Mónica Ribadeneira Sarmiento (ELP 2014) | Pool Manager, Dorsch Impact, Ecuador

Under the umbrella of the 16th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP 16) there were many topics to analyze: the urgency to achieve biodiversity targets struggled among global threats (wildlife trafficking, climate change, droughts, deforestation, and biodiversity loss). The traditional measures to keep and maintain biodiversity remain as wildlife reserves and protected areas reinforce with the advancement of geospatial technology and artificial intelligence. Access to genetic resources and protection of traditional knowledge, gender equity, Indigenous peoples, and local communities’ participation continue to be core and crucial concerns. How to finance everything in an innovative and sustainable way is the core of the high political compromise. Under all those themes and after uncountable drafts and going-and-coming backs of negotiations, as well as incredible and interesting side events, it is easier to forget the impact of the local initiatives and their impact to biodiversity conservation and to the achievement of peace.

As a believer that true peace is not only the absence of violence but the presence of justice, I cannot think of a better country in Latin America as Colombia to talk about peace and justice and the urgency of their need and maintenance. Couple of years ago, the Final Report of the Truth Commission “There is a future, if there is truth” (2022) summarized the numbers of victims of almost six decades of armed conflict in this beautiful and megadiverse country. Therefore, to me nothing makes its motto ("Peace with Nature") more alive than a very far away vegetable garden near Quito, Ecuador. This humble and quiet vegetable garden nowadays is feeding some of those victims while putting into practice sustainable agriculture and the conservation of crops.

The story of this garden began in 1982 when Fundacion Nuestros Jovenes (FNJ) was established to support, serve and dignify vulnerable people. Initially, it focused on helping young people overcome drug addiction and later expanded to assist women and adolescents escaping human trafficking. Back then, the vegetable garden served clear therapeutic and rehabilitative purposes.

Also, the vegetable garden has facilitated neighbourhood alliances: it has been an environmental education space of one elementary school nearby, whose students do key agricultural practices in a real environment.

Nevertheless, the vegetable garden was kept unnamed until 2018, when the FNJ opened the “San Antonio Shelter” and “My Happy Place Centre”, to serve migrants families and refugees, and to provide childcare services.

Since then, the shelter has attended to more than 100,000 people from Colombia and Venezuela, Cuba, Haiti and beyond.

Nowadays, the vegetable garden is much more than a source to provide fresh vegetables for the sheltered residents. It has become a space for integration, reducing stress, preventing loneliness and isolation and easing trauma by providing a sense of community, increasing resilience and motivating personal purpose. Migrants and refugees plant and care for their vegetables, including native varieties from home countries, transforming the garden into a highly biodiverse space rich with Andean crops. (Left Photo: Harvesting in the Garden. [Photo Source: Saarhy Betancourt's collaboration (2024)]

The garden's harvests have fostered unity among the migrant population, allowing them to connect through shared agricultural practices; that is the reason for its name.

It’s not just about growing food; it’s about showing hope. This bond extends beyond the soil, as the shelter celebrates special holidays like Independence Days, then, the air fills with the aromas of arepas, pan de jamón, pandebono, pabellón, sancocho and other traditional dishes. All made with the harvest from the garden merging stories, hope, nostalgia and national roots; these experiences bridge and rekindle memories and share the flavors of the homes they left behind but keep deep in their hearts.

The garden has become a place to explore migrant cultures and strengthen the bonds among those who, despite their experiences with violence and hardship, have found a shared language of hope and resilience in gardening and cooking.

By gardening together, we’ve learned that diversity enriches our lives and by sharing our stories and aspirations for a brighter future, we will finally find Peace with Nature.

(Photo: Cooking Venezuelan hallaca [Photo Source: Saarhy Betancourt´s collaboration (2024)]