Urban agriculture is flourishing around the globe. Whether in Detroit, Paris, Milan or Brussels, more and more cities are taking food security for their citizens seriously. With cities becoming increasingly vulnerable to environmental and economic crises, urban agriculture is taking a leap towards the agriculture of tomorrow.
We don't need to remind you about the rise of urban vegetable gardens around the world, as they have been all over the internet. In Paris, the Beaugrenelle shopping centre has a 7,000 m² roof that is entirely covered in vegetation. In Detroit, urban farms have sprung up where factories once stood. Brussels is not to be outdone, with more than 260 community vegetable gardens, including the ‘potage-toit’ on the roof of the Royal Library. But the South is not to be outdone either!
In Bolivia, Louvain Coopération and the Alternativas Foundation have been working since 2014 to promote urban gardening through the Huerto Lak'a uta project, a vegetable garden located on the outskirts of the city of La Paz, at an altitude of over 3,600 metres. A pioneer in community vegetable gardening in Bolivia, this project aims to motivate city dwellers to produce their own food without pesticides or chemical inputs in order to be less vulnerable to market fluctuations and to give themselves access to healthier food. In other words, to be more resilient in the face of external shocks. The activities that take place in this garden go beyond simple food production. Huerto Lak'a uta has a real educational function. Every week, groups of children and adults come to try their hand at planting, which allows everyone to realise how easy it is to produce their own food at home.
Finally, the experience in this vegetable garden goes beyond the individual experience; it is a shared experience. A real community is being created, enabling exchanges between the different beneficiaries from all walks of life.