#indigenous agricultural practices
Permaculture instructor Andrew Millison journeys to the legendary chinampas of Mexico City, known as the Floating Gardens of Xochimilco. We visit Lucio Usobiaga, who heads up the Arca Tierra project, which is restoring the health and viability of the chinampas while introducing contemporary concepts like Syntropic Agriculture, Agroforestry, and Permaculture. The chinampas are the last vestiges of the ancient agricultural system of the Aztec and pre-Aztec civilizations. This video examines the situation, and explores what can be learned from them.
Credits (corrected):
Written & Directed by Andrew Millison
Saskia Madlener
Assistant Director
Producer
Daniel Cespedes
Editor, Cinematography & Aerial Photography
Arca Tierra: https://arcatierra.com/
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There are so many great qualities of chinampas (especially these ones, with the biofilter to keep endangered axolotls healthy!)
The trees that form the perimeter and eventually stabilize the islands (preventing erosion, evaporation, and encourages nutrient cycling), the heavy mulching, the habitat they provide for so many wetland and water species
Something new I learned in this video is about their process of starting seeds with mud (screenshots taken from an article). I love that the seedlings never have to be watered.
Once the mud is poured, it is left outdoors to “set” and lose moisture so that it maintains a firm texture and can be cut. If there is a risk of rain, it is covered with plastic and left to rest for approximately 48 hours.(source)
Once the mud squares, also called chapines, have been formed, they are planted. Then they are covered with harvest residues, pruning residues, straw or any available material, including compost, and the chapines are covered with plastic to allow the seeds to germinate and the seedlings to emerge.
