Our weekly learnings culminated in a field trip to Cono Sur, or the southern cone, which is the name for the outlying areas of southern Lima. Economic insecurity and violence over the past half-century caused intense migration from rural areas into the outskirts of Lima, and the population has soared in these areas to the north, east and south of metropolitan Lima. Though the more established areas of the conos now have water, electricity and some paved roads, the neighborhoods on the hillsides are still very poor and lack basic services. Much of what the students learned in their lectures about Peruvian history, natural resource distribution and the consequences of migration to urban areas are played out in the daily lives of residents in the conos. Over sixty percent of Lima’s population resides in these outlying areas.
Our first stop was a visit to an organic garden project in the district of Villa Maria del Triunfo. This initiative began over 30 years ago, when women living in extreme poverty in the community partnered with the power company to convert unused sandy spaces under the powerlines into vegetable gardens. We spoke with Señora Gregoria Flores, who is the director of this particular garden. She said that today over 1,500 people benefit from these community gardens, which were once crime-infested spaces full of trash. About 40% of the food grown is consumed by neighborhood families and the rest is sold for income in the more affluent areas of the city where organic produce will fetch high prices. While at the garden, students did a variety of tasks, including weeding, adding compost to the gardens, transplanting, and shoveling the sand to create terraces.
After working in the garden, we traveled just a few minutes away to the home of Alicia Taype, GC program assistant, who lives in Villa Maria. Alicia treated us to anticuchos, a popular Peruvian street food of grilled chicken and beef heart skewers.
After lunch, we drove to the neighboring district of Villa El Salvador, to the home of Corpusa Villavicencio Zela, sister of Willy Villavicencio, Service Coordinator. Corpusa gave us a first-hand account of her participation in an invasión — the process by which hundreds of people squat on unused land in hopes of eventually being allowed to stay. Afterward, we visited the grave of Afro-Peruvian community organizer and activist Maria Elena Moyano, who was killed by members of the Shining Path insurgency in the early 90s. While there, Gabe delivered a speech on Moyano to open our series on Artists, Authors and Activists of Perú. On our return to the church, students were dropped off by our bus at various points along the route and took public transportation home to spend their first full weekend with their host families. On Saturday morning, several students gathered at Casa Goshen to view the memorial service for Professor of Music Deb Detwiler and spend time together remembering her.
Señora Gregoria tells students about the origins of the garden. She says that the neighbors laughed and said nothing could grow there. Lima is a coastal desert. A large part of the work at the garden is creating compost and organic fertilizer to make the ground suitable for growing food. Each family who joins the project is given a plot and chooses what they will grow. They can draw on the expertise of other families, who have moved to Lima from regions all over Peru. Let the weeding commence!Bryce and Nick get to work. Ben lovingly removes the weeds. Gabe and Evan turn the soil.Bryce shows his skill with the hoe. Jehan breaks up the soil with a pick.Ming, Jehan, Jen, Yejin and Sharada plant radishes under the tutelage of Señora Maria. When the garden began, women brought any ‘used’ water they could collect from their domestic tasks to keep their plants alive. Now there are several water spigots and some families are using drip irrigation. Jehan, Sra. Maria, Yejin, Ming, Jen and Sharada stand by their work. This greenhouse is used to start lettuce and other more delicate plants until they are large enough to be transplanted outside. The lettuce, chard and celery in the cups is ready to go to the garden. Señora Gregoria shows Joe how to measure the distance between holes. Sharada transplants chard. Nick douses the newly transplanted chard. Bobby, Christian and Evan create terraces for a new garden at the bottom of the property. Fruit trees, including banana and apple, grow in the gardens. Because the property is below the power lines, they are not allowed to grow anything that will be taller than two meters. Yejin, Jen, and Jehan sample some of the sugar cane growing on the edge of one of the garden plots. Señora Felicitas bakes beet, carrot and pumpkin cakes to sell using vegetables from her plot. We got to sample this freshly baked carrot cake.When the first Goshen SST groups came to the garden, they spent the day hauling trash off the property. Over the last 15 years, the space has been transformed into a thriving garden that provides food and income. Alicia manages the sizzling anticuchos. Nick fears no beef heart. Ming adds some ají to spice up her anticuchos. Sharada and Evan are ready to give anticuchos a try. Bryce and Gabe start on their chicken skewers. Christian cleans his skewer in one bite. Ben is all smiles for his chicken skewer. This is not his first anticucho experience. Jehan digs in. Yejin shows off her plate of traditional street food. Joe is stunned by the pot of chili sauce. Evan sits frozen as he ponders the ultimate question: should I begin with beef or chicken?Ming and Matthew are excited by what is on their plates. Jen and Bobby are ready to eat. Willy and Señora Gregoria prepare to enjoy Alicia’s delicious anticuchos. Ben’s host brother Omar (Alicia’s grandson) adds our sides — choclo (corn) and boiled potatoes with Ocopa sauce. Students give Alicia some love after a delicious meal.Happy birthday to Alicia’s granddaughter, Britany!Corpusa and her two daughters stand in the windows of their home. After 15 years of waiting, they were finally able to get a title for the land and continue building their home. Corpusa poses with the group inside her house. Gabe gives a speech at the grave of Maria Elena Moyano. Several students gather to watch the memorial service for Deb Detwiler.
