Small-scale farmers’ backyards in the State of Morelos

Abstract

This paper analyzes the multi-functional dimension of the small-scale farmer’s backyard in communities in several State of Morelos regions. This backyard, often called solar, huerta (orchard), or calmile in Náhuatl, is an area near the house where food, seasonings, medicinal plants and flowers are produced. Depending on the agricultural, ritual and family cycles, this place is also used for raising animals, as a storage area, and as a place for recreation, relaxation, get-togethers and lodging for pilgrims. It´s a place linked to the feminine universe, an extension of housework and care duties, which conserves and enhances the biodiversity of the zone, local knowledge and practices.   The variety of animal and plant species in the backyard is related to its size, the area’s climate, the type of soil and, above all, to the cultural tastes and traditions of the family and community. Despite modernity, urbanization, and population growth in locations near the urban centers, the families, mostly the women, have preserved the backyards, as they provide them with food security and a certain degree of autonomy from the market, environmental services (microclimates, water retention, soil improvement, carbon capture, and others), ornamental and medicinal plants, and occasionally some income from the small-scale sale of what is produced in it.