Could Aztec Innovative ‘Chinampas’ – ‘Floating Islands’ Help Modern Farmers?

Conny Waters – AncientPages.com – Can the old Aztec technique in the form of innovative  ‘chinampas’ (‘artificial island’) contribute to better urban farming today?

Researchers led by Roland Ebel from the Sustainable Food Systems Program at Montana State University examined the use of “chinampas”, which was developed during the time of the Aztecs in the region of Lake Xochimilco, south of Mexico City.

Their goal is to determine the extent to which an ancient Aztec agricultural technique could benefit 21st century horticultural needs.

Chinampas. Image credit: Ez Gro Garden

A chinampa is a raised field on a small artificial island on a freshwater lake (usually surrounded by canals and ditches), where vegetables can be produced year-round. The irrigation needs of chinampas is low and the productivity extremely high. Chinampas provide fresh produce for a megacity such as Mexico City and are conceivable around many of today’s exploding urban areas.

The chinampa system, commonly called floating gardens, is efficient and popular solution still practiced in certain suburban areas in Xochimilco, in the southern valley of Mexico City. These raised fields are constructed by digging the canals and mounding the displaced earth onto platforms. Similar historic raised field systems can be found in South America, Asia, Oceania, and parts of Africa.

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