Página — Uerakua Anapu Uantakua Projects And Readings 2° Secundaria (pág. 106)

Did You Know That?

The chinamperia is one of the more sustainable cultivation methods. Many harvests are done every year, and much food is produced with less ecological damage, because:

No artificial fertilizer is needed, so there is less water and soil pollution. The white mud at the lakebed provides the crop with the necessary nutrients so that the plants grow well.

No watering is needed, and water is not depleted because chinampas are always floating, and plants are always humid.

There is no affectation to the natural species that live in the place because the chinampas don't cause drastic changes to the water ecosystem.

The soil is not affected because of the crop rotation.

Before and After

The word chinampa comes from the Náhuatl chinamitl,which means"fence made with canes,"because this was the way chinampas were structured by the pre-Hispanic towns in these places. These constructions allowed an increment of firm land and created an agricultural method.

Historians say that in the Great Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Mexica Empire, there was a big food shortage.The first Lord of Xochimilco, named Acatonalli,suggested to the maximum authority, or council of elders, to obtain more terrain from the lake by knitting nets made of reed canes, sediment, and shore plants.To border, solidify, and give shade to the crop, each parcel should be surrounded by ahuejote trees.

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The crops in chinampas are in balance with the ecosystem.

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