Tecnológico de Monterrey – Campus Santa Fe
AC-8: Campus as a Living Laboratory

The project "Epistemicide" takes its name from a neologism coined by the Portuguese philosopher Boaventura de Sousa (1940), which describes the process of systematic annihilation of knowledge traditions under the cultural (and social, political, economic...) hegemony of the West, to the detriment of ancestral indigenous knowledge. To ground the project, we used as a case study the disappearance of indigenous knowledge about the cultivation of endemic maize species, which have been forgotten over the last century as a result of a capitalist rationality focused on agricultural exploitation. The project consisted of three parts.

a) In the first phase, research was conducted on the types of endemic maize breeds (species) in Mexico and the traditional conditions of milpa cultivation as a polyculture.
b) In the second phase, the soil was prepared (loosened and organic matter was added) to provide the necessary nutrients for the cultivation of the selected maize species, as well as beans and chili.
c) In the third phase, the selected maize breeds—red, green, rainbow, pinto, blue, and black—along with Peruvian and vaquita beans, as well as árbol and manzano chili, were planted. This ensured that the milpa would be a self-sufficient polyculture.
The project is ongoing (as of May 2024), with its development maintained through the campus-provided irrigation system and occasional compost contributions from the campus physical plant.

Also...

A small section of the campus green areas was allocated to plant a small garden that followed two fundamental guidelines within Epicurean philosophy: it would include only endemic flowers and these would serve as food for pollinator species. Thus, the planted garden would simultaneously serve as a space for ecological recovery, study, and analysis of the philosophical implications of Epicureanism in everyday life, for example, in the relationship people have with pollinating insects, which are a fundamental pillar of our food supply and the regulation of our ecosystems.

A small section of the campus green areas was allocated to plant a small garden that followed two fundamental guidelines within Epicurean philosophy: it would include only endemic flowers and these would serve as food for pollinator species. Thus, the planted garden would simultaneously serve as a space for ecological recovery, study, and analysis of the philosophical implications of Epicureanism in everyday life, for example, in the relationship people have with pollinating insects, which are a fundamental pillar of our food supply and the regulation of our ecosystems.

The project "Epistemicide" takes its name from a neologism coined by the Portuguese philosopher Boaventura de Sousa (1940), which describes the process of systematic annihilation of knowledge traditions under the cultural (and social, political, economic...) hegemony of the West, to the detriment of ancestral indigenous knowledge. To ground the project, we used as a case study the disappearance of indigenous knowledge about the cultivation of endemic maize species, which have been forgotten over the last century as a result of a capitalist rationality focused on agricultural exploitation. The project consisted of three parts.

a) In the first phase, research was conducted on the types of endemic maize breeds (species) in Mexico and the traditional conditions of milpa cultivation as a polyculture.

b) In the second phase, the soil was prepared (loosened and organic matter was added) to provide the necessary nutrients for the cultivation of the selected maize species, as well as beans and chili.

c) In the third phase, the selected maize breeds—red, green, rainbow, pinto, blue, and black—along with Peruvian and vaquita beans, as well as árbol and manzano chili, were planted. This ensured that the milpa would be a self-sufficient polyculture.

The project is ongoing (as of May 2024), with its development maintained through the campus-provided irrigation system and occasional compost contributions from the campus physical plant.

The project "Epistemicide" takes its name from a neologism coined by the Portuguese philosopher Boaventura de Sousa (1940), which describes the process of systematic annihilation of knowledge traditions under the cultural (and social, political, economic...) hegemony of the West, to the detriment of ancestral indigenous knowledge. To ground the project, we used as a case study the disappearance of indigenous knowledge about the cultivation of endemic maize species, which have been forgotten over the last century as a result of a capitalist rationality focused on agricultural exploitation. The project consisted of three parts.

a) In the first phase, research was conducted on the types of endemic maize breeds (species) in Mexico and the traditional conditions of milpa cultivation as a polyculture.

b) In the second phase, the soil was prepared (loosened and organic matter was added) to provide the necessary nutrients for the cultivation of the selected maize species, as well as beans and chili.

c) In the third phase, the selected maize breeds—red, green, rainbow, pinto, blue, and black—along with Peruvian and vaquita beans, as well as árbol and manzano chili, were planted. This ensured that the milpa would be a self-sufficient polyculture.

The project is ongoing (as of May 2024), with its development maintained through the campus-provided irrigation system and occasional compost contributions from the campus physical plant.

Also

A small section of the campus green areas was allocated to plant a small garden that followed two fundamental guidelines within Epicurean philosophy: it would include only endemic flowers and these would serve as food for pollinator species. Thus, the planted garden would simultaneously serve as a space for ecological recovery, study, and analysis of the philosophical implications of Epicureanism in everyday life, for example, in the relationship people have with pollinating insects, which are a fundamental pillar of our food supply and the regulation of our ecosystems.

The project "Epistemicide" takes its name from a neologism coined by the Portuguese philosopher Boaventura de Sousa (1940), which describes the process of systematic annihilation of knowledge traditions under the cultural (and social, political, economic...) hegemony of the West, to the detriment of ancestral indigenous knowledge. To ground the project, we used as a case study the disappearance of indigenous knowledge about the cultivation of endemic maize species, which have been forgotten over the last century as a result of a capitalist rationality focused on agricultural exploitation. The project consisted of three parts.

a) In the first phase, research was conducted on the types of endemic maize breeds (species) in Mexico and the traditional conditions of milpa cultivation as a polyculture.

b) In the second phase, the soil was prepared (loosened and organic matter was added) to provide the necessary nutrients for the cultivation of the selected maize species, as well as beans and chili.

c) In the third phase, the selected maize breeds—red, green, rainbow, pinto, blue, and black—along with Peruvian and vaquita beans, as well as árbol and manzano chili, were planted. This ensured that the milpa would be a self-sufficient polyculture.

The project is ongoing (as of May 2024), with its development maintained through the campus-provided irrigation system and occasional compost contributions from the campus physical plant.

A small section of the campus green areas was allocated to plant a small garden that followed two fundamental guidelines within Epicurean philosophy: it would include only endemic flowers and these would serve as food for pollinator species. Thus, the planted garden would simultaneously serve as a space for ecological recovery, study, and analysis of the philosophical implications of Epicureanism in everyday life, for example, in the relationship people have with pollinating insects, which are a fundamental pillar of our food supply and the regulation of our ecosystems.

The project "Epistemicide" takes its name from a neologism coined by the Portuguese philosopher Boaventura de Sousa (1940), which describes the process of systematic annihilation of knowledge traditions under the cultural (and social, political, economic...) hegemony of the West, to the detriment of ancestral indigenous knowledge. To ground the project, we used as a case study the disappearance of indigenous knowledge about the cultivation of endemic maize species, which have been forgotten over the last century as a result of a capitalist rationality focused on agricultural exploitation. The project consisted of three parts.

a) In the first phase, research was conducted on the types of endemic maize breeds (species) in Mexico and the traditional conditions of milpa cultivation as a polyculture.

b) In the second phase, the soil was prepared (loosened and organic matter was added) to provide the necessary nutrients for the cultivation of the selected maize species, as well as beans and chili.

c) In the third phase, the selected maize breeds—red, green, rainbow, pinto, blue, and black—along with Peruvian and vaquita beans, as well as árbol and manzano chili, were planted. This ensured that the milpa would be a self-sufficient polyculture.

The project is ongoing (as of May 2024), with its development maintained through the campus-provided irrigation system and occasional compost contributions from the campus physical plant.