This is the alter of an Hierloom Corn Seed Collector in San Luis Potosi in Mexico.
Jose Juan also known as JJ has been collecting Hierloom corn seed varities from all over Mexico and cross breeding them in his garden.
He lets the bees and the butterflies do their magic with the cross pollination then each corn that grows is a surprise, its like opening a present says JJ
and it I have to admit they are so beautiful and eye catching that its no wonder this vegetable was regarded with such respect by the native peoples of Mexico, it helped them to thrive, providing much nutritional value and still does to this day.
Similar to the Amaranth grain pictured below, (its the one with the beautiful red purple leaves and buds.) It grows wild and the whole plant can be eaten. Its delicious chopped up fresh and fried with a little onion and garlic.
The image below is just a snap shot of JJs thriving garden in the heart of the urban city of San Luis Potosi. He also has many fruiting trees, herbs and vegetables. Unfortunately, i did not get pictures of it all because I was there to make a documentary film about this amazing example of sustainable living in the city. The video will be out shortly on the YOUTUBE channel Leaf of Life Films so make sure to subscribe with the bell notification on if you are interested in watching it when it goes live.
Honestly i was blown away by the many different varieties of corn. As you can see in the picture below some corn came out pure, the whole corn is one color, red, black or yellow, whilst others are multi colored. JJ explains that each hair on the corn is separately pollinated and that's why some corn are multi colored whilst others will auto pollinate and come out one color.
GMO varieties are yellow because the yellow variety has more sugar content, which is used for making corn syrup.
Growing the GMO varity is disrupting bio diversity and has been affecting Hierloom corns and making them disappear. This is why it is so important that people like JJ are continuing their native traditions of cross pollinating the corn as nature intended.
JJ's lives in a tradational mexican home in the heart of the city, right outside his door is the mainroad and either side of him are houses and apartments.
JJ has created an amazing an example of how you can create a thriving ecosystem that also can nourish you within the urban landscape.
He explains he was motivated to doing this 10 years ago when he was thinking alot about sovereignty and autonomy and how to create a positive action in the world.
Now 10 years later he lives in a self sustaining and self regenerating mini food forest. He explains how he doesn't need to mulch or fertilize because the ecosystem is doing it for itself.
I'm totally inspired by what JJ has managed to achieve, as populations continue to grow within the urban environment its super important that we make more self sustaining food forests that benefit biodiversity but also our own health and well being.
I hope you are also inspired too... let me know your thoughts in the comments section :)
Very good for JJ who has already made a work and at the same time an art, it is incredible how we can meet people like this, warriors of the beautiful Mexico, how lucky you are to have toured this monument of wisdom of JJ.
Corn is very popular in much of Latin America and especially Mexico that have stories and experiences thanks to corn.
In my country Venezuela we also have a lot of corn, even, the traditional dishes of my country are based on corn, the Arepa, the Cachapa, etc.
It is good to read this kind of post, you learn a lot about the culture of other countries. Thank you very much for sharing this beautiful expe 😊
Very good for JJ who has already made a work and at the same time an art, it is incredible how we can meet people like this, warriors of the beautiful Mexico, how lucky you are to have toured this monument of wisdom of JJ.
Corn is very popular in much of Latin America and especially Mexico that have stories and experiences thanks to corn.
In my country Venezuela we also have a lot of corn, even, the traditional dishes of my country are based on corn, the Arepa, the Cachapa, etc.
It is good to read this kind of post, you learn a lot about the culture of other countries. Thank you very much for sharing this beautiful experience. Blessings ✌🏻
¡VIVA MÉXICO! ❤️
Thank you for sharing about your traditional dishes of Venezuela,im going to look them up, they sound interesting!
Whaaat. JJ is doing amazing work!
They look so tasty!
its incredible!
Hi! Nice to see your still active! Hey, your in MEXICO?!
not at the mo, but going back soon. i saw your ganja post today also didnt get around to commenting but was also glad to see u still here, ive been a bit on and off with posting im not very consistent but i never lost faith with this ecosystem
Get back before your not allowed! amazingly enough I got shown this corn in real life a few hours ago haha!
and where you at in central mexico? have you started the community, could drop by and visit, when im passing through.
dont worry i think mexico arent stopping people going anywhere yet.
In Morelia! its not with land yet but theres people here like the team and soon others comming.. definitely if you drop by let me know!