2022-03-30

'Ecology without a social fight is simply gardening': Kasia's experience at Comunidad Milpa

Written by Kasia Pendlebury
Rate this item
(1 Vote)
Over the weekend, Neil, Milena, and I visited Comunidad Milpa, a project outside of Buenos Aires city towards Tigre. Having got up early to get the bus from Plaza Italia, what struck me on arrival was how industrial the area is. I was told that this part of town was home to several factories, among them the Ford production plant. With the backdrop of this industrial landscape, Comunidad Milpa felt somewhat out of place, which is perhaps exactly why it makes perfect sense that it is situated here.
When we arrived we were greeted by Valeria, the project’s coordinator who lives on-site, as well as three dogs, the most enthusiastic of which was a greyhound who spent most of her day angling for any food people, had in their hands. We sat in on a meeting between the coordinators at the start of the day, where they reflected on various activities that they had undertaken during the week, for example attending the march that marks the anniversary of the start of the military dictatorship in Argentina. In these discussions, everyone had the chance to say something and I was taken aback by the confidence and authority with which the members, a lot of them teenagers, spoke, and impressed with how respectfully people treated their peers’ thoughts and opinions.

We then joined the group that was preparing for the weekly market, we weighed and packaged almonds at a much slower pace than all the coordinators, and helped pick tomatoes that were grown right there in their greenhouse. All of the items sold come from local producers with whom Comunidad Milpa has direct contact and are sold at affordable prices so that everybody can afford to eat good, unprocessed food.

After this, we were treated to a tour of the project, and I learned lots of Spanish gardening vocabulary, almost all of which I have since forgotten! It was really interesting to learn about how the community operates and to see just how much produce they have managed to grow in the garden and the greenhouse.

In the afternoon, I knew that the ‘cannabis lady’ was coming in to give a talk, and, to be quite honest, had no idea what to expect. What I witnessed was so much more interesting than anything I could have imagined: a frank and open talk about the benefits of medicinal marijuana, tips on how to grow it, and information about the law and the rights of growers. I particularly enjoyed the contributions from a lady who must have been in her 80s and described herself as ‘experimenting,’ with it all, and how their talk became a forum, with everyone welcome to chip in with thoughts and questions.

Having heard that this project was centred around sustainability, I was somewhat surprised to see how politically minded the goals and the actions of all of the participants were. Messages around the project were written with the ‘e’ common in inclusive language, and there were signs about how and why to enact political action. My favourite quote of all was a mural on the wall that read ‘la ecología sin lucha social es simplemente jardinería,’ (ecology without a social fight is simply gardening), which completely transformed my vision of ecology from an older generation interested in growing strawberries, to a powerful and necessary means of fighting against and questioning important aspects of society and politics.

It was a true joy to be welcomed to observe and talk to the members of Comunidad Milpa, and it certainly provided me with some serious food for thought (excuse the pun)!

Read 8545 times

Related items

Volunteering: a learning process. Part II.

Let's deepen on the reflections about volunteering as a learning process from the perspective of Critical Pedagogy with Abi, our coordinator.

Voluntariado: un proceso de aprendizaje

Algunas reflexiones en torno al voluntariado entendido como un proceso de aprendizaje desde la perspectiva de la Pedagogía Crítica de la mano de Abi, nuestra coordinadora.

Our weekly coordination update: last week of August

This was a week with a lot of news!


On Monday we had two introductory meetings:


Johannes, now nicknamed "Yoyo", came from Germany and started his volunteering in Comunidad Milpa for a couple of months and this was his first week adapting to a new country and a different language.


Also Emma, Dominic, and now PJ from the USA who are in Argentina for an exchange abroad from their university are joining us. During this semester they will be studying and having their intercultural experience from the service learning subject teaching English, in the community kitchen and in the early childhood center.


Soon we will give you more news about their learning and feelings about the different projects. We hope you all have a great experience!

Volunteering: a learning process (part 1?)

A quick set of questions to deepen on the concept of volunteering delivered by Abi, our volunteers coordinator. Probably the first part on a group of articles reflecting about volunteering as a learning process, so yeah! expect more of these laughing

A Celebration for Mother Earth

In Argentina, August 1st is El día de la Pachamama. Pachamama is what natives call Mother Earth. The translation would be "Mother Earth's Day" In the vision of our natives, it's also our New Year, as opposed to the one in the Western calendar the colonization imposed. In different parts of the country, there are celebrations for this day, and MILPA participated in organizing a festival in the Parque San Lorenzo neighborhood. We translated their article so you could know more about this celebration and Comunidad MILPA's commitment to the community. You can read the original article in spanish in @comunidad_milpa instagram.

Expectations, a big ally and a tricky enemy

Abi, our coordinator, reflects on the learning process of volunteer work, and the expectations and disappointments which come along with it.

An Introduction to: Comunidad Milpa

After about an hour of travel from the heart of the city, Cordelia, Abi, and I arrive at Comunidad Milpa. Located in General Pacheco, the garden and greenhouse of Milpa is one of two projects started by Voluntario Global. As I step outside of the car, I am greeted by Rashu, a majestic, black-haired greyhound, one of Valeria’s (Voluntario Global’s co-founder) two pet dogs. 

Login to post comments