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By Juan Calaf, Enterprise
Rose Architectural Fellow
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Earlier this year
ENLACE, a community-based organization in San Juan, Puerto Rico created an organic
community garden with the residents of Las Monjas neighborhood. Las
Monjas is one of the most densely populated and poorest neighborhoods in
Puerto Rico.
Las Monjas Community Garden
is the only organic community garden in the entire Caño Martin Peña
neighborhood comprised of around 27,000 residents. Initially, the
residents volunteered their time to clean what was once a vacant
neglected lot where illegal dumping occurred. After several months of
clean-up and building raised beds the community has now a vibrant and
diverse garden producing mostly organic vegetables, lettuces and spices
(ie. pumpkin, arugula, basil) for the residents to eat and in some
cases to sell at community events.
Last month a community garden organizer from ENLACE, Roberto, asked
me if I would help them to plan for the future expansion of the garden,
given that they now have a new parcel to the eastern side and to the
north of the garden. ENLACE got some funding from the Ford
Foundation to build out some structures necessary for the garden to be
more self-sustaining. Since then, I have participated in various
meetings with the community leaders and garden organizers to come up
with a list of priorities and to create a more holistic design for the
garden. The group wants to include an outdoor classroom, a larger
composting area, more garden beds and a nursery garden area. There are
also some improvements planned for the existing fencing around the
garden as well as a new gate to provide better access into the garden.
I have been helping with the schematic designs for the second phase
of the garden’s design. This phase will also include a rain-water
collection cistern connected to a roof, shading devices to minimize
wilting from the extreme summer heat and a mechanical composting
facility all to make the garden more self-sustaining.
Community gardens like Las Monjas and others around the country serve
two vital functions for the community. First, they support food independence by teaching organic gardening
practices to youth and families to have their own low-cost alternative
to eating local produce. Second, they foster better
relationships between neighbors by encouraging strong collaboration and
participation which ultimately has a positive overall impact in the
neighborhood.
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| Community Garden Design Meeting Sketches |
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