Research project
Mexico City, Mexico
This project was generously funded by the Harvard Mellon Urban Initiative.
Chasing Milpa is a research project on the architecture of food sovereignty in Mexico City.
Maize is one of the main sources of nutrients for early settlements in the world. Domesticated 8700 years ago in Mesoamerica from its wild species: teosinte, it is the species with the highest source of nutrients in America, and is found in most Mexican dishes today. It is usually grown with two other companions, bean and squash; and together, they form the Milpa, or for indigenous cultures of North America, Three Sisters. This triad is a great example of mutualism between different living beings on this planet. This project will look at the evolution of Milpa’s supply chain for the Mexico City area, from precolonial times, until today. It intends to expose the land they are grown in, the seed variety used, the type of agriculture employed, the cycles needed, the industrial process, the packaging, the storage, the transportation and the final process for consumption in order to reveal the main reasons for today’s urban food instability. It will speculate on an alternative relationship of care between human beings and food in urban environments such as Mexico City. As one of the primary intermediaries between human beings and nature, food is the key to reconnecting with a more-than-human world in this Anthropocentric environment. Caring about our food, means caring about all living organisms that populate this land in mutuality; accordingly, disconnection from the food that sustains us equals disconnection from the natural world we inhabit. Food Sovereignty, which encompasses the right to health, culture, ecology, sustainability and choices in our food systems, is a concept that rearticulates the lost bond between human beings and our environment; it reveals ways that help us rediscover the pleasure of eating and the love for the organisms that nourish us. This project speculates on new ways of caring about our multispecies world through the passion for food and its sources, and will ultimately engage on the true meaning of Food Sovereignty for a city of 25 million.
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Mexico City, Mexico
This project was generously funded by the Harvard Mellon Urban Initiative.
Chasing Milpa is a research project on the architecture of food sovereignty in Mexico City.
Maize is one of the main sources of nutrients for early settlements in the world. Domesticated 8700 years ago in Mesoamerica from its wild species: teosinte, it is the species with the highest source of nutrients in America, and is found in most Mexican dishes today. It is usually grown with two other companions, bean and squash; and together, they form the Milpa, or for indigenous cultures of North America, Three Sisters. This triad is a great example of mutualism between different living beings on this planet. This project will look at the evolution of Milpa’s supply chain for the Mexico City area, from precolonial times, until today. It intends to expose the land they are grown in, the seed variety used, the type of agriculture employed, the cycles needed, the industrial process, the packaging, the storage, the transportation and the final process for consumption in order to reveal the main reasons for today’s urban food instability. It will speculate on an alternative relationship of care between human beings and food in urban environments such as Mexico City. As one of the primary intermediaries between human beings and nature, food is the key to reconnecting with a more-than-human world in this Anthropocentric environment. Caring about our food, means caring about all living organisms that populate this land in mutuality; accordingly, disconnection from the food that sustains us equals disconnection from the natural world we inhabit. Food Sovereignty, which encompasses the right to health, culture, ecology, sustainability and choices in our food systems, is a concept that rearticulates the lost bond between human beings and our environment; it reveals ways that help us rediscover the pleasure of eating and the love for the organisms that nourish us. This project speculates on new ways of caring about our multispecies world through the passion for food and its sources, and will ultimately engage on the true meaning of Food Sovereignty for a city of 25 million.
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