Cali bets on family vegetable gardens to improve its food sovereignty

Through a house garden plan It should strengthen food security in urban and peri-urban areas of the capital of Cauca Valleythis proposal was launched hand in hand with the city government and with the support of the National University of Colombia (UNAL) at the headquarters of Palmira.

Beneficiaries attended workshops on food security and sovereignty, planning and construction of agroecological orchards, management of crop support organizations, seed depository, quality and conservation, and associativeness.

with the gardeners of campaign problems of reforestationlaying hens, broilers, training in the preparation of agroecological bio-inputs to be used as natural insecticides, among others.

The project includes people from other departments such as Cauca, Chocó and the Pacific who reside in Cali. There are orchards in educational institutions with primary and secondary level students, others led by women, also by reintegrated people and those who have gardens or front patios as a hobby to plant food.

According Diego AngelProfessor of National University of Palmiraa seed is generated to strengthen the network of organic gardens in Cali, because “In addition to the trainings and workshops, basic mother gardens have been set up for the communes, and in the coming weeks we will deliver kits with seeds, mycorrhizae and specialized fertilizers for plants, among other things. elements”.

The coordinator of the Governance and Environmental Culture Group of the Administrative Department of Environmental Management (THUNDER) Ruddy Ocoro Montanoconfirmed that the aim of the initiative is for citizens to replace certain plants with crops of bread beans, cherry tomatoes, vegetables and legumes, as “a strategy for environmental education and food promotion “.

According to the manager, there are people who have a type of garden in their homes, and others who have started from scratch thanks to the call. “The first part of the project aims to raise awareness around the orchards: teaching citizens how to sow, identify seeds, know the process they must have in each season of the year and how to make fertilizers.”

Much of the triumph of the agreed deal was reflected in the participation of more than 250 Cali Gardeners at the event where everyone shared their knowledge in applying the ecological processes in the systems agricultural productionwhich was made by National University of Colombia (UNAL) Palmyra.

During the day there was the opportunity to exchange knowledge and experiences from their orchards and crops through workshops that took place during the day.

In spaces such as the patio, terrace or front garden, you can vegetable food such as vegetables, green vegetables, legumes, fruits and medicinal plants. It is enough to structure the initiative of a few pots, earth, seeds, fertilizers which can be natural, natural insecticides and the interest of benefiting from a own garden

To give shape to the idea, the first thing to consider is that you can plant foods that do not take up much space and at the same time contain a large amount of nutrients, for example radish, which bears fruit in forty-five days, lettuce, cabbage, yellow potatoes or cherry tomatoes are products that can take up to three months to produce.

Separated from vegetables and legumes You can also grow condiment plants such as coriander, basil, chives, bay leaf and rosemary, among other medicinal plants such as calendula, aloe vera, chamomile and lemongrass.