Reimagining Mental Health Through Soil, Seeds, and Solidarity

A Response to Institutionalized Care - and More

Rooted in the principles of Slow Food—good, clean and fair food for all—Zona Marginal is more than a response to institutionalized care. It is a living classroom where education, collective healing, and environmental stewardship intersect. Since 2017, co-founder and Slow Food activist Víctor Segura has volunteered at the hospital, working alongside a team of seven agronomists and social scientists. Together, they offer twice-weekly farming sessions with 4–5 volunteers and up to 40 patients—whether chronic, temporary, or even homeless. 

The project operates across three plots of land within the hospital grounds. It follows a circular support model: produce harvested from the garden is sold to the hospital’s volunteer program at market price, and the funds are reinvested into seeds, tools, patient activities, and basic needs such as web hosting. 

Initially guided by social science perspectives, the initiative has recently incorporated agronomists into its core team. With active participation of Slow Food members, the garden has become a forum for meaningful discussions that go beyond planting and harvesting. Topics like biodiversity, the cultural roots of food, environmental sustainability, nutrition, and food accessibility are addressed—critical conversations in a country like Peru, where hunger and mental illness are deeply tied to poverty and inequality. Agroecology, central to the project’s ethos, is explored through the lens of the Slow Food Agroecology Brief. 

Many patients come from rural backgrounds or farming families, and their knowledge enriches the shared experience. The tools and materials—gardening implements, seeds, plants, printed guides—serve not only practical purposes but also emotional ones, reconnecting participants with their heritage. The impact is tangible: patients often isolated in their wards become active, collaborative, and visibly more engaged. Some suggest improvements to garden plans; others take pride in small but meaningful tasks like watering. Hospital staff, especially those with rural roots, also benefit—emotionally and professionally—by reconnecting with traditional farming knowledge. 

The collaboration with Slow Food has greatly amplified Zona Marginal’s reach and impact. It has brought greater visibility, access to a wider network of farmers, cooks, food artisans, and educators, and strengthened the project’s educational foundation. The team now exchanges tools and materials with the local Slow Food community, fostering growth and innovation in both directions. 

Today, Zona Marginal continues to inspire change beyond its garden beds. It has sparked institutional conversations about mental health, prevention, and the urgent need for a more humane, holistic approach to medical care and training.