Terra Advocati Funds Agroecological Farmer Training Network Across 10 States in Mexico

Sometimes, when people and organizations are working toward a shared vision, remarkable things happen.

Today, Terra Advocati is excited to announce that we have secured funding to support the Intensive Agroecology Training (FIA) program at Las Cañadas Bosque de Niebla, a cooperative and educational center nestled in the cloud forests of Huatusco, Veracruz. 

This ambitious initiative is creating a new kind of decentralized farmer/ rancher training network, connecting grassroots organizations, Indigenous communities, and agricultural educators across ten Mexican states spanning nearly one-third of the country's territory. Its vision is to bring farmers together through shared learning, practical experience, and long-term collaboration, strengthening food sovereignty, agroecological practices, and regenerative agriculture across Mexico.

This program and approach are specifically designed to empower farmers/ ranchers to become trainers and leaders within their communities.

Almost simultaneously, our partners at Las Cañadas received equally exciting news of their own. An independent proposal to the international Agroecology Fund has also been approved, providing funding for the same farmer training initiative!

What began as two independent efforts to support a shared vision has now become something far greater. Together, these grants will allow us to double the number of farmers trained during the program's first year, with two fully funded intensive agroecology training programs in 2027!

We'd like to express our heartfelt gratitude to Las Cañadas and the Agroecology Fund for their dedication, and to our collaborating partner, the To Be Good, To Do Good Foundation, for its guidance and partnership in advancing this shared vision. Their dedication reflects the importance of bringing together people and organizations who believe in community-led solutions, empowerment, and long-term relationships.

What This Means: Growing a Network of Farmers and Communities

As we shared in our earlier article, Las Cañadas: Growing a Vision Across Southern Mexico, this initiative is about much more than agricultural education. It is about building a living network of farmers, cooperatives, Indigenous communities, universities, and grassroots organizations working together to strengthen food sovereignty, restore degraded soils, and create lasting opportunities for rural communities. With more than 25 years of experience in community education, forest restoration, and regenerative production, we believe that Las Cañadas is uniquely positioned to quickly make a meaningful impact.

An important first step will take place November 10–13, 2026, when representatives from 22 participating organizations will gather at Las Cañadas for an encuentro, a collaborative gathering to help shape the future of the network. Originally bringing together organizations from nine Mexican states, the initiative will now extend into a tenth state through Terra Advocati's involvement. Together, participants will help design the training curriculum, establish farmer selection criteria, and develop long-term commitments to supporting farmers before and after their training.

With both funding efforts now successful, Las Cañadas will offer two four-week FIA training programs in 2027. The first will take place from February 15 to March 13, supported by the Agroecology Fund. The second will follow from May 24 to June 19, made possible through grant funding provided by Terra Advocati.

Together, these programs will expand training opportunities from 22 to approximately 44 farmers in the first year, with an emphasis on Indigenous and Afro-Mexican communities, women, and younger generations.

The experience goes beyond the classroom. Farmers will learn through hands-on participation in the regenerative systems developed at Las Cañadas, returning home with practical knowledge they can adapt to their own lands and share within their communities. Participating organizations will help accompany farmers before and after their training, nurturing relationships that can continue growing long after the programs conclude through a virtual platform (more to come). 

Expanding into the Sierra Huasteca

We are especially excited that this expanded initiative will welcome SEDEPAC Huasteca, based in Xilitla, San Luis Potosí, bringing the network from nine to ten Mexican states.

This partnership is particularly meaningful for Terra Advocati as it connects with our ongoing Xilitla Magia initiative and the relationships we continue to cultivate throughout the Sierra Huasteca to bolster watershed regeneration and traditional food-ways.

Through SEDEPAC Huasteca and their longstanding devotion to community autonomy, we see future opportunities to bring together traditional foodways, Indigenous agricultural knowledge, community education, and regenerative land stewardship, strengthening connections between communities that share similar challenges, wisdom, and aspirations.

Building Bridges Between Texas and Mexico

These growing relationships also connect with our work in Texas through CREA, the Coalition for Regenerative Ecologies and Agriculture, a collaboration bringing together Terra Advocati, the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), Alamo Colleges, St. Philip's College, Estampa Verde, Vetiver Roots Technology, San Antonio Food Bank, Gardopia Gardens, Wildfarm SATX, Sovereignty Ranch, and other educational and community partners across Texas and Mexico, funded by a USDA NIFA HSI Grant.

Through CREA, students have opportunities to explore regenerative agriculture, ecological restoration, and community-based approaches to food systems, both in Texas and Mexico.

Looking ahead to July 2027, we are working with Las Cañadas to arrange for several UTSA students from the CREA program to participate in the cooperative's regularly scheduled intensive agroecology training.

This opportunity represents another meaningful connection between the two regions. Students from San Antonio will learn alongside practitioners in Veracruz, bringing new perspectives and practical experience back to their own communities, research, and future professions. At the same time, these exchanges help strengthen the relationships between the farmers, educators, students, and organizations working toward similar goals on both sides of the border.

For Terra Advocati, this is one of the most exciting aspects of the collaboration. We are not simply supporting individual programs, but helping weave together a growing community of people who can learn from one another, share their experiences, and continue building upon this work for years to come.

Investing in a Regenerative Future

We are deeply grateful to Ricardo Romero and the entire Las Cañadas cooperative for the decades of dedication, imagination, and love that have made this work possible.

What began as a conversation about supporting an extraordinary community has grown into an expanding network of relationships and opportunities across ten Mexican states, with new connections reaching into Texas and beyond.

We look forward to seeing where these new relationships, shared experiences, and seeds of possibility will take all of us.

Photos from Las Cañadas, SEDEPAC Huasteca, and Terra Advocati Archive