Fragments of the Prehistory of Agroecology in Antioquia

Abstract

Dedicated to the memory of Álvaro Villa Escobar, this article historically reconstructs the emergence of agroecological ideas in Antioquia from the 1940s to the 1970s, based on testimonies and interviews with its protagonists. The author describes how, within the context of the Green Revolution at the Universidad Nacional's Medellín campus, some professors and students began questioning its tenets from an ecological standpoint, in a political climate marked by the stigmatization of any such questioning as communist. The text documents pioneering experiences in organic agriculture and alternative energy, including the first biodigesters built in Colombia and the three demonstration farms of the Fundación Educadora San Nicolás.