PSP is proud to release our second documentary, filmed in Lima this past spring.  BIG THANKS to the all-star team that put this together: Andrea, Natasha & Kamil, your incredible talents have made this film really come alive, and I’m so proud to share this piece with the communities and NGOs we worked with in Peru, as well as the rest of the world!

About this documentary:

Rapid urbanization and population growth of the shantytowns on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, where most residents live in poverty and lack access to potable water and adequate sanitation, has led to negative consequences on human and environmental health. These changes reflect a trend that is occurring in urban areas of low-income countries throughout the world, causing devastating effects on household food security and nutrition.

Among many of Lima’s poor neighborhoods solutions are emerging to tackle these problems in collaborative and sustainable ways. Community gardening has come to the forefront, not only as a strategy to improve food security, but also to make communities safer and greener. Lima’s urban agriculture movement has become particularly important in the face of prevalent unemployment and the fluctuating costs of basic food staples due to the global economic crisis. Community gardening projects throughout Lima are generating greater access to fresh nutritious foods and are thus helping to break cycles of poverty and hunger.

For this film The Paradigm Shift Project interviewed non-profit organizations focused on urban agriculture, food security and environmental sustainability; several community garden members and urban farmers; researchers from local nutritional and agricultural research institutes; as well as local municipal authorities. These interviews elucidated and documented the impact of urban agriculture projects on communities and families. It also provided a means for local participants to assert their specific needs in terms of food security and what types of support are required to continue and further these vital projects.

Please share this film via facebook and email, and let us know if you’d like to host a screening of this film in your community.

Click here to view the Peru project page.