"Growing Connections" Helps Feed Chiapas
7/15/2008
EarthBox, a low-cost, water-efficient, portable garden developed by The Growing Connection
Until recently, the indigenous populations of San Juan Chamula and Oxchuc in the southernmost state in Mexico had little interaction with the world beyond their borders. Located in a region isolated by the mountains of Chiapas, nearly 1,000 miles separated their rural farming communities from AMD's Lone Star facility. Now, all that separates these Chiapas villages from Austin – or any other location in the world – is the click of a mouse.
In April 2008, AMD deployed one of more than a dozen worldwide 50x15 Learning Labs, bringing digital inclusion and access to the residents of these Mexican communities. Working with several corporate, educational and NGO partners, AMD designed two digital centers to supply residents with computing technology and Internet access to improve economic, social and cultural development, particularly in the areas of education, healthcare, agriculture and nutrition – all of which were stated priorities of the Government Development Plan of Chiapas.
While AMD has a rich history of successfully launching 50x15 Learning Labs around the globe, the creation of the Chiapas location, like most, was no easy accomplishment. There were several barriers to deployment of this location including unreliable power supply sources, weak bandwidth connectivity and unstable architectural structures that housed the labs. One of the most immediate challenges, however, was a need to help the people learn how to become a healthy and sustainable community.
The Growing Connections EarthBoxes provide Chiapas with a much-needed sustainable source of revenue and fresh produce, as well as address malnutrition in the area.
Learning labs provide more than just a place for residents to connect to the Internet. They offer underdeveloped communities an educational environment to learn new skills and technologies that provide solutions to help them improve upon their economic position and better their lives.
One solution introduced at the Chiapas learning lab is an EarthBox, a low-cost, water-efficient, portable garden developed by a grassroots project known as The Growing Connection. EarthBoxes not only provide the region with a much-needed sustainable source of revenue and fresh produce, but also help to address the highest rate of malnutrition in all of Mexico, affecting 40 percent of the Chiapas population.
The Growing Connection was developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and links people and cultures in a revolutionary campaign that introduces food-growing innovations like EarthBoxes hand-in-hand with access to technology and information. Today, with the help of this organization, the Chiapas learning lab features the initial agricultural equipment and knowledge to improve the communities' nutritional intake and encourages micro-entrepreneurship by selling excess produce.
Visitors to the lab can share experiences, like the benefits of EarthBoxes, by connecting to communities around the world through one of nine AMD Geode™ processor-powered Mini PC devices running on the latest operating systems powered by voltage stabilizers to avoid disruptions in power supply.
AMD will supervise ongoing technical maintenance and expertise of the lab while students at the nearby University Anahuac Mexico Sur (UAS) and volunteers from Red de Mujeres por Ti, a local nonprofit civic association of women committed to providing resources for social assistance, education, culture and economic growth, provide training support. Chiapas citizens also have access to tools such as "how-to guides" created by these groups to best leverage the technologies in the lab.
Feeling "connected" now takes on a whole new meaning to the Chiapas community. The 50x15 Learning Lab has created an environment that has given access to unite with people around the world, but has also expanded local knowledge sharing and social development with neighboring communities and organizations.
"One day we were invited to a private, sacred ceremony," said Julia Romero, a college student at UAS who has been helping train community members on the new technologies.
"We were their special guests and that made me feel honored. I also realized that the people of the community considered our work important and that was their way of showing it. In that moment, I knew that even though we had different interests and different timing, we could always make them work harmoniously."