For the second year in a row, students from Kent State University 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.
The Kent State partnership with Universidad Panamericana began in 2018, when Kent State received a grant from the 100,000 Strong in the Americas Innovation Fund, 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 Kent State University at Stark, who created the program, said, “The whole research approach is to take the data we are collecting and address a social need. It is a research methodology called ‘critical social research.’”
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’s 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.
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.
Schmidt said a highlight of their visit was a trip to Martha’s 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.
“Martha is doing amazing work in the small farming community and has lobbied for policy protections for small farms,” Schmidt said.
The 100,000 Strong in the Americas Innovation Fund, is an initiative supported by the U.S. Department 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.
“This has really grown into a wonderful partnership,” Schmidt said, “Pun intended!”
Photos by Sarah Schmidt