CoFSA’s journey has been an emergent process supported by the commitment of a diverse set of members and the quality of relationships they have built.
CoFSA originates in a decade’s work by the UNDP’s Green Commodities Programme (GCP) that addresses the sustainability challenges of highly-traded agricultural commodities (such as coffee, cocoa, palm oil, etc.) through multi-stakeholder cooperation and dialogue. The challenges faced during this time led Andrew Bovarnick and his team to understand that external solutions are not by themselves enough to bring about systemic change. Even where programmes seek to enable cooperation, the inner human aspects of food and agriculture systems (e.g. lack of trust, mindsets) are too often overlooked, with the result that appropriate structural and policy solutions are not sufficiently adopted, implemented and scaled. The team set out to address this blind spot in collective efforts to achieve sustainable food systems.
– Andrew Bovarnick (Global Head, Food and Agricultural Commodity Systems, UNDP)
Beginning in October 2020, UNDP initiated the conceptual design of the Alliance and commenced outreach to a diverse range of stakeholders. The core team sought to connect with a diversity of stakeholders from across food systems – from development agencies, NGOs and governments, to donors, companies, academia, grassroots and Indigenous networks, as well as consciousness practitioners.
In March 2021, CoFSA’s first Partners’ Workshop hosted over thirty members to begin exploring the role of consciousness in transforming food and agriculture systems. The event confirmed a widespread appetite for the initiative. Partners welcomed the opportunity to join a community of peers – until this point, many had felt isolated in their efforts to integrate consciousness approaches into their own work towards food systems change and sustainability. They likewise appreciated the legitimacy UNDP could bring to this agenda.
Several areas of enquiry emerged as crucial as we moved together into this new territory – leading to a series of mini-workshops to discuss key strategic questions and refine a shared approach. The themes, learnings and outcomes from these workshops were captured in the CoFSA 2020-2021 Annual Report.
In October 2021, CoFSA launched the “Breathing Room”. In this dedicated online space, 27 core members met regularly to connect deeply with themselves and each other – and to begin the process of co-creation. Partners met twice monthly until June 2022 to connect deeply with themselves and one another and start co-creating CoFSA. Strong emphasis on building personal connections established firm foundations for the alliance, while allowing collaborations and partnerships to blossom.
Members of the ‘Breathing Room’ journey, lead a wide range of innovative projects at the forefront of agricultural regeneration, from strengthening traditional food cultures in Brazil, to building local regenerative leadership in Cameroon. From empowering Rwandan women to become mindful entrepreneurs of sustainable change to supporting eco-villages development across Asia. And from training European members of parliament in mindfulness to transforming the culture of civil service in Wales, and mobilizing traditional wisdom by grassroots organizations. See the list of participants in the Breathing Room.
In parallel to the ‘Breathing Room’ journey, specialist working groups were organized to develop CoFSA’s Manifesto, Rationale for Action Report, Collection of Case Studies.
By late 2022 a crucial shift was in process: from a collection of isolated change-makers, working separately on parallel agendas, to an intentional community, working together towards a common goal. The learnings and achievements from this period are captured in the CoFSA 2021-2022 Annual Report.
With our public launching in fall 2022, The Alliance has moved into implementation phase: our focus has been on implementing a portfolio of interventions, developing trainings, fundraising efforts, strengthening the diversity of members, and building a conscious movement of practitioners that serves as a catalyst for mindset shifts in one’s own sphere of influence.
In April 2023, The Alliance members gathered first in-person Strategic Retreat. to shape the CoFSA strategy and dive into practical ways to collaborate and transform food systems fostering our connection to self, others, and nature. This video provides an overview of the activities and key takeaways of the Alliance during the Strategic Retreat held in the Schumacher College (UK) from April 12th – 15th.
Since March 2023, the Alliance has been offering a series of collective inquiries and consciousness practice sessions. It is an opportunity to engage in inspiring conversations and transformative experiences, to collectively identify inner pathways for building more regenerative food systems. Visit the Areas of Work to know more.
