AGROECOLOGY IS A WAY OF LIFE

Interview with the Students of EDUCAR

Umut Kocagz1

Youth who dare to fight, Build popular power

I was in Brazil to participate in the International Encounter of Struggling Youth as a

Turkish delegate, which was held in Marica, Rio de Janeiro in June 2016. After the youth
encounter, I had the chance to stay a couple of weeks in Brazil to visit some camps and
settlements of the Agrarian Reform, some cooperatives and agroecology schools of MST.
This was a moment great importance to discover, because MST was putting very much
importance both on the theoretical and practical sides of agroecology. MST consider
agroecology as a way of life, a way connecting to the society, as well as a struggle against
agribusiness and the ongoing coup process put in forward by the neoliberal Temer
government2. This means that agroecology is not only a method of farming, but also a life
vision, which is build up day by day in the camps and settlements, in the formal or informal
agroecology schools, in political formation of the militants. In other words, each space of
MST is based on the formation of agroecology, as a political paradigm against the
transnational agribusiness hegemony over agriculture and food systems.
In order to achieve a powerful political vision, formation is very important for MST in all its
spaces. In terms of agroecology, MST uses its formation and training processes beginning
from camps and settlements, practically and theoretically, in schools, in fields, and in the
political discourse proposed by its collective leadership.
MST proposes different kinds of formation programmes, some of which are recognised
officially by the state and run by a collaborative process with some universities or the
1 From the solidarity group of ifti-SEN / Turkey (Confederation of Small-Farmers Unions). A Turkish
version of this article is published on karasaban.net / to contact: ukocagoz@gmail.com
2 Joo Pedro Stedile, one of the national leaders of MST uttered this for a couple of times in different events: as
the Temer government is the representative of agribusiness system, each product produced based on
agroecology would be a denounciacion of the Temer coup.

national educational system. These formation processes include some courses directly for
militants, and some are considered the parts of joint university programs. Instituto Edcuar is
one of these schools where militants of MST have the opportunity to deepen their studies on
agroecology.
Educar is a school that aims to train farmers; young people settled and camped in the areas of
Agrarian Reform3. This education is based on agroecology, which aims to develop a form of
agriculture that preserves and defends the environment. In other words, formation in Educar
is a way of systematizing the peasant agroecology which is developed over years, which
has some new technological inputs, and which is not only a technique of agriculture but as
well a life paradigm. Thus, in Educar, and in other formation schools of MST, it is aimed to
promote grassroots based projects and models that guarantees food sovereignty and a better
life for the people living in rural areas.
Moreover, the formation process is not only limited with technical terms. Educar has a
pedagogical strategy to work on the construction and training of young farmers with the
capacity to analyze the political, cultural and economic realities of the society, discerning the
alternative and appropriate technological frameworks for the development of the rural
without a dependence on agribusiness.
I had the chance to meet and discuss with five young landless people on how they experience
this educational process in order to listen the experience from firsthand. I am very thankful to
them for giving me this chance, and MST as well, providing this opportunity to meet and
experience agroecology as a way of life.
Regiane de Souza Oliveira is 24 years old. She has been within MST since 10. She lives
with her family in San Francisco II settlement located in So Francisco, Minas Gerais. I met
her in Marica, while she was in Agrarian Reform Fair, selling products made in her region.
She is a student of Educar, in a joint program with a university of her region (UFFS).

Regiane

3 MST defines the area where camps and settlements are located as Agrarian Reform areas. This is not only
discoursive, but it also reflects the political vision and reality of the movement. The Agrarian Reform areas
are not only areas where there is occupation, but also the implementation of social rights, altenative formation
processes, and the agroecology, as an alternative way of producing and living the life.

Saru Karina Isaton is 20 years old. She was born to MST; her family was already part of
MST in Santa Catarina state where she was born. Since then, she has been part of the
movement. She studies Agronomy in Educar.
Jaqueline Mendes is 21 years old. She is living in a settlement of the Agrarian Reform. She
also considers herself as a militant of the MST.
Maferson Augusto Manica is 22 years old, living in a settlement of MST. He is also camped
in Passo Fundo - Rio Grande do Sul.
Bruno dos Santos is 20 years old. He lives with his parents in the southeast region of Paran
state. He is a militant of MST and he studies in Educar.
I met Saru, Jacqueline, Maferson and Bruno in So Paulo, where there is the Florestan
Fernandes National School (ENFF), the central political formation school of MST. They were
at the ENFF to complete a period of their studies, the practical part, as contributing to the
agroecological production of the school, as part of their education.

Jaqueline, Saru, Bruno and Maferson

Hello dear comrades. Thank you for giving me this opportunity. So, shall we start with the
Educar? What kind of a school is the Instituto Educar? Can you describe it a little bit?
Bruno: Educar is a formation center of the MST. It is located inside the Nossa Senhora
Aparecida settlement, in Ponto - Rio Grande do Sul.
Regiane: Educar was founded by the MST in 2005. The area is about 42 hectares. The
Institution aims to train young people of MST, as well as other Via Campesina organizations
in Brazil and other countries.

Saru: It is emerged through the struggle of the landless people, to have a more adequate
education for their children, with the purpose of bringing practice and theory together. In
Educar, we have a pedagogy which is also used in other spaces of MST. It is like, the
students are not only trained in technical terms, but as well social and political point of view,
with a broad vision.
Bruno: In this sense, it has a cause. It aims to train the children of the families and the
activists living in the Agrarian Reform areas. Educar is a gateway towards a better future.
The main idea is that these people trained in this school will give technical assistance to the
settlers and the people who need support and knowledge related to our agriculture.
Maferson: Here, there are students from all over Brazil, almost including more than 10
states.
What kind of courses does Educar offer?
Saru: Today at Instituto Educar we have two courses: First one is the Technical Agriculture
Course with emphasis on Agroecology. This is a joint course with the Pronera (Agrarian
Reform Education Program) and IFRS (Federal Institute of Rio Grande do Sul). The second
on is the Agronomy Course with emphasis on Agroecology. It has partnership with the
Pronera and UFFS (Federal University of Southern Border).
Bruno: This partnership was developed in 2014. Through Pronera and UFFS, Educar
welcomed 55 students as the first group of higher education, in order to train agronomists
who are capable of using technical knowledge and sustainable management of
agroecosystems.
Saru: I am currently studying agronomy. In the course of agronomy, there are people from
10 Brazilian states who have many different experiences that coexist together. Since the
beginning of the courses in Educar, the relationship between the theory and the practice was
a matter of question. In our worldview, theory without practice, or practice without theory
cannot exist. Therefore, theory and practice should go together. The theoretical knowledge
can contribute to the practice, and vice versa.
Jaqueline: I am studying Agronomy as well. Here, we have a pedagogy which is called the
pedagogy of alteration (pedagogia da alternancia). This pedagogy is based on interchanging
between the school and the base work that we carry on in the settlements, camps,
cooperatives or other spaces of the movement, regarding our studies.
Can you tell us more about this pedagogy? How does it actually works?
Regiane: I am a student of the agronomy course, where I study the third semester. For
example, I am now in my study period, at the school. But after this period, I will go back to
my settlement to contribute the base work.

Saru: I am in the sixth semester. My task is now to contribute to the ENFF in terms of
agricultural production. This is how alteration pedagogy works. We stay 90 days in the
Institute, and in the next period, we return to where we live to develop some tasks assigned
by the regional brigades of MST. By the way, we also have technical trips and lessons
directly in the fields, which are not done by traditional/conventional universities.

Contributing to the agricultural sector at the ENFF

Jaqueline: Our Agronomy course differs from other courses of conventional agronomy. It is
a training that aims to bring technical and political knowledge to the working class based on
agroecological methods. It also aims to create a way that is easily accessible in different
places where financial conditions do not become a limiting factor while we can still develop a
sustainable management of natural resources.
So with the alteration pedagogy, you contribute to the different spaces of MST?
Saru: For example, we are now here, at the ENFF, to contribute the works of the school.
The alteration pedagogy proposes this kind of interchange in order to practice what we have
learned so far, and to help the base level directly. We contribute to our society, our own
movement this way. And within Educar, besides studying curriculum disciplines, we have
many political studies and debates to better understand what is going on in society. This also
helps us with our alteration process, as we go back to the reality that we have been debating
on.
Maferson: The contribution can be at different spaces, in cooperatives, schools, camps and
settlements, which provide an exchange with the communities, as well the conditions to
practice the knowledge we acquired at school. In this way, we also contribute and qualify the
production and local development.

Regiane: For example, I practice what I study in the course in my region, in Minas Gerais.
There, I participate to my regional cooperative, Cooperativa Veredas da Terra, in the projects
of the productive processes. I put my knowledge as a candidate for agronomist; also, I work
to commercialization of our products in fairs, as what I do here in Marica. Of course, as being
a student, the contribution process is limited.

This seems a very demanding process. You seem like you participate in many spaces. Is it
also similar inside the school? What kind of an organisational structure do you have in
Educar?
Regiane: The structure is same with other MST spaces. We are organised in ncleos de base
(NB), where we have a group of comrades that is a basic organisational unit. My class has 57
students divided into 7 NBs. In general, NBs take care of the maintaining of the school, like
gardening, cleanliness of spaces, breakfast, which are activities that we do every day. Each
NB has two coordinators, one man and one woman. All the coordinators of the each NBs
meet in a coordinating group, namely the Coordination of nuclei de base of the Class
(CNBT). The function of CNBT is to raise the questions and discussions that we held during
the NB meetings. In other words, through NBs, we have the decision-making power.
Moreover, CNBT is our representative body in the Institute; it is our link with the general
coordination body of the school, and with the different sectors of MST.
All these groups, the NBs, the CNBT, and the Coordination of Educar hold regular meetings
every week to discuss matters related to the functioning of the activities, based on the
comradeship among all in the Institute.
We have a rotating mechanism, changing at each stage, which allows everyone to participate
in each activity, and learn about each work and to exercise coordination. For example, I was
already a coordinator of our NB for some time. About the daily activities, I have already
taken care of the garden and coordinated this activity. So far, I have already helped in the
maintenance of spaces with minor repairs in the infrastructure sector. Today, I take care of the
library and I help preparing the breakfast.

That seems very interesting. You not only study, but also produce the life collecitvely! I
believe you had some other opportunities, but chose to study in this Institute. Why did you
choose to study at the Educar?
Jaqueline: In this school, we, children of the working class, the landless families, have the
opportunity to have a graduation, which is in general not a common opportunity for the
people from the working class. Educar gives us the opportunity to bring the knowledge we
learn here back to our settlements and camps, to our comrades in diverse Brazilian regions.
Saru: First of all, it is a school of the MST. I consider myself as a part of this big family, the
movement. So, it was much more easier for me to attend, but it is also more appropriate to
my needs and my reality. It is a school in the countryside, where I live, where I want to live.
The traditional universities that are based in the urban parts of Brazil have too much
inequality. We, as peasants, are almost discriminated. Here it is different. Moreover, the
studies here are based on agroecology, which I see as a great way for healthier life and
environmental balance.
Bruno: And of course, regarding the privatization of the higher education, this is a public
institution, in a sense, that I am able to attend.
Maferson: Educar is a school which essentially seeks the construction of new men and new
women with humanistic and socially egalitarian values. It provides the collective coexistence
for the young people, as it has intense relation of study, work, reflection and organization of
the space, together and collectively. This makes us different young people with another vision
and context of the reality. So, this is a great opportunity to pursue as education.
Regiane: Regarding my understanding of pedagogy, Educar is a great
place where I can be a subject of my own training, I feel as I am agent.
I can bring my experiences and opinions to the Institute and I have
fellowship with people who, even though they are from different parts
of Brazil, have the same ideals as me. Educar is a place providing a
space for us to fight for our rights as well. Achieving a higher-level
education for us, the Landless Peoples Movement is an achievement
that should be celebrated. A great deal of struggle has been done in
order to be recognised in the university and spread our vision. So, I
represent the Landless class in the academy.
So, this is a school built by long struggles of the Landless people of
Brazil! As a young member of the movement, what do you think about MST youth
studying at these schools in general?
Saru: This is a place where young people have the opportunity to understand how society
really works, what we are subject to and what we can be contributing in the places where we
live. It is in these spaces that youth can express their opinions without suffering any kind of

repression and discrimination. MST youth has this opportunity, based on struggles, which is
very important and very special as well.
Bruno: In these schools, in addition to technical and scientific training, we learn to live in a
collective, in a society, relate to other people, make political and conjunctural discussions.
These do not exist in conventional schools. Taking responsibility of the school, in each space,
is very educative as well. It makes a young person grow a lot as a person.
Regiane: Here, we not only become technicians, but we grow as a human, and also become
militants. We learn, study and share experience with the people that we fight together, who
share our values, our morality, our mistica4. We are responsible for various tasks from
planning to execution; we learn that tasks such as cleaning the floor, caring for animals or
gardening, which are important for our organization. Taking part in each of them contributes
to the growth of our school and to the fight of the MST.
Moreover, leaders from the state level, regional and national levels of MST also participate in
the discussions, which is an important element. Educar is always present in the actions and
struggles of the MST, Educar lives the MST's organizational processes, and we are all forged
here as new militants in the communities of our origin. Therefore, studying in Educar is, for
us, a continuation of becoming a militant of MST, this time directly participating in an
educational institution.

And you will use this knowledge going back, no? What will you do after you finish your
course in Educar?
Regiane: The validity of the courses of Educar, having all the disciplines and contents of
regular education, is recognized by the Ministry of Education. So, after finishing the course, I
4 Mistica is a special activity of MST, which has cultural, spiritual, educational, theatrical, poetical and political
elements, done collectively in almost all MST spaces. To have a broad information, see: Mstica, meaning and
popular education in the Brazilian Landless Workers Movement, John L. Hammond.

will be a Landless agronomist. I want to go back to my settlement, help the farmers who have
difficulties in production, such as financial problems, climate problems, and drought. I also
want to work in my family's farm, through the knowledge I have gained at the course, to
obtain a better quality of life for myself and for everyone at home.
Saru: I will also receive a Bachelor's Degree in Agronomy. I also want to go back to the
areas of settlements and use my technical knowledge to help to farmers who lack technical
assistance. I will also work to spread the idea of agroecology.
Jacquelia: The social movements, the base level work allowed us to take this education. So, I
want to go back and give back what I learned to my base. I believe this reciprocity.
A couple of times you mentioned of agroecology. How do you see agroecology? How would
you define it?
Saru: Agroecology is the study of agriculture with an ecological perspective that does not
harm the environment or the people. As the famous agronomist, Ana Maria Primavesi once
said: Agroecology is not an eccentric alternative to cultivating the soil, but the only
possibility, if we want to survive on our planet. As this phrase says a lot, I define
agroecology as life, because if you do not practice this model of clean and sustainable
agriculture, in a close future, there will be no life on our planet.
Bruno: In our studies, we are focused on the alternative ways of doing agriculture,
alternative for the global industrial agricultural model. We do it in order to change the way
we do agricultural production in our Agrarian Reform areas and as well in the society. For me
agroecology is a way of life and the only alternative if we want to have a future for our
planet. It is the alternative for the conventional model, and only possible model, solution for
our planet. The conventional model of agriculture, the agribusiness treats the land as
commodity. Its sole objective is the accumulation of capital, using enormous amount of
pesticides, threatening our lands, our rivers, polluting them. Agroecology is a sustainable
model, which is the production of food in quality as well respecting the nature.
Maferson: For me, agroecology is also a science that presents a series of principles, concepts
and methodologies for studying, analyzing, directing, designing and evaluating
agroecosystems, in order to allow the implantation and development of agriculture styles with
higher levels of sustainability.
Jaqueline: It links the empirical knowledge with scientific knowledge, taking into account
the spaces and traditions of each place, aiming at an environmentally more sustainable,
economically efficient and socially fairer agriculture.
Regiane: I think, agroecology is a new way of seeing the relationship between men and
nature; production and consumption relations. We cannot limit agroecology into a technical
understanding of agriculture, no; it is much broader. It is not only about having crops free of
agrochemicals or transgenics, but also seeing water and soil as something that besides being
sources of life, they also have life. As a rural producer and as a student of agronomy, I can
assure you that with a decent, non-poisoned diet we can avoid many modern diseases, or the

old ones aggravated by our current production model. Agroecology is a way of living today,
but it is also our future!
So, lastly, what is the relation between your studies and agroecology?
Regiane: Before I was a student in Educar, as I have been a landless farmer, I already
believed that producing food free from poison and transgenics was important. But today,
through my educational process I can problematize and politicize what goes on my plate
every day. I now have theoretical and practical bases for doing so.
I find here, in the Institute, whether in the garden, classroom or in the field, we all participate
in the production processes from planning to execution. In each case and at each space,
agroecology is at work, happening in all our debates, and production processes.
Saru: In my point of view, the relationship between education and agroecology is
fundamental. We need to develop more of this; beginning from the settlements and camps,
from the children's early involvement in production processes, to set that agroecology is the
only valid model for our today and future. Educar is a special school for this, giving us to
realize this perspective. As coming from a settlement, I have been hearing agroecology since
my childhood, and now I have the opportunity to develop and spread it in theory and in
practice as well.
Thank you for both answering questions, and making the future today, doing agroecology
as well as producing knowledge based on agroecology. I wish you success in your courses
and our struggle.