Mayama A.C. is an NGO located in an at-risk industrial zone on the outskirts of Guadalajara, Mexico. Mayama provides temporary refuge, tranquility and life-skills training to children (and families) who are exposed, on a daily basis, to severe poverty, violence and substance abuse.
Over 150 kids, aged 6-12, visit the Mayama building for three hours per week, to benefit from a safe environment, and to participate in reading/writing, art, gymnastics, and music programs.
PHASE ONE – THE ROOFTOP GARDEN
In 2013, with funding from the American School Foundation of Guadalajara and private donors, The Growing Connection and EcoHuerto Mexico built a garden on the roof of Mayama’s Day Care Center. The goals were to introduce the kids to the health and taste benefits of growing their own food, and to help Mayama’s work in shepherding at-risk children from traume to a tranquil state. In a few weeks, the garden was producing chard, lettuce and spinach; peppers, tomatoes and eggplant were on the way.
Within a few weeks, the garden was producing chard, lettuce and spinach, with peppers, tomatoes and eggplan on the way. The garden was designated as a “calm zone” and used to help kids with high anxiety have immediate relief. With production literally “at the doorstep”, it serves as a vital connection to nature in a toxic industrial zone.
PHASE TWO – INTEGRATING FAMILIES INTO SUSTAINABLE GARDENING
Phase Two was initiated with the direct involvement of the families of the “Mayama kids” in sustainable food production. The Growing Connection worked with three groups of mothers (total 32 women) in extremely impoverished neighborhoods near Guadalajara (municipality of El Salto). Most of these families had little or no gardening experience. The neighborhood had no municipal water supply – water was trucked in and sold to the families on a weekly basis.
This is where the practicality of our water-efficient Caja containers really put to the test as traditional containers and garden setups would have made water access cost prohibitive. Over the course of two cropping seasons, The Growing Connection worked with the mothers to train and teach them how to improve their yields and harvest.
PHASE THREE – INDEPENDENTLY GENERATING INCOME
During the last quarter of 2014, the women conducted self-evaluation and “next-steps” sessions. They defined their next step as a “concentration of production” and initiated a test case with the goal to generate income.
The women consolidated their Caja containers (now 130 units) at a single protected site, and concentrated production on food-crops for consumption by their families – chard, spinach, lettuce, and on crops to sell at local restaurants and markets (pepper, cilantro, tomato).
The women organized a work schedule based on individual skills, interests and availability. From the initial 36 women involved, there are now 16; but these sixteen women are now more skilled, and are highly motivated.
Mayama A.C. still supports the women with low-cost inputs (seedlings, training costs), but the women soon will “graduate” to financial sustainability. Clearly, the women have learned to produce fresh food for their families and – they hope – for the general market. The prediction is that following two more cropping cycles (8 months), this group will be independent, and will enjoy a modest income through sustainable food production.
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