Indigenous Waffle Gardening at Tonatierra

Navajo student leader and Diné Educator Chandlee Begay will guide us in planting a traditional Zuni waffle garden with seeds for amaranth, tepary beans, gourds, and sunflowers. Participants will also learn more about the Xinachtli Seed Library and the importance of Indigenous Community Garden projects as connections to ancestral foods, Indigenous languages, and community health. We hope you can join us! 🌻

This event is a collaboration between the Tonatierra Community Development Institute and the ASU Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems.

Event highlights include:

• Blessing and welcoming
• Teaching of the waffle garden design
• Waffle garden work party
• Closing blessing and watering of the seeds
• Sharing of the Xinachtli Seed Library project
• Refreshments, snacks, and socializing

What is a waffle garden?

"The indigenous people of Zuni Pueblo, New Mexico, have used the waffle garden method for thousands of years as an effective way to garden without using high amounts of precious water resources. The technique uses compacted grids, dug and shaped just below ground level, with walls of varying heights." You can learn more about waffle gardens here.

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Host or Publisher ASU Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems