Ednews reports that Heidi Thomas Kühn, who received the 2023 World Food Prize for her farmer-focused development model that revitalizes farmland, food security, and livelihoods after devastating conflict, was interviewed by Emmy award-winning TV journalist Cheryl Jennings.
During Live with the Laureate, Kühn discussed the work of her nonprofit organization, Roots of Peace, which she founded in 1997 to replace remnants of war and restore the land to agricultural uses with the planting of millions of grapevines and fruit trees.
Kühn and Roots of Peace began building peace through agriculture 25 years ago by collaborating with wineries in her home state of California to raise funds to remove landmines in Croatia and replant vineyards and orchards. She has since worked in nine countries, including current projects in Afghanistan and Vietnam, and is exploring starting a program in Ukraine.
During the LIVE, Heidi Kühn also talked about the work and projects she has done in Azerbaijan:
"Last month in Azerbaijan, I detonated six anti-tank mines. The sound of that blast was joyful for a moment, then so bittersweet and sad. When you realize that there are so many more millions of landmines just lurking beneath the soil, tempting the innocent footstep of a child, the beautiful farmer. Landmines know they don't discriminate; they know no flag; they carry no color, and it was just again a very gut-wrenching moment:
Kühn also spoke about her meeting with Khazar Babashov, who was injured after falling into a landmine:
"I also went to the bedside of a young man named Khazar who was 34 years old, and on April 26th he had taken a wayward footstep in Karabakh, a beautiful Vineyard area that produced some of the best wines. Karabakh means black garden, and that meant the beautiful black table grapes, but it is a black garden where there are one million landmines that have been laid in the past decade. I am deeply committed to turning "Minds to Vines," "Blood into Wine" "Killing Fields into Vineyards" and across all cultures, respect for the culture. Because when anyone steps on a land mine, a mother who stood over my shoulder last month weeping over my shoulder of that precious child that she gave birth to with a limb from a landmine so cruelly laid. In the one Earth piercing the skin of Mother Earth, the one Earth we share, so from my heart as a mother, I am deeply committed to the footsteps of my life to eradicate landmines from the face of this Earth."
The 2023 World Food Prize Laureate gave a message to young generations as well:
"To reach out to the young people today, you know they've been through a war of their own; they have suffered one of the hardest times with COVID-19, but they see Wars breaking out, but rather than a sense of apathy, there is a sense of opportunity to provide food for the world to nourish the children and future generations peace through agriculture. I salute Norman Borlaug and his vision that social justice truly begins with feeding the world. Let us take that message from Norman Borlaug, who some say created the Nobel Peace Prize in Agriculture. Let's take his words, let's bring an army of young people. It was called the Peace Corps in my day. Let's call it the roots of the Peace Corps, and I hope to walk many minefields with you until we put ourselves out of business because I want to taste that juicy nectar of the fruit, bite into that apple, taste those grapes, and whether it's fermented or not due to various cultures, I look forward to planting the Roots of Peace on Earth with you.”
Noted that on May 9-12 of this year, Heidi Kühn, the founder and head of the international humanitarian organization "Roots of Peace" established for the purpose of mine clearance and the reconstruction and restoration of war-torn areas, made a second visit to Azerbaijan at the invitation of the International Eurasia Press Fund (IEPF).
Mrs. Kühn visited the liberated territories of Azerbaijan during her visit. The purpose of the visit was to bring to the attention of the world community the extent of the current mine problem, the obstacles this problem creates to the Great Return and stability and lasting peace in the region, and to support the transformation of mine-contaminated areas into agricultural land under the mission "Mines to Vines".
During the visit of the head of the organization, before the International Mother's Day, together with Azerbaijani mothers, there was a global appeal to the women of the world regarding the landmine problem.
The head of "Roots of Peace" previously paid an official business visit to Azerbaijan on March 1-5 of last year at the invitation of the International Eurasia Press Fund (IEPF). Heidi Kühn, the head of the "Roots of Peace" organization, was the winner of the "World Food Prize" during her visit to Azerbaijan.
Ednews presents the LIVE:
Ulviyya Shahin
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