Video

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Public Viewing Link for the Video: https://canva.link/b7l28wuzb7qjh6d

How to change the world video_Team 2R_Bello_Food Security_Community Crop.mp4

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https://canva.link/b7l28wuzb7qjh6d

<aside> ℹ️ Team members

Alice, CHUCK Suet Ying - www.linkedin.com/in/alice-chuck-344726207

Alexandra St.Jean - https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandra-s-52144567/

Carolina Moreno Londono - https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolina-moreno-londoño-684b0315a/

Irene Cestari - www.linkedin.com/in/irene-cestari-89b5303ba Triguna Jain - www.linkedin.com/in/trigunajain

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Summary Section

Food Insecurity in El Granizal as a Crisis of Nutrition, Protection, and Opportunity

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In Bello’s informal hillside settlements, children face a multidimensional crisis in which food insecurity is intertwined with poverty, territorial instability, and social exclusion. The problem is not only insufficient calories, but also poor dietary quality and limited access to nutritious food: chronic malnutrition affects up to 17.6% of children, while **50%**show zinc deficiency and 24.3% vitamin A deficiency (Restrepo-Mesa et al., 2006; Angarita, n.d.). Diets are often inadequate, with 5 out of 7 people not consuming vegetables daily and 1 in 7 not eating meat each day, contributing to marked growth disparities, including a 5.3 cm height gap (Meisel-Roca & Granger, 2021). In communities such as El Granizal, these conditions undermine children’s physical and cognitive development while increasing vulnerability to school disengagement, insecurity, and reduced life chances.

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Solution Summary - Seeds of el Granizal

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Our solution is a child- and youth-centered community crop network in El Granizal, developed with Convivamos for children aged 7 to 14, who are especially vulnerable to food insecurity, school dropout, and recruitment by armed groups.

Through extracurricular crop-growing activities, the project creates safe, structured spaces that combine food access, learning, and community connection. The solution is technically feasible because it uses simple, low-cost companion-cropping methods that promote sustainable, organic practices.

It is financially viable because it can start small, rely on community stewardship, and expand gradually without depending entirely on external funding.

It is socially acceptable because it responds to locally identified needs and builds on the trust and presence of Convivamos in the territory.

It combines food production and ecological learning in landslide-risk areas where residents have been relocated, helping maintain and care for these spaces without encouraging people to settle there again.

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Practical Humility Clause

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The proposed solution is subject to important assumptions and uncertainties. Its effectiveness depends on suitable growing conditions, sustained support from local communities and schools, and adequate funding to launch and maintain pilot activities. Its implementation may also be constrained by gang violence, corruption, weak coordination, limited infrastructure, and low institutional capacity. These factors could reduce participation, disrupt continuity, or limit the project’s long-term impact. More broadly, while the initiative may create meaningful local benefits, it cannot by itself resolve the structural conditions that shape food insecurity and child vulnerability in El Granizal. Lasting change would require broader institutional commitment, stronger coordination, and wider systemic change.

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Further Explanation Section

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A. The Problem Context

Image 1 - Understanding the reasons for inadequate access to nutritious food

Reasons for inadequate access to nutritious food

1. 1 in 3 Colombian children does not eat fruit daily. One in 4 Colombians between the ages of 5 and 64 consume fast food weekly and that number increases as the socioeconomic status rises; and one in each 5 between 5 and 64 years of age consume soda or similar drinks daily. (Claudia L. Angarita, Nutritionist, Director of the Colombian Center for Integral Nutrition)
2. ****One in every 4 Colombians consume an egg a day. This shows that, in Colombia, intake of protein source food is limited and this could be the reason why children do not reach their proper size and the obese have sarcopenic type obesity, i.e. they don’t have the appropriate mass and muscle strength.

Consequences of inadequate access to nutritious food

1. Stunted growth: 13.2% of Colombian children under 5 years of age presented height gain delay and 30.2% were found at risk of definitive low height (Claudia L. Angarita, Nutritionist, Director of the Colombian Center for Integral Nutrition).
2. Nutrition deficiency: In every 4 children, one has deficiency of vitamin A. In this same age group, around 50% of the children had zinc deficiency.” One out of four children aged 1 have iron deficiency with a prevalence that is four times greater than that of children of 3 and 4 years of age. (Claudia L. Angarita, Nutritionist, Director of the Colombian Center for Integral Nutrition)

B. The Proposed Response: Seeds of El Granizal

KEY STAKEHOLDERS

Primary stakeholders: Convivamos, children, parents, schools Implementation stakeholders: Convivamos, teachers, meal workers, volunteers, local farmers, community organizations Enabling stakeholders: NGOs, donors, local government, community leaders

1. Convivamos Convivamos is a grassroots community organization founded in Medellín in 1990 that works to strengthen community organizing, local development, human rights, and peacebuilding through participatory work with children, youth, women, and neighborhood groups. Although its roots are in Medellín’s northeastern zone, it has also worked with communities in Granizal, Bello, on initiatives related to memory, peace, and territorial participation
2. Children / students They are the primary beneficiaries because the solution directly affects their nutrition, health, attendance, and learning.
3. Parents and households They benefit through reduced food costs and better food access, and they also influence whether children participate regularly.
4. Schools (principals, teachers, administrators) Schools are the implementation hub since they provide the space, coordination, and day-to-day support for meals, gardens, and community activities.
5. Community members / local residents They participate in food production, volunteer support, monitoring, and local ownership of the initiative.
6. Local farmers and food suppliers They help meet food demand beyond what school gardens can produce, while also gaining livelihood opportunities through local sourcing networks.
7. Community leaders / grassroots organizations They help build trust, mobilize families, ensure local participation, and make the program more resilient in difficult socio-political conditions.
8. NGOs / development organizations / donors They are important to provide funding, technical support, training, and help scale or sustain the program.
9. Local government / municipal authorities They are important for permissions, policy support, school coordination, land use, nutrition programs, and possible long-term institutional backing.
10. School meal workers / garden coordinators / volunteers These are the people who will actually run the food preparation, sourcing, gardening, and distribution processes.
11. Wider community / neighbourhood They benefit indirectly because schools can become safer, more positive community spaces and stronger local food networks can improve resilience for everyone.

C. Land Stewardship and Prevention of Re-settlement

The initiative also includes a territorial stewardship component in landslide-risk areas where families have already been relocated. By establishing community crop spaces in these areas, the project helps care for the hillsides, reinforce their protected land use, and discourage re-settlement in zones that remain unsafe for housing. In this way, the intervention supports both food production and the collective stewardship of vulnerable land, while contributing to slope protection, community awareness, and the long-term recovery of these spaces.

D. Why Companion Cropping

Companion cropping, also called companion planting, is the practice of growing two or more compatible plant species close together so they support one another’s growth and management. Depending on the combination, companion crops can help attract beneficial insects, repel some pests, suppress weeds, provide shade or physical support, improve space use, and in some cases enhance soil health or crop production. Because the benefits vary by crop pairing and local conditions, companion cropping is best understood as a practical, low-input strategy that can contribute to more diverse and resilient growing systems rather than a guaranteed outcome in every setting. Virginia Cooperative Extension, (2026).

E. Expected Value Created

Design Criteria

Image 2 - Success Metrics

1. % children receiving nutritious meals atleast 2 times a day Regular nutrition is the most direct indicator of improved food security. Aim: ensure a larger share of children have reliable access to healthy food.
2. Child diet diversity score It measures how varied a child’s diet is across key food groups. Aim: to improve the variety and quality of children’s diets
3. School attendance rate Better food access should improve stability and participation in education Aim: to increase attendance by reducing hunger-related barriers.
4. Hunger-related absenteeism rate It directly captures the link between food insecurity and education loss. Aim: to reduce absences caused by food stress.
5. % food sourced locally and their sources Local sourcing strengthens resilience and reduces dependence on fragile outside supply chains Aim: to build a more community-rooted food system.
6. Amount spent by households on food procurement High food costs increase household vulnerability and stress Aim: to reduce the financial burden of food on low-income families.
7. Amount spent by schools on the school-owned/operated community food garden It shows the level of commitment to long-term, educational, and partially self-sustaining food solutions Aim: to use this spending efficiently to strengthen both learning and food access.
8. Amount spent by schools on procuring food externally It shows the cost of meeting food demand beyond what the garden can supply, Aim: to optimize this spending by balancing reliable procurement with greater local and school-based production

F. KEY SUSTAINABILITY GOALS

Image 3 - Potential Synergies and Tradeoffs created between the three pillars

**UN SUSTAINABILITY GOALS

SDG 2: Zero Hunger** In Bello’s high-risk hillside settlements, food insecurity is a structural problem arisen due to displacement, poverty, and weak access to affordable and nutritious food. Through school/community gardens with local sourcing networks, the aim is to move families from short-term food relief toward more stable and sustainable access to food. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being Poor nutrition increases the risk of malnutrition, anemia, and long-term health problems, while constant uncertainty around the next meal creates stress for the women in the vulnerable households. Strengthening local food systems improves access to food, but also health, well-being, and household stability. SDG 4: Quality Education By making schools anchors of food security through gardens, meals, and local sourcing, the intervention is to help ensure that children are physically and mentally ready to learn. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities The idea supports safer, more cohesive communities by using schools and community food spaces as trusted local anchors. In a context shaped by gang violence, weak state reach, and exclusion, stronger local food systems help build a city that is more inclusive, stable, and resilient.

G. Conclusion

Food insecurity in El Granizal is not only a question of hunger but it is a question of childhood, dignity, safety, and future opportunity. Our solution, Seeds of El Granizal, responds to this crisis by turning schools and community spaces into anchors of nourishment, learning, and local resilience. By combining child nutrition, community-led food production, local sourcing, and ecological stewardship, the initiative addresses immediate needs while also building the foundations for longer-term self-reliance. It does not claim to solve the structural causes of poverty and exclusion on its own, but it offers a practical, grounded, and community-rooted pathway forward. In a context shaped by instability and limited institutional reach, even small, trusted, locally sustained systems can create meaningful change. Ultimately, this is not just about growing food, but about growing healthier children, stronger communities, and more hopeful futures in El Granizal.

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Bibliography

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Angarita, C. L. (n.d.). Colombia's nutritional status: A wake-up call. Feed. [Based on the report by the Director of the Colombian Center for Integral Nutrition].

Meisel-Roca, A., & Granger, A. (2021). Obesity prevalence in Colombian adults is increasing fastest in lower socio-economic status groups and urban residents: Results from two nationally representative surveys. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(16), 8868. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8392461/ (Note: This source also encompasses the historical review of height and socioeconomic disparity in Colombia).

Restrepo-Mesa, S. L., Acosta, A., Parra, B. E., & Manjarrés, L. M. (2006). Nutritional status of children in Antioquia, Colombia, according to two reference systems. Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública, 19(1), 29–36. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16524519/

Alcaldía de Medellín. (2024, May 17). 670 familias de Medellín se beneficiarán del proyecto huertas para el autoconsumo. https://www.medellin.gov.co/es/sala-de-prensa/noticias/670-familias-de-medellin-se-beneficiaran-del-proyecto-huertas-para-el-autoconsumo/

Villamil, E. (2022, February 25). Con huertas comunitarias Distrito involucra a población con agricultura en casa. Bogotá. https://bogota.gov.co/mi-ciudad/integracion-social/huertas-comunitarias-una-apuesta-del-distrito-para-promover-cultivos

Gardeniser. (2023, October 21). Mapeo de las huertas comunitarias en Colombia. https://gardeniser.eu/es/news/mapeo-de-las-huertas-comunitarias-en-colombia

Google. (2026). Image 1 Source: Gemini. https://gemini.google.com

Google. (2026). Image 3 Source: Gemini. https://gemini.google.com

University of Minnesota Extension. (n.d.). Companion planting in home gardens. University of Minnesota. https://extension.umn.edu/planting-and-growing-guides/companion-planting-home-gardens

Virginia Cooperative Extension. (2026, January 8). Companion planting in gardening. Virginia Tech. https://www.pubs.ext.vt.edu/SPES/spes-620.html

West Virginia University Extension. (n.d.). Companion planting. West Virginia University. https://extension.wvu.edu/lawn-gardening-pests/gardening/garden-management/companion-planting

West Virginia University Extension. (2021, July 1). Companion planting. West Virginia University. https://extension.wvu.edu/lawn-gardening-pests/news/2021/07/01/companion-planting

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