Huertomanías, Quito
Quito, Ecuador · Operator: Huertomanías（重度の精神疾患のある人が組合員として参加する労働協同組合型の団体）
Overview
An urban garden initiative that began operating in Quito, Ecuador, in 2015, providing people with severe mental health problems with work and income through agroecological organic food production, and with a place of social participation. The idea emerged in 2014 from an assembly of users, families and professionals at a community mental health service in northern Quito, and by the end of 2015 the group had secured a plot in Nayón on the edge of Quito.
Citizen participation
People with severe mental health problems such as schizophrenia work as members of a worker cooperative in which decisions are taken in assembly. The idea emerged in 2014 out of an assembly of service users, families and professionals at a community mental health service in northern Quito. Twelve participants took part in a participatory evaluation published in 2024, through cognitive mapping, photovoice and interviews.
Operating model
A cooperative model in which an agroecological garden produces and sells organic food, generating work and income and thereby autonomy for its members. The context is that in Ecuador people with mental health conditions face labour-market discrimination and their employment access has largely been disregarded in policy planning.
Impact
A participatory evaluation published in Qualitative Health Research in 2024 found that participants described impacts in four domains — financial and personal autonomy, interpersonal and environmental relations, mental health, and family dynamics — with family support and public policy and healthcare services acting as external factors shaping recovery. That evaluation is a qualitative study of 12 participants and measures no quantitative outcome such as symptom change or job retention. The authors note that the garden's role in community-based mental healthcare depends on public policy and health services backing it.
Crops
- vegetables
Scale
2015年末にキト近郊ナヨン（Nayón）に農地を確保し、そこで農作業を続けている。面積は公表資料から確認できなかった。
Sources（3）
This entry is compiled from the public sources, official sites and research below.
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