From the management of waste to the novelty of collective work, the «Mother Earth» project has given the community hope of a better life.
Come with me on a ride. We’ll meet at Portal Tunal bus station in the south of this immense metropolis called Bogotá. Starting there, we’ll find our way climbing the Boyacá Avenue entering Ciudad Bolívar borough, one of the poorest areas of the city. A place that wakes up every day, early in the morning, looking to survive and to fight against its bad reputation of being a violent and insecure place.
After we pass Meissen Hospital and several quarters, we’ll find the cement plants. There we’ll leave the avenue and enter Divino Niño neighbourhood. I hope your legs are ready because the hills will mark the way to reach our destination. Naked bricks will be a common thing in the facades, and the roads will make us think of giant snakes instead of boring straight lines.
Forget about patterns or city planning. Every house here was built by its own people, in most cases as a refuge from violence and lack of opportunities in other parts of the vast country. It’s a matter of a few streets to find unpaved roads, perhaps a sign of abandonment by the city government. After passing an improvised bus parking space, the hills offer us an impressive view of the area.
Because many of these houses were built in areas of risk, several families have been relocated throughout the years leaving behind demolished structures and empty lots. Without any public institution taking care of these places, they became a focus of debris, plagues, and insecurity. Faced with this problem, the community decided that it was time to get together and bring hope to their home.
In the middle of this landscape, we find the first seed that gave rise to the project. The «El Maizal» orchard had its origins in the initiative of Miguel Pulido, a native of the department of Tolima, who began to recover the space in front of his home more than four years ago. The fence adorned with drawings alluding to rural life protects a magical space that houses the tall corn plants that give the garden its name.
These seem to protect the diversity of fruits and vegetables that grow in space, such as tomatoes, cucumbers, and cape gooseberries. «Don Miguel» as all the neighbours call him has become a spokesman who advocates the importance of self-management and the importance of putting ideas into action, contrary to the passive and quiet attitude of those who expect to be external entities those that offer solutions to local challenges.
Being inside this orchard offers the feeling of finding an oasis of life and hope in the middle of the urban environment. For a few moments it is easy to forget that we are in a depressed area since the different vines and aromatic herbs take our senses to a distant space. Leaving «El Maizal» we can see one of the outstanding strategies of the project, such as the alliances with local urban artists such as Walter Gallo, who has offered some of his graffiti art to adorn one of the adjoining facades of the garden.
As we continue our tour, we find the garden «La Abundancia», led by Mrs. Hercilia Cortés. A day of work in this space in the heart of the neighbourhood is evidence of how the different generations converge in this common effort. The enthusiasm and expectation that the children involved bring is complemented by the knowledge that ladies like «Doña Hercilia» offer. It is there that elements such as patience, persistence, and continuity, so necessary in planting, become the legacy for the youngest.
The progress of this garden has been related to the existing link with the neighbourhood parish. In communities like this, where the Catholic Church has a strong influence, the parish has become a strategic bridge between the «Mother Earth» initiative and the inhabitants, in terms of validation and convocation. This is how we can see the importance of creating these bridges through what brings people together and gives them an identity.
At our last stop, the «La Esperanza» orchard, we met the president of the Community Action Board, Mónica Neuto, who has led the consolidation and protection of these initiatives. Amid neighbours like lettuce, cilantro and carrots, Mónica tells us about the transformation that this project has given to Divino Niño area.
This change has not only occurred in terms of aesthetics, thanks to the multicolour offered by the orchards, but also in terms of consciousness. From the management of waste, which is collected for the creation of compost, to the novelty that is for many people the concept of collective work, the «Mother Earth» project has given the community hope of a better life.
Isn’t that what we all need? Hope for a better life? Going through this project it is not difficult to think of a utopia. While packing a fresh cabbage in our backpack, I wonder why it is so difficult to imagine a world in which collective efforts are not the exception but the rule. What is the point of working exclusively for individual benefits? Perhaps thinking collectively poses many challenges, but if we want to harvest more solidarity, harmony, and coexistence in our own communities, we can start by planting the first seeds and imagining that a better world is possible.
Discover more about the «Mother Earth» project and get in touch through Facebook.com/MadreTierraDivinoNino
