The International Association for Community Development Practice Exchange – October 2017
To apply for the 2017 Practice Exchange, please contact the IACD office membership@iacdglobal.org. before the end of September.
Following our highly successful 2016 Practice Exchange professional development programme to India and Nepal, IACD is delighted to be teaming up this year with REDAR Perú and CONDESAN and the Pueblo Likanantay de San Pedro de Atacama de Chile, to offer a Practice Exchange programme to South America in October, 2017.
“Andean – Amazonian knowledge and ancestral practices in agricultural systems: potential and challenges”
San Pedro de Atacama, Chile 11-19 October 2017
Andean men and women possess an ancient wisdom based on the ancient knowledge for managing soils, water and productive systems, management of cultural diversity. However, adverse policies erode that knowledge, causing a misuse of the soil, concentration of land in a few hands, privatization and pollution of water and the change of the land use for indiscriminate urban growth and extractive activities such as mining. The consequence is the transfer of the poverty of the countryside to the city.
The Practice Exchange is open to members of IACD who are working in the field of rural development, researchers, indigenous leaders and representatives of civil society as well as international development advocates, with a particular interest/expertise in such issues as sustainable development, environmental protection, water management and work with indigenous cultures. Joining the Exchange will also be people working in rural communities from Northern Chile, Peru, Bolivia and Argentina.
The cost of the 2017 Practice Exchange is just US$1,200.
This cost excludes international travel to get to Calama airport. The cost is based on a clean budget hostel with shared bedroom. It includes all food, airport transfer, transportation to local communities and translation.
Payment can be made through the IACD website.
You can also contact the IACD office direct: Colette McClure, Administrator, IACD, Baltic Chambers, Suite 305, 50 Wellington Street, Glasgow, G2 6HJ, Scotland, UK +44 141 248 1924
The aim of the 2017 Practice Exchange is to:
- Share and exchange experiences between community developers from Andean countries and internationally.
- Provide a space for Exchange, discussion and analysis about the Sumaq Kawsay or good living.
- Analyse the problem of water depletion and management in the territory through the exchange of experiences as a critical element for the sustainable socio-economic development of countries.
- Generate and promote synergies between the institutions that are committed to the research and development of the Andean region through shared activities.
You can find out more about the trip directly from the IACD South America Director, Ursula Harman, who will be the international participants’ group leader and Spanish/English interpreter. Contact Ursula on +61 497840436 ursulaharman@gmail.com
About Sand Pedro, Chile
- San Pedro lies in the heart of some of northernChile‘s most spectacular scenery. A short drive away lies the country’s largest salt flat, its edges crinkled by volcanoes (symmetrical Licancábur, at 5916m, looms closest to the village). Here too are fields of steaming geysers, a host of otherworldly rock formations and weird layer-cake landscapes.
- The town lies at an average of 7,900 feet (2,400 m), and visitors often experience mildaltitude sickness such as dizziness, lethargy and headaches.[4] The local climate is extremely dry and mild, with daytime temperatures between 25–30 degrees Celsius (77–86 degrees Fahrenheit) in the summer (December to February) and 18–25 °C (64–77 °F) in the winter (June to August). Nighttime temperatures routinely drop below 0 °C (32 °F) and can reach as low as −10 °C (14 °F) in the winter.
- Because of its altitude, we advise a brief period of acclimatization, so participants may wish to arrive a day or two earlier. You will be responsible for any additional costs such as hotel. Please let IACD know if you intend to arrive earlier. The journey from the airport will take approximately one hour by bus.
