Like permaculture, the elegance of the Milpa system lies in the variety of techniques performing a number of functions at the same time
Drawing on the wisdom of Indigenous Americans, the Milpa method of gardening mimics a forest ecosystem to promote fertility and increase resilience.
Adapted from the forest ecosystem by Indigenous Americans over a period of thousands of years, Milpa gardens are an elegant response to the challenges every natural gardener faces; weather, weeds, fertility and pests. The method increases drought and inundation resilience, while promoting natural fertility by recreating the managed forest gardens, the natural habitat of humanity.
North American Indigenous gardener and environmental biologist Mel Landers was seduced by the gardening techniques he encountered following fieldwork with the Urarina people of the Peruvian Amazon in 1969, triggering a lifelong study of the Milpa system.
THEN AND NOW
The system employs techniques that were used to garden millions of hectares from the southernmost part of Chile to the North of Canada. But more recently, two families in Aotearoa New Zealand have been implementing the system for the last five years. For them, the appeal of the system is its ability to
