On Monday, August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast Region upsetting the lives and livelihoods of thousands of people including Federation/LAF member farmers, families and surrounding rural communities - as well as devastating the urban communities of New Orleans, Gulf Port and Biloxi. The impact of the affects of this hurricane was massive at all levels. For starters many families had been disrupted, their communities destroyed, their income base suddenly non-existent, and their infrastructure devastated. An unknown result of the hurricane might be an increase in the loss of black owned land which was already in serious jeopardy. In addition, limited resources were being stretched in Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana. Many of the farmers, poor people and rural communities were absorbing the brunt of the fall out of the Katrina disaster by taking in displaced people who had lost utilities, water, housing and electricity. The rural poor communities with limited infratsructure in the first place were devastated.

Throughout the gulf coast area the homes, farm buildings, equipment, crops of family farmers and boats and fishing infrastructure of fishermen were destroyed by high winds and driven rain. Trees were toppled and utility services were disrupted. In many cases, especially in isolated rural communities, power and phone service has not yet been restored even weeks after the storm. Farmers also lost major direct and commercial marketing outlets that were destroyed in New Orleans and along the Gulf Coast.

Within days of the Katrina disaster the Federation staff were on the ground helping people first with direct relief (shelter, food, financial resources) and then recovery through cooperative solutions. the work in the rural Katrina effected areas has been on-going including the recent creation of a new fishing cooperative in Plaquemine's Parish, Louisiana.

in the workshop we will discuss 2 major themes: (1) cooperative solutions for a rural recovery and (2) rural disaster preparedness in the community and through government policy changes. The panel will include cooperative development experts from the Federation staff; farmers and fishermen impacted by Katrina.

We want participants to understand the importance of cooperative economic development for low income communities in rural or urban areas; the event connects USSF themes through discussion of economic disparities, racism and government discriminatory policies; participants will be engaged through discussion and exploring ways cooperative solutions and infrastructure readiness can be applied to their own communities; the workshop will be conducted in English with no plans for translation into other langauges at this point; there will be handouts for attendees; the major challenge is the need for adequate infrastructure being created for communities which requires cooperative solutions and government policy changes among others.