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ne day yes and another too, Jesús gets up early and goes to work in the field. Together with his companions, he takes care of the garden, removes weeds from the carrots, prepares orders for various vegetables and, above all, sows, sows and sows. His is a quiet life, a happy life. Nine years ago he became part of the ASDECOBA Foundation of Salamanca, a non-profit organization that acts against social exclusion of different groups in the Buenos Aires neighborhood and is part of the state network Colectivos de Acción Solidaria. Since then, he has been linked to different programs of the entity, but three years ago he seems to have found his place in the world: the Gente y Tierra project, which offers employment in rural areas to people in vulnerable situations.
The initiative, which first received the support of the "la Caixa" Social Project in the Call for Social Action in Rural Areas, has been awarded this year with one of the "la Caixa" Awards for Social Innovation. And it is that, in Gente y Tierra, everyone wins: the previously abandoned lands now receive the care and quality of organic farming, and the people who work them take the reins of their future. "It's a great life solution," says Jesús. "This is a phrase that, nine years ago, would not have come out of my mouth." However, here it is: in his sixties he enjoys learning something new every day from the garden and all his companions.
Jesús says he doesn't believe in miracles, but he does believe in people. "I also had the good fortune to meet one of those extraordinary people who are true fighters for others," he adds, referring to Emiliano Tapia, coordinator and soul of the entity. "On the other hand, to those who may be in the same situation as I was nine years ago, I would tell them to be patient, that you have to persist to reach a goal and see tomorrow with hope." That is the wisdom of the countryside: learning to wait and wait. Because everything, in the end, ends up bearing fruit.
Text: Patri de Filippo Illustration: María Perera
You can read more stories like these in ALMA, the social social network, a digital space dedicated to the social sphere that offers a new perspective on the present and future of society, based on an optimistic and diverse voice, and all the initiatives promoted by the "la Caixa" Social Project.
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