Brief History of the Caravan

In November of 2000, the Pesticide Action Network Asia and the Pacific (PANAP) together with 14 grassroots organisations and NGOs, embarked on a 17-day caravan called the People's Caravan 2000 (PC 2000).

With the theme "Citizens on the Move for Land and Food without Poisons", leaders from the peasant sector, women, indigenous people, and other grassroots groups and support NGOs from Asia who were part of the caravan had travelled and covered a total of 2500 kilometres and visited 200 villages in India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Philippines, Korea and Japan to bring the message of the People's Caravan.

Carrying the theme of the caravan, the PC 2000 held seminars, public meetings, dialogue with local officials, rallies, film festivals, exchange of seeds, cultural presentations and food festivals as it moved from one country to another.

With an estimated 50,000 people that the PC 2000 was able to touch base with during the Caravan, it was a powerful tool in educating and mobilising grassroots people around the issues that were put forward by the PC 2000 such as the monopoly control of agrochemical TNCs on farm inputs, threats of pesticides to human life and the environment, landlessness of peasants, food insecurity, the danger of genetic engineering and other issues.

The immense mainstream and alternative media coverage that the PC 2000 received was a big help in popularising and articulating those issues. It is estimated that "news" of the PC 2000 was circulated by 2,870 media contacts and network partners.

Based on the short-term and long-term assessment made by the individuals and organisations who were involved in the Caravan, the PC 2000 was a resounding success in many aspects- -- linkages were made, networks were formed, organisations both national and regional were consolidated, new members were recruited, people were informed about the key issues of the Caravan, grassroots people were mobilised and organised, the list was endless.

Most of the participants, particularly women, assessed that the PC 2000 was empowering as it provided them the opportunity to articulate the issues that affect them and make linkages with other groups working on the same issues. This observation was evident in the emergence of new women leaders who took part in the PC 2000.

Since the PC 2000 is a collaborative initiative of various organisations, strong linkages among grassroots organisations as well as with support NGOs were forged. Months and years after the PC 2000, cooperative activities and exchanges among different groups have thrived particularly on the issues of sustainable agriculture and pesticides.

Caravan 2000: Farmers chant 'down with Monsanto' - Bishnupur, Bangladesh

As a result of the PC 2000, a farming community in Bangladesh where the Caravan passed through pledged that they would practice sustainable agriculture. It is now a pesticide-free community and a strong advocate of ecological agriculture. Similar impact has been monitored in various communities that took part in the PC 2000. Genetic Engineering of food and agriculture a major theme of the PC 2000 in Bangladesh, is now a major issue that groups and communities in Bangladesh have continued to campaign against in recent years.

Indeed, for most people who took part in it, the PC 2000 was a symbol of empowerment for marginalised sectors especially the women; it was a symbol of solidarity among Asian grassroots organisations despite the diversity of cultures; and it was an occasion to celebrate for having a common agenda and determination to continue the resistance against oppression and injustices.

Four years after that important event and one year after the derailment of the WTO talks in Cancun, PANAP and organisations that took part in the PC 2000 as well as other grassroots organisations will come together for the second People's Caravan 2004 (PC 2004). With the theme "People's Food Sovereignty: Asserting our Rights for Land and Food", the PC 2004 is set to hit the road again and put forward this important issue and bring it to various organisations and communities in Asia.