "slow food" association, the interviewee perceives this event as a turning point. Nonetheless, it is one of the people who have anticipated and participated in decision-making on the strategic lines of the movement in Mexico; in defining where it has to go, and what instruments should it be endowed with. This agreement was the first signed with a foundation, with the objective of financing the activity of Slow Food. Having secured the support of the Ford Foundation opened new doors for Slow Food in Mexico, and new funding sources appeared. Public support is even more important than the amount financed. Moreover, the anticipation capacity depends, according to the interviewee, on the previous experience that each person has within Slow Food and their experience in networking with other entities. These experiences will be shared in the coming months, which will mean an opportunity to transfer the new knowledge and the most relevant information regarding this critical turning point to have a clearer perspective on what this could mean for the future of the movement in Mexico:
Some Presidia are linked to organizations that have been working for 10 years, which is very good. However, in other regions they don’t, and it is not the same. They have no legal status; many have never got products onto the market. They cannot be a bulwark, but they can start a project. But we are learning this in a group, nobody had this knowledge. We are all learning-by-doing with this project. The country also has its complexity. We will also have an opportunity at the end of April for sharing it with the whole network at the national level and see what happens
We are in a stage of strengthening the network of people in Slow Food Mexico, doing the work we are doing. We are not obliged to deliver a profit and loss account to anybody, but the process is important, we are strengthened, and I am optimistic, because I believe that we are close to achieving it
The aforementioned CTP has facilitated an intense learning process for all the people involved in the project: convivium leaders, workers and volunteers. This is the first time that projects of promotion of local products (Bulwark, Ark of Taste) have been so actively promoted by applying tools provided by the Slow Food network. The knowledge gained through this first experience will be transferred later to the rest of the association, so that more people within the entity acquire the necessary skills to identify products at risk of extinction and making them subject of protection:
It's certainly an art to build a Presidium. In fact I've never done it. This will be my first experience and we will learn from it (...) and we are learning a lot. This is how to apply the Slow Food methodology in one case, and has allowed us to put it into practice and that is what we are going to tell the rest of the association. In order to be able to tell others the requirements they have, and what a team must have to promote these projects in other regions of Mexico
This has been the first project of such a large scope developed by the Mexican organization, so it has been an outstanding social learning effort, which has been carried out in a collaborative, peer-to-peer way, in which each participant has contributed his experience to the group, fostering the production of new knowledge and working methodologies. The interviewee defines it as a "peer-to-peer" learning process:
We travel to the region and make a field ltrip with the local team. We explain them the project’s method on the ground. We give them information. We have developed basic guidelines to conduct the field work. I think it's simple, but I think one must be sensitive. I did not know anything about agriculture before. But now, working with Alfonso, he taught me things about genetic manipulation. I had to travel to the countryside with him. He draws certain lessons. And now I can pass it on to others
This learning has favoured the development of new skills in human resources management and recruitment:
With Alfonso we have tried to do some sort of recruitment process (...), sometimes we look for an specific interest or profile. Obviously, someone who want to conduct field work, mapping in rural communities, must be sensitive towards the territory ... Or in the other way, someone who wants to do the mapping, but is an indigenous person who only knows his microcosm, and it turns out that everything is missing, everything is important... then you need someone who can make a wider picture of it
The respondent mentioned a learning process addressed at the benefiting communities:
The social impact of this project is that producers also acquire the necessary learning to value their work and acquire skills in marketing and dissemination of their products
The social benefit of the project is to strengthen producers. And to realize that they have to be creative to give that added value to their products. And rely on creative, chefs, to be able to sell at a fair price. That is the biggest benefit. Showing experiences of producers who are successful. The aloe oil is an example. The social impact is that in the network producers find a support to make their product visible, especially in these international fairs, in their stand, with design recommendations, marketing advice… That helps and works, and I believe that through these projects traditional economies are strengthened
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