The idea of ‘being green’ can be slightly overwhelming. To do it well and consistently does (as I am quickly learning) mean a complete overhaul of previous habits. No more plastic bags; remembering your environmentally friendly food bag; sorting your rubbish into a surprisingly large amount of categories; taking your bike instead of catching the bus.
The list is endless, and whilst we may not be able to abide by all of them, all of the time, we can do our part whenever possible. In a conscious effort to do mine, I am increasingly aware that green does not equal a complicated way of life, just a more proactive one. Past practices may have meant that life was that bit more comfortable yes, but they were also sheer laziness and quite frankly, ignorant.
As we learn and understand more about being environmentally friendly, the supermarket is becoming increasingly unpopular. However, the effects on such large corporations continue to be minimal because unfortunately, if there is a choice between making effort and comfort, most of us would choose the latter. The supermarket may be having a negative effect on people and our environment, but we either don’t see it, or we choose to ignore it. Yet by doing our food shopping at the supermarket, we are shooting ourselves in the foot. Much of the produce that exists in supermarkets is imported from other countries; to cover the costs of this process means an automatic rise in price whilst the actual quality of the product, decreases. There is a common misconception that to eat well you have to pay for it. Wrong. Eating well does not require money; it requires understanding.
So, what is Argentina doing about it? Environmental awareness has not developed as quickly here as in other parts of the world. As previously discussed in The Argentina Independent, saying no to the plastic bag can be surprisingly tricky – they are fanatical about them! Why have one when you can have two? But if you scratch beneath the surface there are in fact, numerous organisations all striving towards the same thing: local, organic produce.
Puente del Sur
Founded in 2003, Puente del Sur (puentedelsurcoop.com.ar) is a cooperative that works with smaller producers and sources out those people who choose an alternative way of buying. At Puente del Sur there is a firm belief (and they would be right) that supermarkets ‘exploit, adulterate, contaminate and cause unemployment. They explain that by buying in supermarkets we are financing their huge distribution and production systems of buying, something that we as individuals do not need. We are fundamentally supporting this finance system and paying for the huge price of capitalism to exist.
Puente del Sur endeavours to increase the distribution of locally produced, organic food and products that are made with the consumer in mind, consistently finding ways to improve quality and price. By working with smaller companies and producers we are avoiding these costs and in addition, supporting social relations by creating a local economic circuit. Buying from local producers not only creates jobs in distribution, making the smaller companies more viable, but the money we give over is for the products we buy and the work of the individuals involved. Nothing more, nothing less.
So how does Puente del Sur actually work? Quite simply, they deliver the requested products door-to-door. Each month, Puente del Sur sends its clients an email with a list of available products (unlike these huge corporate chains who provide every and any type of fruit and vegetable regardless of the season, Puente del Sur works with products available at that given time) who in turn make their order by phone or email.
What is brilliant about Puente del Sur is that there are no delivery charges on your bill. A concept practically unheard of. To avoid extra costs, the deliveries are generally done on a monthly basis, visiting three or four barrios close to each other on one day of the month, and other areas on another. All they request is that clients make an order of $80 or more. The list of products available has seen a huge increase since the birth of the company, which continuously accept and work with more and more local producers, hoping to avoid the exclusion of anyone. At Puente del Sur, they make every effort to create social change, giving the working classes more options and opportunities that would usually be unavailable to them.
Huerta Niño
Non-governmental organisation ‘Huerta Niño’ (mihuerta.org.ar) has similar beliefs. Founded in 1999, Huerta Niño works with disadvantaged rural schools in the province of Buenos Aires, offering them the chance to train in and about their environment. How? The foundation provides these schools with one-acre vegetable gardens to be sustained by the children and their parents so that they are able to improve their diet through their own cultivation.
When Huerta Niño was founded, Argentina provided food for 350m people but despite its population of 37m, in over half the country, children were malnourished (the staff are quick to add that this figure is likely to have worsened since then). The founders of Huerta Niño started questioning these alarming statistics and wanted to do something about them. It is important to mention that the term ‘malnutrition’ does not only apply to those who are starving, but also those who are clinically obese. They may appear to be two very different illnesses but they are closely related: both are the result of bad diet.
The main goal of Huerta Niño is to reduce and eliminate hunger and malnutrition. Yet, after research and investigation, the foundation discovered that, aside from health issues, bad diet can severely effect a child’s education and therefore future.
“When a child eats badly, they lack the things needed to function properly. Without a balanced diet, we have seen that children simply cannot concentrate in class and therefore end up missing out on school entirely. It’s all related,” explains Constanza, who works in the development and communication of the foundation. Building vegetable gardens seemed to be the logical and suitable response to these issues, approaching three areas close to the foundation’s heart. “Huerta Niño incorporates education, environment and food into the daily lives of the children, all of which are fundamental to us,” says Constanza.
The children learn a huge amount from these one-acre vegetable gardens. From compost production, worm breeding and construction of home-made tools to crop rotation and preserves, they are continuously gaining valuable knowledge. They are involved in every step of the project right up to the cooking, giving them the satisfaction and enthusiasm to sustain what they have essentially built themselves. The projects promote community unity and organisation through this common goal. The work of the organisation stresses that it is not just a question of feeding but about teaching people how to produce food and feed themselves so that they do not need to rely on others but simply have a helping hand getting started.
Huerta Niño sees a future of more vegetable gardens in not only Argentina but across the globe, to reduce malnutrition and hunger. However, despite the importance of the foundation’s concept, Juan the director of Huerta Niño, explains it can be surprisingly hard to find donations and sponsors to get the ball rolling. He discusses the frustration the organization faces at times, due to people’s sheer lack of interest and laziness to participate in something so vital, ‘To me, it’s the same principal as the sweet wrapper. You can eat the sweet, and then walk just that little bit further to put the wrapper in the bin, or you can simply drop it where you are, and forget about it. Unfortunately there are too many people who choose the latter; It’s the same with the sponsors- it’s too much of an effort for many of them, no matter how much money the have. We need to educate and change the way of thinking’.
A bold statement to make perhaps, but certainly not impossible. If each of us just make that extra bit of effort, and support each other, it will be us as individuals, and as a community, who see the benefits rather than these huge corporations.
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