Entre Oasis Sudcalifornianos y Oasis Urbanos de La Paz, Baja California Sur

Abstract

La Paz, Baja California Sur (BCS), was populated by hunter-gatherer-fishermen who did not practice agriculture. The construction of oasis agrosystems allowed for a sedentary life. However, today, globalization, the vulnerability of arid zones exacerbated by climate change, water deficit, high consumption of imported products, real estate speculation and uncontrolled tourism growth, affect the dynamics to guarantee food sovereignty. For this reason, through a research and advocacy project, the objective was to strengthen the experiences that lead to agroecological transition processes. We work under the methodology of participatory action research. In this document, we reflect on the lived experience and characterize the advances based on the analysis of the environmental history of the South Californian oases and their possible applications for the strengthening of urban oases. We found a diversity of foods grown in the city that enrich agroforestry and that, although they are not named as such, their care practices are close to the agroecologies that together form urban oases. The social incidence of the process has been to contribute to the formation of networks that enable the construction of learning communities for the benefit of food sovereignty.