Last weekend (18-20 of November 2011), I was able to participate in the II Festival for urban-rural dialogue in the barrio La Joya in Bucaramanga, Colombia. The festival was visited by peasants (such as fishers, women groups, and farmers), indigenous groups as well as knowledge brokers from all over Colombia, Costa Rica, Venezuela and Cuba. In addition, urban citizens from Bucaramanga, and La Joya in particularly, participated in the event. This mix of participants created a valuable learning environment for everyone (including me), and resulted in new ideas and organisations amongst the participants. In a way, this festival reminded me of the rural cafés I visited in the Westerkwartier, the Netherlands.
The overall theme of the event was the environmental conflicts in rural Colombia resulting on the one hand from the numerous (and often multinational) economic exploitation activities (e.g. gold mining, hydroelectric power activities and monoculture) and on the other hand from conservation activities.
Poster presented at festival
Are you a student of Wageningen University and interested in food? Then, you might be eligible for a new Intensive Programme in which the Rural Sociology Group participates. During two intensive weeks in Cluj (Rumania) you will be introduced to traditional foods in a multidisciplinary setting. Students and lecturers from various European countries (France, Greece, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Rumania, Belgium, Slovenia, Poland) will discuss in an inspiring setting the relationship between microorganisms and traditional food; are they partners or competitors? The background of the students and staff varies from economy to food microbiology, geography, agro-forestry, food safety, animal product processing and of course rural sociology. For more information, please contact 
Rural Sociology Wageningen University 