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The Red Internacional de Huertas Educativas (International Network of Educational Gardens or RIHE, in its Spanish acronym) is an international and horizontal group of people, organizations and initiatives committed to educational gardens (“orchards” in Spanish) as spaces for experiential learning through the agro-ecological production of food and the conservation of agrobiodiversity. The RIHE includes public and private schools, civil society groups and academics, among others. We seek a world in which everyone has access to an education that promotes critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, solidarity, health and healthy eating, and a (re)connection with nature and the wisdom of those who work day to day to feed their families, communities and society in general.
The RIHE was founded by researchers from ECOSUR (Spanish acronym for College of the South Border) and CIESAS (Spanish acronym for Center for Research and Higher Studies in Social Anthropology) in San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico, in 2009. Aware of the key role of organizations such as LifeLab and Edible Schoolyard in the institutionalization of educational gardens in the United States, they sought to promote a similar support network for the Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America.
The educational gardens, in rural and urban spaces, have gained a lot of attention in recent years as a concrete answer to the environmental, food and health crises of our time. The gardens are pedagogical tools for innovation in education that allow us to address these problems with a critical but optimistic approach that is systemic, transdisciplinary, intergenerational and intercultural. Through physical and emotional work with nature, in tune with the cultural context that surrounds them, the gardens reconnect us with the earth, water, air, with the natural cycles and rhythms, and with the biological and cultural (biocultural) diversity that exists everywhere. The gardens remind us that we are part of nature and they make us more aware of our physical body and the importance of taking care of our body and nourishing it well. Garden work awakens our senses, and stimulates our ability to analyze and observe. Gardening requires patience and experimentation, as well as the capacity to work in a group and cooperate. Educational gardens also allow for greater understanding of the complexity of agrifood systems, as well as their implications at the ecological, social, political, economic and cultural level.
The RIHE acknowledges the importance of agroecology and traditional peasant and indigenous agriculture as starting points to generate fairer and healthier food systems that value biocultural diversity. Its members are aware of the importance of genetic biodiversity and therefore we defend free production of seeds and we are against the use of transgenic seeds. Educational gardens can also become real refuges to regenerate our socio-ecosystems, reverse climate change, promote sustainable development and move toward Good Living. These principles drive our social responsibility as consumers of local and seasonal foods, produced using environmentally friendly techniques and fair treatment of the producing families.
La Red Internacional de Huertos Educativos es una agrupación internacional y horizontal de personas e iniciativas comprometidas con los huertos educativos como espacios de aprendizaje vivencial por medio de la producción agroecológica de alimentos. Incluye a escuelas públicas y privadas, agrupaciones de la sociedad civil, y académicos, entre otros. Buscamos que cada persona tenga una educación que promueva el pensamiento crítico, la creatividad, la solidaridad, la salud y la buena alimentación, además de la (re)conexión con la naturaleza, la cocina y la sabiduría de quienes nos alimentan.
La RIHE fue fundada por investigadores de ECOSUR y CIESAS en San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, México, en 2009. Conscientes del papel clave de organizaciones como LifeLab y Edible Schoolyard en la institucionalización de los huertos educativos (HE) en los Estados Unidos, buscaron impulsar una red de apoyo parecida para el mundo hispanoparlante.
Las huertas educativas han ganado mucha atención durante los últimos años, como una respuesta a las crisis ambientales, alimentarias y de salud de nuestros tiempos.
Las huertas educativas permiten lograr una mayor comprensión de la complejidad de los sistemas agroalimentarios, como una expresión cultural inímamente relacionada con la naturaleza, así como sus implicancias a nivel ecológico, social, económico y cultural.
En este sentido, la RIHE reconoce la importancia de la agroecología y la agricultura tradicional como punto de partida para generar sistemas alimentarios más justos y sanos que pongan en valor la diversidad biológica y cultural de cada territorio, contribuyan a regenerar nuestros ecosistemas, revertir el cambio climático y promuevan un desarrollo sostenible y el Buen Vivir. Estos principios impulsan nuestra responsabilidad social como consumidores de alimentos de proximidad, de temporada, con un trato digno a las familias productoras y mediante técnicas respetuosas con el medio ambiente.