Greening the Barrio: Turning An Urban Desert into a Garden Oasis

Video Description

Discover the incredible story of indigenous women in Bolivia transforming an arid, marginalized barrio into a green oasis. Facing acute water scarcity next to a city trash dump, they are reclaiming ancestral Altiplano knowledge to ensure food security and cultivate empowerment. In the community of Santa Rosa de Lima, on the dust-covered desert hills outside Cochabamba, fresh food and running water are a daily luxury. These women, many migrants from the high Altiplano, often feel unsafe in their community when their husbands leave for work. To regain control and connect with their roots, they turned to the land. This short documentary explores how they are greening this "urban desert" against all odds. By reviving traditional agricultural practices, they aren't just growing huge vegetables; they are building a community seed bank and seed farm to exchange native varieties, generate income, and restore dignity to their neighborhood. It is a powerful testament to resilience and biocultural restoration in one of the most challenging environments on Earth. [WATCH NEXT] The Andes Series Playlist: Dive deeper into stories of indigenous knowledge and ecological restoration: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLtXoNe4rALd8eYuqvTn07pYmLzEOntjJ 👍 **Please SHARE this video** to highlight how ancient wisdom can solve modern crises! **// Learn More & Support:** https://www.leafoflife.news/ https://asociacionagroecologiayfe.com/ https://stichtingsamay.org/ Leaf of Life is a small independent team, dedicated to creating informative videos. Our subscribers and global community also help us to support on the ground impact work, such as reforestation, regenerative agriculture and rewilding. You can check out these projects here and join us in supporting them here: https://www.leafoflife.news/our-projects A big thank you to everyone who watches, likes, comments, shares and supports our work, we really appreciate you! 📖 We have also written and published books that are available on our website, some of them are currently free to download, check them out here: https://www.leafoflife.news/books **// Time Stamps:** 0:00 - The challenges - living with no running water in the desert 1:20 - The Location and why it´s so challenging 2:53 - Meeting the woman who is helping to facilitate this project 4:05 - How children and families are negatively affected 4:58 - The Problem: No Fresh Food & Long Distance to Market 5:52 - Meeting the leader of the women's project and how she is transforming her garden! 9:00 - How women are harvesting water 11:58 - Why the women built a community seed house 14:00 - The Ancient secret formula for making fertile soil that doesn't need watering 15:55 - How they constructed the seed house so it store seeds for longevity 16:12 - Long term plan for the women's project and why they need your help! **// Support Their Work:** https://www.gofundme.com/f/desert-to-gardens-sowing-seeds-of-resilience-in-bolivia women's empowerment, rainwater harvesting, food security, growing food in the desert, bolivia, marginalized community, water scarcity solutions, sustainable gardening, urban gardening, no running water, community resilience, self-sufficiency, poverty reduction, how to, diy, gardening, home garden, urban gardening, self sufficiency, grow food, documentary, inspirational, true story, viral, trending, transformation, water solutions, renewable water, low tech solutions, low cost solution, community project, women's empowerment, female empowerment, inspirational women, women in business, women's rights