Growing the Good Life
El Bolsón is perhaps best known for its hippie vibe: people wandering about the town's plaza donning dreadlocks, handmade clothing, and an air of insouciance. But this small town in Argentina's Rio Negro Province is also increasingly becoming a center for sustainable agriculture with its microclimate well-suited for berries, hops, and horticulture. And while many farms – both conventional and alternative – have set up shop here, Chacra Rizoma has a model and philosophy that set it apart.
A collective of 12 young farmers, Chacra Rizoma began in 2017. Some of its members live on their one-acre farm and others live in town, but all are hard-working individuals motivated by the concept of “el buen vivir,” or living the good life. Says Ivan Belay, originally from Buenos Aires and one of the founders, for them the good life is “when our human existence takes place in harmony with everything around us, with all of our relationships. It's to live life honoring nature.”
The farm's agroecological growing practices do just that, mimicking natural ecological processes and focusing on the overall health of the land and the people who work it. Chacra Rizoma embodies a diversified, community- based approach that involves much more than growing vegetables and raising chickens. For instance, they have a grain mill and clay oven for grinding wheat and rye and making bread. They grow medicinal and aromatic herbs and are experimenting with mushroom cultivation. To make the most of every harvest and reduce food waste, they partner with local fermenters to sell them “seconds” – vegetables of secondary quality – to be processed for winter storage. This year they plan to make mustard sauce from mustard seeds they'll grow and harvest as a source of winter income.
Though relatively new, Chacra Rizoma has had no trouble finding a market for its goods.
They sell products at street markets in El Bolson and in neighboring towns. They have a weekly vegetable basket subscription with around 150 participants distributed across the territory and are debuting an on- site sales booth this season. Despite growing interest and demand from consumers in Bariloche, the biggest urban center two hours away, Rizoma member Mathias Frickel explains that this season they are shifting their focus to “provide food as locally as possible.”
Like many members of the collective, Mathias is not from El Bolsón but moved there to study agroecology at the National University of Rio Negro. The university, created in 2007, has offered the fouryear program in agroecology since 2013, along with several other degrees related to organic production and agricultural engineering. Once studying agriculture in the valley, many students find it hard to leave.
This was also the case for Isabel Echenique, a Chilean who forms part of the collective and first arrived in El Bolsón as a student. “Access to education at a public university where it's free and of good quality – along with a pioneer program in agroecology – that's what brought me here,” she says, noting that in Chile such an opportunity doesn't exist. Now, Isabel is an integral part of Rizoma and has no immediate plans to leave.
Chacra Rizoma, along with 13 other grower groups and families in El Bolsón, belong to Fundación Cultivo Ecológico, a network of agricultural producers that works together to promote community- based agriculture. The team of Chacra Rizoma was quick to point out that Cultivo Ecológico was fundamental in helping them get started on their parcel of rented land and continues to play an important role in supporting their project and connecting them with other growers and markets.
When asked i f they've noticed that more people are i nterested i n growing and buying local food since the global pandemic began, the four members of Chacra Rizoma interviewed all nodded in agreement. “There's been a ton of challenges for us related to Covid, but it has strengthened us too,” Ivan explains. “With crisis comes opportunity. People see their health as being threatened and they're suddenly more aware of its importance.”