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Co-operation, knowledge and sustainability: Learning from Xochimilco


You are cordially invited to a panel discussion exploring issues around traditional knowledge, identity and sustainability in the context of chinampas agriculture, as practised in Xochimilco, Mexico City.

The Information School, Room RC204 – 10th July - 12:00-13.30

“The Heart of the chinampas” – Carlos Sumano Arias, Chinampayolo (https://www.facebook.com/chinampayolo/)

“Developing collaboration between the university and cooperatives in Mexico City” - Gibrán Rivera González, Instituto Politécnico Nacional

“Reclaiming traditional knowledge for cultural sustainability”- Andrew Cox and Jorge Martins, Information School, University of Sheffield

More than a thousand years ago, in the navel of the moon "Mexico", in a paradise of crystal clear waters, full of fish, birds and axolotes, men created the chinampas to live and feed themselves. The navel of the moon has become one of the largest cities in the world where channels, rivers, springs and chinampas are being replaced by asphalt and concrete. The plants and animals that lived for millions of years in this place are under threat and many agricultural producers have left the land.

In this discouraging context, in Xochimilco located in the southern outskirts of Mexico City, the heirs of the lake culture refuse to see their legacy disappear. Through community work, social participation, cooperative support, collaboration with academic, governmental and non-governmental institutions, Chinampayolo S.C. is strengthening its efforts in the areas of natural resource conservation, tourism, food production, education and commercialization. Their mission is to preserve the Chinampera culture through innovation and inherited knowledge to maintain their identity, dignity, resistance, love for the land and respect for present and future life.

Please note: two of the presentations will be in Spanish with translation to English.

For further information contact Andrew Cox, a.m.cox@sheffield.ac.uk

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