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The Eco Citizen project: Cultivate plants, Cultivate peace
an article by Marielza Cunha Horta
(Editor's note: CPNN readers will recall this project for
vulnerable urban youth in Macaé, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, as
described in a CPNN article of May 2007).
The project, “Eco Citizen in the Communities”,
fosters urban agriculture within the local population, especially among
children & youth, women, elderly people and patients with mental
illness. It provides information on food security, proper nutrition,
hygiene and health maintenance, planting methods, characteristics of
each fruit or vegetable planted, rational water consumption, solid
waste management, conservation of biodiversity, among other issues are
part of a series of sustainable actions to tackle poverty, improve
people’s health and raise self esteem. It instills in learners values
of conservation, respect for nature, promote a sense of consideration
for others and readiness to cooperate and teamwork in community
initiatives.
One of the new activities is a capacity building course for
communitarian teachers implemented in several neighborhoods that has
trained more than thirty teachers of the community.
There was a special workshop for people with mental illness. In these
activities, the Eco Citizen Team and the Communitarian Teachers taught
how to produce natural snacks, seasonings, integral food, the danger of
in-house poisons, aromatic sachets, collage techniques, preparing of
soil, selection of seeds, etc. These activities improved the mental and
physical situation of the patients. The garden is an alternative space
for therapy, learning and human relations.
Work with women and homeless people contributes for the improvement of
quality of the living environment and the life of beneficiaries.
Agro-ecological and family agriculture (with non-pesticide, non-toxic
products), conservation of the environment, fight against deforestation
are constantly discussed. Beside these, we have noticed that the
quality of water and soil are better because of the return of insects,
birds, butterflies, etc. to the public and private gardens.
“Eco Citizen in the Communities” is also developed in public
schools. One result is a reduction of misbehavior within the classes.
Students start to take care of the gardens, improve their academic
performance and relationship with teachers and colleagues. Some of them
became monitors and helped teachers in organizing activities on
gardens. These students share with younger colleagues’ information on
environmental education, hygiene, methods of cultivation, soil
treatment, water use and responsible consumption of food, water and
other goods. Beside these, they help to keep their schools clean and
organize themselves to raise money to invest on the school gardens and
cultivate new kind of vegetables, fruits or medicinal plants.
Elderly people are also considered in this project. They learn
about natural cooking in order to improve their health and nutrition.
They share this knowledge and traditional habits within their families
and enhance to cultivate in the backyard of their relatives or their
own homes.
Upcoming actions include an increase the number of gardens in
other communities, institutional & domestic spaces, more patients
with mental illness to participate in the project, increased production
in order to commercialize the goods, spreading the initiative in other
exchange markets, graduating more Communitarian Teachers, identifying
new spaces in the city in order to be considered by local authorities
and the population as a strategy of urban preservation, improvement of
collective health, reduction of poverty and diseases, and culture of
peace.
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DISCUSSION
Question(s) related to this article:
When you cultivate plants, do you cultivate peace?
As a reader, you are invited to join in the discussion of this
article based on any of the above question(s): just click on the
question, read the previous comments and add a new reply. You may also
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Thematic forum(s) in which this article is being discussed:
ECOLOGY
LATEST READER COMMENT:
My
personal experience is that gardening is a amazing community builder.
When we had extra vegetables, my wife Donree used to put our
extra veggies in a plastic bag and hang it on a neighbor’s
door. By the time our neighbor discovered the origin of their
gift of some tomatoes or cucumbers they were so touched and
grateful...for such a small gesture! We initiated many
friendships that way.
What is more amazing is the extraordinary
level of comraderie that a community garden generates. In each of
our two community gardens, one in California and one in Connecicut, we
made friends while admiring each other’s flowers or local
produce.
I fondly remember getting a salsa recipe from a
guy named Scott in California who was a high tech-hippie hybrid.
What made his salsa special was very sweet ripe cherry tomatoes..
. ...more.
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