ENGAGE members have many mentors in many places. We have learned from villagers, social workers, community organizers, campesinas, and fisherfolk – people who are struggling for social justice and human rights all over the world. Out of respect to these mentors and to offer them the opportunity to expand their knowledge base, ENGAGE organizes Grassroots Exchanges, which bring mentors and allies on skill-building trips to different parts of the world. For example, in 2006, ENGAGE brought a leader in the sustainable agriculture movement to the United States to learn about the organic agriculture movement. Currently, ENGAGE is working to bring a leader of urban slum networks on a similar trip to the United States to improve his English and to learn about US-based activism and organizing.

Bring Kovit Boonjear to the United States – Donate Today!
Kovit Boonjear, one of our mentors who has contributed countless hours and insights to the experience of students studying abroad in Thailand, is hoping to come to the United States. Kovit has been an organizer working with urban slum dwellers and scavenger communities for over two decades. ENGAGE is working to make connections for Kovit and raise the funds necessary to make his visit to the United States possible.

It is people like Kovit who have welcomed students into his life and showed them how to create solutions, how to hear the voices of all people and how to use their voices. Now it is our turn to show our support and help Kovit come to the United States, where he hopes to improve his English communication, connect with marginalized communities, learn about the struggles of urban communities in the United States and to renew and rejuvenate the work he has been doing through exchanges with US-based activists and organizers. ENGAGE is excited to have the opportunity to continue learning with Kovit!

                                                                                   ENGAGE members and friends have a unique                                                                                    opportunity to contribute to bring Kovit to the                                                                                    United States. No donation is too small.
                                                                                   Online donations are gratefully accepted                                                                                    (designate Kovit to America in the Designation                                                                                    box), or you may send a check to:

                                                                                   ENGAGE
                                                                                   2017 Mission St. Suite 305
                                                                                   San Francisco, CA 94110

                                                                                   Together, we can realize the dream of bringing                                                                                    Kovit to America! For information about how                                                                                    you can get more involved with this campaign, click here to email the Kovit to America Coordinator.

“To support poor people, we organize together to be group, an organized community, a network. When we are organized we can have more power, we can talk or negotiate about policy with the government." -- Kovit Boonjear

Farmer Exchange with Thai Farmer Ubon Yuwa
Eugene, OR -- White Earth Reservation, MN -- San Francisco Bay Area and Central Valley, CA
August - November, 2006

     Photos

From August to November of 2006, ENGAGE hosted Ubon Yuwa on a Farmer Exchange and visit to the United States. Ubon is a regional representative from Thailand's Alternative Agriculture Network, which works directly with Thai farmers to promote sustainable agriculture. He has a wide range of knowledge regarding sustainable farming techniques, seed varieties, and Thai agricultural policy. He is also a leading expert on the sustainable agriculture pilot project currently in progress through the Alternative Agriculture Network. More recently, Ubon has been serving as a representiave of La Via Campesina, an international movement that coordinates peasant organizations of small and medium sized producers, agricultural workers, rural women, and indigenous communities from Asia, America, and Europe.

Ubon traveled to the United States to improve his English, and to exchange experiences about sustainable agriculture, Fair Trade, and free trade agreements (FTAs) with communities and organizations. During his visit, he was graciously hosted by Commonweal Gardens in Bolinas, California, and his trip was co-sponsored by the Multinational Exchange for Sustainable Agriculture (MESA). Ubon’s trip to the United States was made possible through the grassroots fundraising and volunteer coordination and efforts of members of the ENGAGE network throughout the country. His visit was a very fulfilling and productive experience, both for Ubon personally, and for the hundreds of people that he connected with during his stay. ENGAGE is grateful to everyone who made his trip possible!

Highlights of the Farmer Exchange included:
•  Visiting Winona LaDuke and Native American Manoomin rice producers on the White Earth    Reservation in Minnesota
•  Speaking at Augsburg College and University of Minnesota in Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN
•  Connecting with Native American community leaders at the Sacred Sites rally in San    Francisco, California
•  Visiting numerous organic farms and farmers markets throughout the San Francisco Bay    Area
•  Exchanging experiences with migrant farmworkers, and speaking at an event with the    Brown Berets in the Watsonville, California area
•  Speaking alongside Pascual Atualfo, a Fair Trade coffee farmer from Chiapas, Mexico at    events in Santa Cruz, California
•  Building relationships with organic rice farmers in the Central Valley in California
•  Speaking alongside Chip Struckmeier, a fifth generation family rice farmer from California
•  Exchanging with aspiring farmers from Ecuador, India, Peru and elsewhere around the    world visiting the United States with the Multinational Exchange for Sustainable Agriculture    (MESA) 
•  Speaking on a Fair Trade panel at University of Oregon