RCE Borderlands Mexico-USA - 2018

CURRENT PROJECT 5. Sowing Food Security, Local Production & Consumption: Students’ organic garden at México Insurgente Secondary School, El Molino Namiquipa, Chihuahua México
Basic Information
Title of project : 
CURRENT PROJECT 5. Sowing Food Security, Local Production & Consumption: Students’ organic garden at México Insurgente Secondary School, El Molino Namiquipa, Chihuahua México
Submitting RCE: 
RCE Borderlands México-USA
Contributing organization(s) : 
1) Escuela Secundaria Federal ES-25 México Insurgente
2) Living Lab/Centro de Diálogo y Transformación Inc.
Focal point(s) and affiliation(s)
Name: 
Ing. Alan Armando Montaño Vázquez
Organizational Affiliation: 
Federal Secondary School ES-25 ‘México Insurgente’
Name: 
T.S. Adriana Flores Corpus
Organizational Affiliation: 
Federal Secondary School ES-25 ‘México Insurgente’
Name: 
Prof. Dr. Carolina López C.
Organizational Affiliation: 
Living Lab/Centro de Diálogo y Transformación Inc.
Format of project: 
On-the-ground; PPT, Published Manuscript
Language of project: 
Spanish
Date of submission:
Monday, October 22, 2018
Additional resources: 
FB: Living Lab/Centro de Diálogo y Transformación Inc.
Plan de Desarrollo. Gobierno de la República 2018-2024
At what level is the policy operating?: 
National
Plan Estatal de Desarrollo del Gobierno del Estado de Chihuahua 2017-2021
At what level is the policy operating?: 
Subnational
Geographical & Education Information
Region: 
Americas
Country: 
Mexico
Location(s): 
1) El Molino Namiquipa, Chihuahua, 2) Chihuahua, Chih.
Address of focal point institution for project: 
1. Escuela Secundaria Federal ES-25 ‘México Insurgente’
Av. Insurgentes #606
El Molino Namiquipa, Chih.
31964 México

2. Living Lab/Centro de Diálogo y Transformación Inc.
Priv. de Encino 1905-2
Col. Granjas
Chihuahua, Chih.
31100 México
Target Audience:
Socioeconomic and environmental characteristics of the area : 
Namiquipa is one of the 67 municipalities of Chihuahua, in northern Mexico. The municipal seat lies at Namiquipa. As of 2010, the municipality had a total population of 22,880, up from 20,314 as of 2005. As of 2010, the town of Namiquipa had a population of 1,752, up from 1,718 as of 2005. Other than the town of Namiquipa, the municipality had 363 localities, the largest of which (with 2010 populations in parentheses) were: Santa Ana (2,978), classified as urban, and El Terrero (2,621), El Molino (2,176), Benito Juárez (1,967), classified as urban, and Cruces (1,206), and Independencia (Cologachi) (1,088), classified as rural (WP. Accessed 25-10-18).

Chihuahua City is surrounded by plains to the North and hills on both the North and the South sides; it is crossed East-and-West by Teófilo Borunda Avenue, which follows the natural flow of the Chuvíscar River. Borunda Ave. is crossed in the West by the Periférico de la Juventud, a major limited-access highway running North and South. The main entrance to the city from the North is Tecnológico Avenue, part of the Pan-American Highway. The geography of the city is dominated by three hills that appear in the Coat of Arms: Cerro Grande, Cerro Coronel and Santa Rosa, the last of which is fully covered by the city. The Cerro Grande has a monumental cross that is lighted each Christmas.
To the East and Northeast, is the Mountain Range Sierra Nombre de Dios, across the Sacramento River from the city. Contained therein, off of Heróico Colegio Militar Ave, are the Nombre de Dios Caverns, a beautiful natural display of minerals and underground formations. To the far East and South is General Roberto Fierro Villalobos International Airport and the highway to the US-Mexican border crossing at Presidio, Texas and Ojinaga, Chihuahua (WP. Accessed 23-10-18).

Chihuahua is the twelfth largest city in Mexico, and one of the most industrialized. Manufacturing is very important and, at the time of writing, there are nine major industrial parks and 79 maquila manufacturing plants which employ about 45,000 people. The city serves as an alternative destination for maquiladora operators that require quick access to the US-México border but wish to avoid both the higher costs and higher turnover rates of employment of the immediate border area. Of all interior (non-border) locations in Mexico, Chihuahua has the largest maquiladora presence in the country. Some of the larger companies include Ford Motor Co., Sumitomo Electrical, Honeywell, Hallmark, and LG Electronics.

The entire state of Chihuahua is also a thriving economic center. Chihuahua's annual Gross State Product (GSP) is approximately $6.2 billion. There are more than 350 established manufacturing and assembly plants in the state; manufacturing accounts for a third of the total GSP, while trade and other services amount to 53.5%. Chihuahua has the largest amount of forested land in all of Mexico. Forty-four percent of Chihuahua's workers are employed in commerce and services, while slightly more than a third of the workforce is employed in mining and industry. In mining, Chihuahua state is the leading national producer of non-ferrous minerals and zinc; it is second nationwide in silver extraction. Agricultural production makes up only 6% of the total GSP, however the state is the leading producer of apples, nuts, cattle and sheep raising nationally, and second in pine and oak trees harvested nationwide (WP. Accessed 23-10-18).
Description of sustainable development challenge(s) in the area the project addresses: 
° The outmigration of youth from rural communities to urban areas in search of higher education, employment, etc.
° Water scarcity
° The lack of gainful employment in these communities
° The presence of and the attraction to seek employment in a non-licit sector of the economy
° Potential violence arising from the aforementioned
° Raising consciousness of the needs of the community and the state of the surrounding natural environment
Contents
Status: 
Ongoing
Period: 
January, 2018
Rationale: 
The program aims to sow the love for agricultural, the local environment and the community in participating students. It further seeks to revitalize the economy through local food production, and through its sale and consumption on the local market.
Objectives: 
° To involve secondary school students in the cultivation of the organic garden at ES-25
° To sow the love of agriculture, the land and the local community among participating students
° To produce and sell harvested crops for local consumption
° To increase food security in the community and the municipality
° To teach students to optimize water usage for crop production
° To build a greenhouse on the school grounds
° To ensure that the greenhouse ‘pays for itself’ through the sale of produce on the local market
° To create a student-managed fund from the proceeds of sales, where students will learn money management and the basic principles of business
° To utilize part of the proceeds for building a lab at the school, for educational trips, among others
° To encourage families to sow backyard gardens in order to enhance their own wellbeing, nutrition and food security
° To compost all organic trash and-- using a worm farm-- to ensure the health of the soil in the school garden. This will serve as a demonstration site for the family gardens
° To create a culture of environmental awareness and stewardship
Activities and/or practices employed: 
° The garden is planted, tended to and harvested by participating students
° Produce is prepared and sold on the local market
° Composting and worm farming are conducted by participating students with the help of input from the school’s coop cafeteria
° Students control water usage in order to learn how to maximize the benefit of this scarce resource
Size of academic audience: 
° Ongoing monitoring and evaluation are conducted of a) the garden b) students’ progress, c) sales of produce on the local market and, d) families’ dietary consumption of the produce. ° Results are published and disseminated to the local community, in
Results: 
Students acquire knowledge about:
° Organic agriculture
° Crop cycles
° Water use maximization strategies
° Local food markets
° Small business operations, sales and accounting

The community benefits from:
° The sale of nutritious locally-produced food
° Dietary intake of fresh organic fruits and vegetables increase
° Money is made for school improvements and activities
Lessons learned: 
° Small rural communities CAN revitalize their economies!
° Students learn to love their homeland and their community through these activities
° Students gain business acumen and agricultural knowledge through these activities
° Students feel proud when their work allows for improvements of the school grounds and for an increase in school outings, activities, etc.
Key messages: 
° Local revitalization can be done!
° Students and their families can work toward the positive transformation of the local community and the environment.
° Working for the transformation of our communities and our environment helps to transform ourselves for the good, creating a virtuous circle!
Relationship to other RCE activities: 
ES-25 Secondary School in El Molino Namiquipa is part of our Sustainability Corridor, where all of the communities are interlinked. RCE BMU supports activities in each community according to what the people want. Nothing is imposed by RCE BMU on the communities; rather, they study their own situations and decide how they would like for us to accompany them. For example, ES
-25 and the El Molino community would like support for a) the school garden project and, b) the Socioemotional Education training for the school and for the larger community.
Funding: 
° The school has a small amount of funding
° The school garden and greenhouse aim to be self-funded through the sale of produce on the local market
° A church group called the Marianas Trinitarias is able to support the project in kind and, at times, by matching existing funds.

Pictures:

File Name Caption for picture Photo Credit
Image icon 1. Montaño. ES-25. 26-10-18.jpg (4.06 MB) Harvesting the first fruits! (Cocurbita pepa). Ing. Alan A. Montaño V.
Image icon 2. Montaño. ES-25. 26-10-18.jpg (3.16 MB) Collaborative work in the School Garden. Ing. Alan A. Montaño V.
Image icon 3. Montaño. ES-25. 26-10-18.jpg (110.32 KB) Community Saturday, an opportunity to learn and to serve! Ing. Alan A. Montaño V.
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
(https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdgs) and other themes of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)
SDG 1 - End poverty in all its forms everywhere 
Indirect
SDG 2 - End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture 
Direct
SDG 3 - Ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages 
Direct
SDG 5 - Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls 
Indirect
SDG 6 - Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all 
Direct
SDG 7 - Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all 
Indirect
SDG 8 - Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all 
Direct
SDG 9 - Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation, and foster innovation 
Indirect
SDG 10 - Reduce inequality within and among countries 
Direct
SDG 11 - Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable 
Direct
SDG 12 - Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns 
Direct
SDG 13 - Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts 
Indirect
SDG 14 - Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development 
Indirect
SDG 15 - Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification and halt and reverse land degradation, and halt biodiversity loss 
Direct
SDG 16 - Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels 
Direct
SDG 17 - Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development 
Indirect
Theme
Disaster Risk Reduction 
Indirect
Traditional Knowledge  
Direct
Agriculture 
Direct
Arts 
Indirect
Curriculum Development 
Direct
Ecotourism 
Indirect
Forests/Trees 
Direct
Plants & Animals 
Direct
Waste 
Direct
Global Action Programme (GAP) on Education for Sustainable Development – Priority Action Areas
Priority Action Area 1 - Advancing policy 
Indirect
Priority Action Area 2 - Transforming learning and training environments 
Direct
Priority Action Area 3 - Building capacities of educators and trainers 
Direct
Priority Action Area 4 - Empowering and mobilizing youth 
Direct
Priority Action Area 5 - Accelerating sustainable solutions at local level 
Direct
Update: 
No