Eating Well in a Slum

CHEN:
As world food prices continue to soar, many of Mexico City's poorer residents take to the old-fashioned way. They supplement their meals with vegetables they grow in urban gardens.

STORY:
Under the rule of the ancient Aztecs, Mexico City was a maze of canals and floating gardens that grew corn and beans to feed the masses.

Hundreds of years later, the government of this concrete metropolis of 20 million people is promoting urban vegetable gardens as a way to ease the burden of soaring food prices faced by poor families.

Marcelo Ebrard, the mayor, has sent groups of gardening experts out to build community gardens.

Over 20 urban vegetable patches have been planted since last year, some in areas formerly used to dump trash, and the city government wants to build at least 20 more.

[Laurentino Esteban Fuentes, Urban Gardener]:
"We have chiles, tomatoes, cabbages, coriander, chard."

Under the urban gardens program, neighborhoods find suitable spaces and the city government provides seeds, tools and technical assistance from agronomists who teach them how to nurture the plants and make organic
fertilizer.

[Maria Carmen Farias, Urban Gardener]:
"We come, harvest, each one of us takes out a little of everything. We prepare our dishes with squash, spinach, chard and each one of us takes a bit. In time, we hope to sell."

[Pedro Ponce, Agronomist, Program Director]:
"This project contributes to the economy of the family. We first think about food self-sufficiency. Obviously if we have an excess it goes to the market."

Mayor Ebrard's has already created several public projects like cycle lanes, artificial beaches and an outdoor ice rink, all popular with the residents.

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• ntd
• ntdtv
• news
• urban
• gardens
• eating
• slum
• well
• city
• government
• food
• ebrard
• mexico
• chard
• takes
• residents
• prices
• vegetable

[kellydjelly]

love!