Mexico City cleans up Aztec-era 'floating gardens'

Record ID: 1627144

  • Title: Mexico City cleans up Aztec-era 'floating gardens'
  • Date: 17th July 2021
  • Summary: MEXICO CITY, MEXICO (RECENT - JULY 14, 2021) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF FARMERS PREPARING LOCAL FARMS VARIOUS OF CROPS BEING PLANTED GENERAL VIEW OF CHINAMPA CROPS BEING WATERED (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) LOCAL FARMER, LUIS ALBERTO MORA, SAYING: "I don't know if we will be the last generation to rehabilitate this area. The truth is that it (farming in Xochimilco) is very productive and it provides many benefits to us who do this. Unfortunately the government has abandoned us a lot. But we will fight on to have this land." VARIOUS OF AGRICULTURAL AREAS OF CANALS LOCAL ON RAFT IN CANAL GENERAL VIEW OF CANAL (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) LOCAL FARMER, MARIO MORA, SAYING: "For example, I employ five people, five families. Imagine if the farms are gone, with these families, where we will all be at. How will be support all of these families." VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WORKING ON LOCAL FARM GROWING LETTUCE VARIOUS OF PERSON PICKING LETTUCE
  • Embargoed: 31st July 2021 19:25
  • Keywords: Aztec Mexico City Xochimilco canals lake
  • Location: MEXICO CITY, MEXICO
  • City: MEXICO CITY, MEXICO
  • Country: Mexico
  • Topics: Environment,South America / Central America,Editors' Choice
  • Reuters ID: LVA003EM891L3
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: In Mexico City, residents are working to clean up the capital's "floating gardens" of Xochimilco, one of the city's few remaining canals that date back to Aztec times.
    This UNESCO World Heritage site still preserves much of its pre-Hispanic stylings but it is under strain from an urban sprawl that threatens the delicate ecosystem and centuries-long farming practices.
    Plagued by polluted water, predatory fish and the steady encroachment of one of the world's biggest megacities, locals are banding together to regenerate canals and to make this agricultural area economically viable within Mexico's megalopolis.
    One way they are doing this is by supporting traditional Aztec farming methods in these waterways called 'chinampas'.
    'Chinampas' are floating beds of farm produce cultivated by the Aztecs in the 14th century to feed the pre-Hispanic city.
    Residents working to clean up Xochimilco hope that a return to the past will help preserve the future of Mexico City's last remaining waterways, and keep urban development at bay.
    (Production: Roberto Ramirez, Rodolfo Pena Roja, Paul Vieira)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
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