5X社区

Food Production and Cultural Preservation at Heart of Exchange Program

Kent State hosts students from Universidad Panamericana in Mexico City

For the second year in a row, students from 5X社区 and Universidad Panamericana in Mexico City have taken part in an international exchange to continue their research on food production, cultural preservation and economic inclusion. 

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Sarah Schmidt
Sarah Schmidt
 

The Kent State partnership with Universidad Panamericana began in 2018, when Kent State received a grant from the , to establish an exchange and research program of northbound and southbound travel. The travel, however, did not begin until 2022, due to the pandemic. 

Sarah Schmidt, Ph.D., assistant director for global education initiatives for 5X社区 at Stark, who created the program, said, 鈥淭he whole research approach is to take the data we are collecting and address a social need. It is a research methodology called 鈥榗ritical social research.鈥欌 

Both in 2022 and this year, Kent State students traveled to Mexico City during spring break and visited a community of farmers directly descended from the Aztecs in Xochimilco, Mexico, who practice an ancient growing technique known as chinampas, a sustainable agriculture system made of artificial floating islands.  

Data that the Kent State students collected in 2022 were used to develop projects to help address the needs of the chinampas farmers for this year鈥檚 trip, Schmidt said. 

In June, a group from Universidad Panamericana returned to Ohio for the second time to collect data from Latin American-owned and operated farms and markets in the state.  

Students from Mexico were at Kent State for an exchange program to research sustainable agriculture in Ohio in June.

While in Ohio, the Mexican students visited farms, farmer's markets, nurseries and gardens throughout northeast Ohio, as well as the Hartville Migrant Ministry and the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. 

Students discussion farming methods with Martha Gaffney, owner of Martha's Farm in Ashland, Ohio.

Schmidt said a highlight of their visit was a trip to Martha鈥檚 Farm in Ashland, Ohio, which was founded by an immigrant from Ecuador, Martha Gaffney, who has integrated her Ecuadorian growing strategies into her Ohio farm. 

鈥淢artha is doing amazing work in the small farming community and has lobbied for policy protections for small farms,鈥 Schmidt said. 

Tomato plants grown on Martha's Farm in Ashland, Ohio.

The , is an initiative supported by the U.S.鈥疍epartment of State, U.S. embassies and Partners of the Americas, in partnership with companies, foundations and educational institutions working to strengthen the collaboration among governments, businesses and academia, critical to economies in the Americas.  

Farm grown blueberries.

鈥淭his has really grown into a wonderful partnership,鈥 Schmidt said, 鈥淧un intended!鈥 

Photos by Sarah Schmidt

POSTED: Wednesday, June 28, 2023 04:29 PM
Updated: Friday, July 28, 2023 02:51 PM
WRITTEN BY:
Lisa Abraham