Association of Rural Workers (ATC)

The Association of Rural Workers (ATC) is the lead Via Campesina member organization in Nicaragua. The ATC, founded in 1978, represents the interests of more than 50,000 campesino (small farmer) and landless rural workers families, organized in cooperatives, small landholding associations and unions.

The ATC operates a Central American Training Center in Nicaragua and trains community leaders from across Central America. This center enables the Via Campesina to bring small-farmer leaders to Nicaragua from throughout the region for intensive training in agroecology and building powerful, democratic local organizations. The center also deploys trainers to other countries in the region for on-the-ground training. Most recently, Grassroots has helped finance renovations to the center to create a comfortable learning environment. We have also supported curriculum development and the training sessions themselves.

The ATC’s training center is crucial to one of the primary goals of the Vía Campesina in Central America, which is to develop solidarity and unity across its diverse small-farmer member organizations to promote:

• A powerful regional advocacy voice for small farmers and farmworkers
• Economic relations of equality and social justice
• Land preservation
• Food sovereignty
• Sustainable agricultural production
• Gender equality and women’s leadership

Other Vía member organizations attending the four courses at the Training Center per year include:

• The Association of Small and Medium Sized Producers of Panama (APEMEP)
• The National Small Farmers Coalition in Costa Rica (MNC)
• Honduran Coordinating Council of Campesino Organizations (COCOCH)
• The Agricultural Front (Bloque) in El Salvador
• National Coordination of Indigenous Peoples and Campesinos in Guatemala (CONIC)

These organizations are leading peasant and small farmer organizations. The ATC will also train representatives from peasant organizations in Belize. The ATC and rest of the Via Campesina in Central America collaborate closely at the regional level with the Coordinating Body of Latin American Small Farmer Organizations (CLOC).