Roots of resistance and resilience: Agroecology tactics for resettlement in El Salvador

Abstract

In the current era of intensifying global migration and displacement, people face significant obstacles as they resettle and reestablish community in a new place. This reflective essay explores the process that the researchers used to study how one community in El Salvador employed agroecology tactics for resettlement after the Salvadoran civil war and has remained rooted despite new forms of violence across Central America. The authors reflect on how their relationship to the community and their role as researchers from the United States visiting El Salvador unearths important connections between resettlement and agroecology. An approach utilizing oral histories, participant observation, and situation analysis revealed the need to connect macrolevel sociological perspectives on the environment to a spiritually informed understanding of how people relate to food systems and agriculture in everyday life. The essay highlights how cooperative agroecology tactics can contribute to people's ability to resist the forces that create contemporary environmental, human rights and international justice crises after displacement—or confront them with resilience. Concluding insights from El Salvador are offered to inform future agroecology and food systems scholarship and practice.