Chapter 3

In Chapter 3 of Healing Grounds, Aidee Guzman, an ecologist, talks about her family’s farm in Mexico, where different types of crops grow together in the same space. This kind of farming, known as polyculture, supports the health of the soil and creates a more balanced system. It’s a big difference from the large, single-crop farms common in the U.S. The chapter also explains how early European settlers brought their own farming methods and ignored the practices that were already working here. That decision has caused long-term problems for both the environment and the communities tied to the land.