encouraged to adopt new agricultural practices that involved heavy use of pesticides and commercially developed seeds. No longer were farmers practicing the ancient milpa system of companion planting corn, beans, and squash together. In the latter system, the corn provides
the structure for the nitrogen fixing beans to climb and the squash spreads at the base of the corn, ensuring water was retained and weeds minimized. The result: after years and years of growing only corn and using pesticides, the soil was no longer rich and dense but dry and easily washed away with the seasonal rains. Erosion was now a problem: hence, the term “growing rocks.”
This drastic change to the landscape saddened
Fernando and pushed him to look for solutions. He asked himself, whether there was a way he could help regenerate the fortunes and community of Tonahuixtla while at the same time designing something beautiful. It was a slow and organic
process, one that required thorough inquiry and
in-depth conversations with the community about the village’s history, its agricultural traditions, and how these informed the community structure and ensured its prosperity. The result was a decision to revive the growing of several ancient varieties of corn. These centuries old varieties yielded both kernels rich in hues of purple, pink, and yellow and husks
The philosophy of what I do in the studio is work directly with farmers, and with this environment, and find a way that design can be the motor for something else.
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