Chinampas, pre-Hispanic heritage fading away slowly

The Xochimilco channels in the south of Mexico City and its chinampas portray the serene and nostalgic atmosphere of its undeniable abandonment due to the lack of support from the authorities.

"Ten years ago we used to see many farmers working, now it's like a ghost town ," said farmer Alfonso Sánchez.

Alfonso, 28, accepted that the work in the chinampa requires time, dedication and effort, thus "many people are no longer interested in harvesting."

Chinampas

are a type of Mesoamerican agriculture method that uses small, rectangular areas of fertile arable land to grow crops on the shallow lake beds in the Valley of Mexico .

They are artificial islands that float on bodies of water used for cultivation for territorial extension. This technique consists of placing a layer of silt, mud extracted from the bottom of the canal, onto the floor of the chinampa. Then, the layer is cut into squares in which seeds are planted.

According to Francisco Bonilla Sevilla , professor at the Environment University ( UMA ) of the State of Mexico, " chinampas were a real bioengineering experiment developed by the Aztecs " which represented an important agricultural system that fed millions in pre-Hispanic times.

Alfonso emphasized that chinampas are highly productive and could be a viable business, yet Xochimilco borough does not boost chinampas as a real business while civil organizations keep fighting to preserve the chinampas .

Out of the existing 20,000 chinampas , only 3,000 are active and they are used for grazing cows, greenhouses or other recreational activities.

Anselmo Sanchez, who has been cultivating lettuce, radishes, spinach, and maize in chinampas for more than 50 years, assured the chinampas "are fading away."

Don Anselmo said that Xochimilco does not have a place destined for chinampa farmers to sell their products. "We walk like street vendors selling our vegetables in the market," he added.

It has been forecasted that Xochimilco has about 30 years of life remaining.

"There is land, there is water, the government's decision to support the field is what is missing,” Alfonso concluded.

sg