Seeds of Change for Food Sovereignty

Walls speak, tell stories, remember, colour. This is nothing new; our ancestors already knew it. The earliest forms of mural expression date back to prehistoric times, with cave paintings dating back at least 40,000 years. But the eyes that look at them and tell the story they perceive are also important. The more eyes, the more ideas, the more stories, the more perspectives, the more wisdom.

We like to listen to and recognise different perspectives, but we especially like to bring to the fore those that the system marginalises, pushes down or relegates to third place, because it is precisely from there that they can be most transformative. This is why the Escuela Tejiendo Solidaridad – Auzotik Mundura (from the neighbourhood to the world in Basque) initiative was created by Mugarik Gabe Nafarroa, which draws on its connections with SOS Racismo, REASN, SODePAZ and SETEM, as well as neighbourhood associations, community gardens, artistic creations, movements in the global south, and more. Weaving because the organisations and communities we know refer to the importance of connecting and supporting each other, and because weaving is currently a symbol of resistance in many villages in the global south. But weaving also has a semantic relationship with plotting, thinking, intertwining… which we link to the need for critical and reflective, as well as collective, thinking about the world we want.

One such perspective comes from the voices and struggles of the peoples of Abya Yala, which is why each course at the School has featured individuals from organisations and social movements that fight to defend the land and territory and propose alternatives to this misnamed development.

Weaving has a semantic relationship with plotting, thinking, intertwining… which we link to the need for critical and reflective thinking.

Last May, we had the privilege of welcoming Eréndira Cano Contreras, a Mexican ethnobiologist and researcher who, since her training in ecology, natural resources and rural development, has focused on research into Mayan worldviews, spirituality and culture, giving us a week of new perspectives.

Eréndira has developed work on family gardens as traditional production systems that represent one of the most important spaces for the transmission and generation of knowledge in Latin America. This falls within the framework of food sovereignty as a political exercise of self-determination and self-sufficiency in healthy food for people and the environment. It encompasses the freedom of communities, families and individuals to choose their food and the ways in which it is produced and exchanged, as well as legitimising the right to access healthy food and the non-use of neoliberal policies.

During her wonderful stay, full of learning, we had several moments in which she shared with us those other perspectives that should not be considered “other”.

Seeds are the heart of food sovereignty

As part of the ‘Seed Library’ programme, a session entitled ‘Recovering traditional seeds’ was held, in which attendees learned exactly what traditional seeds are and the four main areas they guarantee: diverse agriculture (biodiversity), good nutrition, care for nature, and continuity of life cycles (culture). Eréndira spoke to us about the origins of agriculture, the development of food species diversity and how they have spread throughout the world. Interestingly, although the tomato originated in Mexico, today Spain is home to 10% of the tomato varieties that exist in the world, while Mexico has preserved fewer.

Although tomatoes originated in Mexico, Spain is now home to 10% of the tomato varieties that exist in the world, while Mexico has preserved fewer.

In addition, this space was used to promote the #AdoptaUnaSemilla (Adopt a Seed) initiative proposed by La Vía Campesina, which we have been working on at the Tejiendo Solidaridad School with community groups and urban gardens in the Ermitagaña and Donibane neighbourhoods of Iruña. The aim is for organisations, families, and groups of people to care for, multiply, and recreate peasant seeds, while ensuring that diversity, history, the present, and the future continue to enliven collective life, where peasant identity, food, and nature can be recovered and valued. The idea is to create a large network of peasant seeds, recover those that are scarce and expand production towards Food Sovereignty for the People.

Exploring the body as a territory of memory

During her visit, we also had the opportunity to attend a psychocorporal workshop that exceeded attendance expectations with more than 25 people signing up. In this experiential space, Eréndira helped us to remember and experience our connection with the territories we inhabit, from the body to the landscapes, through playful and sensory tools, given the importance this has in the acquisition of food sovereignty.

Recognising the lineage of our grandparents and the territories they inhabited helped us to feel our own territory as a fundamental element of our identity and also of our affections. In this way, we noticed the diversity of origins and the people who were necessary (with their territorial encounters and coincidences) for us to be present at that moment. The generalised migration from the countryside to the city was reflected, from the generation of our grandmothers (most of whom were born in villages) to the present generation (all of whom were born in cities).

Some of us realised that the trees we drew lacked a connection to the countryside, the village, the land, and we reflected on the shortcomings that this generates.

In order to identify how the territory makes us feel in our bodies, we mapped our ancestry and history by drawing the silhouette of a body, placing drawings, seeds, and lit candles, and pointing out the parts of the body where we feel emotions, memories, tastes, smells, and, in general, sensations that remind us of our origins. This brought out emotions linked to our ancestors (pride, burden, affection…); physical traits resulting from working in the fields, old age, housework or shared genetically (curly hair, freckles, eyes…); foods (croquettes or typical dishes made by our grandmothers), plants (olive trees from Jaén), landscapes from each territory… among others. Some of us realised that the trees we drew lacked a connection to the countryside, the village, the land; and we reflected on the shortcomings that this generates. This opened up a space for debate and reflection on how our bodies reflect territories, not only in terms of violence and deprivation (as the original methodology teaches us to map extractive processes and environmental degradation), but also in terms of strengths, and how this invites us to see our ‘personal plot’ as a reflection of something greater, as indigenous peoples still conceive it: the body as a reflection of the cosmos.

I spy, I spy, what do you spy? Food sovereignty

The Piparrika urban garden, in the historic centre of Pamplona, is not only a treasure in itself, but also home to a mural that speaks for itself. With the idea of bringing this mural created by SETEM’s Rueda de Valores (Wheel of Values) to life, a process was carried out with different associations and artists through dynamics such as veoveo to select elements of the mural that serve to raise awareness among citizens about food sovereignty in the face of the industrial agricultural model.

These tools can be viewed on an informative blog which, through interviews, videos, audio recordings, photos and poetry, brings together creations that promote food sovereignty. Eréndira Cano joined us at the launch of the mural blog, reminding us of the importance of rescuing our ancestry and our connection to the land, highlighting the role of traditional seeds.

She highlighted some of the elements that appear in the mural: the hands of water claiming that it is essential for life, the seed baby that is the origin of everything, the tree woman who reminds us that we are part of the same system, the Baserritarras women with the ancient layas that are part of the collective memory and transmit wisdom. She reminded us of the similarities that the peoples of our environment and Mesoamerica have in this connection with nature, and the importance of certain foods such as corn and tobacco. She also named the defenders who have died unjustly for preserving and defending nature, natural resources and the land, and therefore the need to continue fighting for food sovereignty in all territories.

To conclude, Eréndira guided us in a small ritual based on the Mayan worldview, where together we lit the candles of the Mayan cross and gave thanks to the earth wherever each of us wanted, placing a little sacred tobacco.

The walls, as in the beginning, hold pieces of history. The Piparrika Mural still has much to say, and hopefully the walls will not only serve to paint but also to transcend, so that we can collectively seek to be seeds of change that generate ways of feeding ourselves that are sovereign, conscious, respectful, and balanced. The encounter with Eréndira reminds us that it is necessary to learn from ancestral, wise and humble ways. Thanks to Eréndira, our feet are a little more rooted, with more desire and strength, grateful and comforted, so that we can continue walking.

This essay by Mirian Uhalte Esteban was originally published a limited-run zine created in support of two aligned efforts: Stop UPOV and Free the Seed. While the print edition now circulates hand to hand, this version brings the conversation into a wider, digital space.