Promoting Agroecology in Caring for The Common Home
The social apostolate's mission in Paraguay is hope-filled. As a young Jesuit, I find it a great challenge to accompany the members of the social sector. Since joining the Jesuits in Paraguay, I have been sent to many challenging contexts in our country. I have accompanied young and hopeful people in mission areas, in the schools of Fe y Alegría, and now in the Centro de Estudios Paraguayos Padre Antonio Guasch (CEPAG) -- a source of great joy in my consecrated life.
My mission in CEPAG started in 2022. CEPAG is the Paraguay Jesuits' research and social action centre, an institution with 56 years of experience serving our country's rural and peri-urban territories. Paraguay Jesuits accompany vulnerable populations also through parishes, Fe y Alegría schools, and CEPAG.
2023 was a time to review our [CEPAG] history, analyse our present work, and study the rural context where we accompany [the vulnerable]. As a fruit of this discernment, we decided to promote agroecology in caring for the common home. From the beginning, this goal energised our way of accompaniment and closeness as collaborators in Christ's mission. Our mission constituents are [agroecological] producers, rural women, and the rural and peri-urban youth.
The two years [of being on a mission] at CEPAG are a gift from God for nurturing my vocation. I never thought I would be close to agroecological producers who fill the world with hope. In their desire to move toward a hopeful future, they promote eating nutritious food, caring for the common home, and walking with all our collaborators.
In 2024, we held a MAGIS Youth Encounter in which CEPAG facilitated their experience of Integral Ecology. The experience unfolded in our Pytu Piro'y Centre for Rural Technological Validation. It was a week of work, prayer, study and missioning. With 15 young people, we learned about agroecology and healthy eating, and we made products such as fertilisers, potting soil mixtures, bio-preparations, preserves, biodegradable pots, and jams. On-site, we made vegetable gardens with farmers to learn first-hand about agroecological production.
The encounters with farming communities, promoting agroecology, and accompanying the technical team of CEPAG are God's gifts for living a commitment to care for the common home and the call to recognise that the Reign of God is established from small initiatives.
Currently, we support five production organisations, approximately 400 producer-families, 50 young entrepreneurs, young students and a population eager to learn more about agroecology and food security.
This mission at CEPAG allows me to [work] closely with [the personnel of] the universities we partner with for conducting research, apprenticeships, and joint actions in favour of agroecological producers. Together, we work on food processing techniques, research the effects of climate change, study environmental impacts, and propose ways to improve the management of pastures and forests.
Daily, my subject of study and practice is agroecology; the Paraguay Jesuits opened this new research horizon and commitment for me. And I live, ever grateful to God.
Simón Pedro Martínez Jara
Simón Pedro Martínez Jara, a 34-year-old Jesuit priest. He studied philosophy at the Colegio Máximo San José in Buenos Aires and theology at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana. He currently serves as the Delegate for the Social Sector and the Director of CEPAG.
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