A Look at Juribidá, Colombia

Carolina Garcia, a Oxfam Action Corps leaders in Boston, Massachusetts and FAST Program Assistant at Oxfam America, recently returned from a trip to Juribidá, Colombia. Read on for Carolina's fascinating experiences and insights, beautiful photos, and inspiring GROW Method take-aways.

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This summer, I had the privilege to visit Juribidá, a small town in the wonderful Colombian Pacific Ocean where, in almost every garden and backyard, one can find raised beds with herbs and vegetables for personal consumption.

In spite of the many problems this entire region faces -mainly government neglect-, towns like Juribidá have managed to subsist almost entirely on their own resources for centuries: catching their own fish and growing basic produce like plantains, onions, peppers, etc. Unfortunately, the commercial fishing industry has proven to be disastrous for them, as it has nearly depleted their waters of many of the species that used to inhabit them.

But this post is about positively inspiring us to GROW our own food, locally and seasonally, and to support those who do it at a small scale, so here it goes.

That's a drill!

By Carolina Garcia, Boston Oxfam Action Corps

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What did you see this summer that inspired you to GROW? Whether in your backyard or across the globe, let us know how what new experiences you've had this summer! Send them to actioncorps@oxfamamerica.org.