The world in a tomato

On our allotment, as in our current society, there are many, different sensibilities, consciences, opinions… we want to be a diverse allotment in all aspects. For example, we are learning to respect people of different sexual orientations.

Our group includes people of many nationalities, like French, Peruvian, Iranian, Romanian, Serbian, Moroccan… In almost all cases, integration has been easy, as we all share the same western culture and many of us speak the same language.

Our pending subject is the Chinese community, who are already an important group but, contrary to what we might expect, have difficulty assuming the communal ideology.

For some of these people, language is the great barrier because Chinese and Spanish have nothing in common. However, the allotment offers us a chance for social interaction for those who truly want to relate. There are some signs of hope, such as a Chinese woman who only spoke(speaks) a dialect from Qingtian, who helps a young woman look after her plot. Or an elderly Chinese woman who helps with composting and expertly uses the sifting equipment. This woman expressed her thanks with hugs, as she hadn´t the words to do so.

These are some of the moments which show that, although the road may be hard, it is possible to relate to very different people.

Perhaps we are still beginning, but we will continue to work for an allotment with no kinds of frontier.