Tierra Es Vida
Stepping out of the factory, out of subservience industry and into the land, as women involved in agriculture, is a natural fit. Throughout human history, women have been the household stewards of good health and good eating.
Growing food and cooking are sacred spaces in which we develop our love for the land and for our community, maintaining that critical connection to our nature as human beings. That’s what drives our land stewardship work.
Our 1-acre urban community farm, Tierra es Vida, once an abandoned residential lot, now serves as a community space, outdoor classroom and demonstration site alongside Jardin Chamizal which sits directly in the heart of our neighborhood.
Here, residents of all ages foster long-lasting relationships while creating shared responsibility to build community and care for the land using regenerative methods that restore ecological health in a way that is tailored to our urban, industrial environment which has been fractured by an international boundary and decades of water depletion.
They also provide us the space to shift and develop our culture as it relates to food: embracing local and sustainable consumption, through practices such as conversations with our youth around the importance of valuing, respecting and sharing food as well as collecting food scraps from our restaurant, Cafe Mayapan, to be used in composting. These spaces provide refuge from the challenges we face while helping us envision the community we deserve, characterized by the vibrancy of life including human, plant, insect.
