The chinampas agricultural system is a set of artificial floating islands, primarily used in southern Mexico. The lake area of Xochimilco in Mexico has the most famous present-day chinampas system. Chinampas are traditionally built based on oral wisdom transmitted since the time of the Aztecs. The chinampa, from Nahuatl chinampan, meaning "in the fence of reeds," is a Mesoamerican method of agriculture and territorial expansion used by the Mexicas (Aztecs) to expand the territory on the surface of lakes and lagoons of the Valley of Mexico. Have you ever heard of chinampas, before today? (Right click or tap and hold to see image in a new tab.)

The chinampas are composed of small islands in strips, built with the sediments from the lake bottom, branches and decaying vegetation, creating a web of channels. The channels form part of the irrigation system and have an average depth of 1.5 meters. The construction of the chinampa is based on several steps which includes outlining the limits of the chinampa in order to outline the perimeter of the chinampa. Large ahuejote (a type of willow tree) branches and stalks are cut, building the chinampa's structure by fixing a robust structure around the stakes and then forming the chinampa soil by filling the chinampa with two layers of soil, one with organic matter and one made out of sludge. Each garden is lined on all sides by canals to allow canoes to pass with workers and materials. The chinampa are companion-planted (the planting of different crops in proximity for pest control, pollination, providing habitat for beneficial creatures, maximizing use of space, and to otherwise increase crop productivity) with corn, beans, squash, tomatoes, peppers, and flowers, and these incredible gardens yield up to seven crops per year! Does this sound like a very innovative way to grow food?

It has been estimated that over the centuries, the production profile of the chinampas was transformed from a milpa (a traditional farming system in Mexico and Central America that involves growing multiple crops in a field) production, where the maize was the main crop (Varadero chalqueño) and Mesoamerican vegetables/fruits (chile, tomato, squash, chilacayote and tomato) to a diversification and incorporation of species of a varied botanical nature and of different social and commercial value that have offered to the chinampa producer greater options, as well as a better adaptation of its means of production to the environmental conditions. The chinampa system has been an intensive farming method, expanding local food production through technological innovation, it has brought new land under cultivation and increased labor inputs. This efficient production form enables intensive cultivation throughout the year and it has been one of the main activities that have supported the regional economy. Do you enjoy gardening of any kind?

The chinampas system also stands out for preserving ancestral agricultural knowledge and technologies, as chinamperos farmers preserve traditional pre-Hispanic cultivation techniques that have been transmitted orally. In the chinampas you can still find four of the five main crops used by the Aztecs: corn, beans, pumpkin and amaranth (a type of grain). The chinampa agricultural system of the lake area of Xochimilco, Mexico, represents a multifunctional activity complementary to the urban dynamics of Mexico City. In addition to its extensive biological wealth, the chinampa agroecosystems provide important ecosystem services to urban and peri-urban areas. Its agroforestry elements and the channels, which are between 4 and 6 meters in average width that are used as means of transport navigated by canoes and trajineras (a type of boat), loaded with goods, farmers and tourists, all of which compose the chinampas landscape. Have you ever visited Mexico?

If you had access to a private body of water, would you be interested in building your own chinampa?