Episode 34: Reginaldo Hasslet-Marroquin: Decolonize and Indigenize Regenerative Agriculture
“Our definition of regenerative is at odds with the non-profits and corporations that have come into this space trying to colonize and appropriate it from its indigenous origins… by expropriating it, naming it and claiming it, and then imposing it back on us. Regenerative agriculture from an indigenous perspective is a way of being, a way of thinking, a way of interacting, working with, learning from and ensuring that we become one with the ecosystems so that we can regenerate ourselves and the other living creatures on Earth…
“Organic is critical but regenerative is way beyond Organic. It is about ecosystem management, relationships between farmworkers and owners, between farm owners and supply chains, it is about ownership and governance.”
Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin began working on economic development projects with indigenous Guatemalan communities in 1988. He served as a consultant for the United Nations Development Program’s Bureau for Latin America and as an advisor to the World Council of Indigenous Peoples. He was a founding member of the Fair-Trade Federation in 1994.
From 1995 to 1998, and led the creation, strategic positioning, and launch of Peace Coffee, a Minnesota-based fair-trade coffee company. He went on to work with woodland owners in the Midwest and internationally supporting the organization of several Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) certified operations.
Regi was named one of the Twin Cities International Citizens of the Year in 1996. In 2008 he received both the Northfield area and the District's Service to Mankind Award. He has served community boards including the Resource Center of the Americas, North Country Development Fund (currently Shared Capital Cooperative), the Northfield Area Foundation and the Northfield Area YMCA. He is currently a member of the Rotary Club of Northfield, a board member with the Conservation Corps of Minnesota and Iowa, owner-founder of Regeneration Farms LLC, and Founder and President of the Regenerative Agriculture Alliance. Regi was awarded a prestigious lifetime Ashoka Fellowship in 2018 for his work in Regenerative Poultry Systems.
Regi’s has pioneered innovations in a Regenerative Poultry System that is at the center of a multitude of national and international initiatives. The system is uniquely aligned with the conditions of small farms and marginalized communities and is designed for large-scale and global impact. At the Regenerative Agriculture Alliance, Regi's current work covers communities in the US (Northfield, MN, Omaha, Mead and Winnebago NE, Pine Ridge SD), Hazelton British Columbia, Mexico, Guatemala and Belize. During the 2020 MOSES conference, Regi received one of the first "Changemaker" awards for innovation and lasting impact.
A native Guatemalan, Regi received his agronomy degree from the Escuela Nacional Central de Agricultura studied at the Universidad de San Carlos in Guatemala then graduated from Augsburg University in Minneapolis with a major in international business administration and a minor in communications. Regi authored “In the Shadow of Green Man”, My Journey from Poverty and Hunger to Food Security and Hope. It can be ordered from acresusa.org, Amazon and numerous other booksellers.
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Episode #34 Notes
1:00 - How did you get involved in the good food movement?
7:00 - On Agronomy.
9:15 - How did you decide to focus on poultry?
14:45 - What is ‘Tree Range’ poultry?
22:00 - How do you define regenerative agriculture?
24:30 - What are the goals of the Regenerative Agriculture Alliance?
30:00 - Regenerative Agricultural and cultural appropriation.
37:20 - Regenerative Agriculture and Food Sovereignty.
40:00 - Book Recommendations!
Sacred Instructions, Sherri Mitchell
In The Shadow of Green Man, Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin
