Published by City Farmer, Canada's Office of Urban Agriculture
Argentine Postage Stamps: "Sow Seeds in Order to Grow"
"In commemoration of the beneficial work that NGOs conduct on behalf of the Argentine community, the Argentine Postal Company launches a new series of stamps with the theme "Sow Seeds in Order to Grow." There are two publications with a printing of 104,000 stamps done in 4 colours with metallic ink. The design of the first stamp is of two united hands that tend to the gardens and the produce they yield, while Ęthe other stamp depicts a stalk of corn. Both have as a background, city plans, evoking the urban context of community gardens.
The series takes into the account the current state of the economy in the Argentine Republic, and recognizes its terrible effect on the large numbers of families who live below the poverty line and it acknowledges the effects of the lack of food on these people. With this series stamps, the Argentine Postal Company wishes to honour the volunteerism of those Argentines who support their communities through solidarity and collaborative participation and who fight to alleviate this terrible calamity.
The number of initiatives that are linked to the fight against hunger and poverty are innumerable. These initiatives bring to light those who are organizing and enabling their communities to produce their own food.
In this vein, the pioneer program, Pro Huerta, which has been run for a number of years by the National Institute for Agriculture (INTA) and financed by the Ministry of Social Development, has a national reach. This program is aimed at the sector of the population that finds itself living in poverty and it tries to teach these families to be self-sufficient by supplying themselves with their own food in order to have better quality foods, as well as a more balanced and diverse diet. With this aim, Pro-Huerta (Pro-Gardening) promotes the creation of self-sustaining gardens and farms (at family, school and community, and institutional levels) through the help and technical training from a network of government and non-governmental organizations.
For more information please contact: Norberto Wilner -Correo Argentino- Tel. 5550-5181 /Florencia Gradi (Cel. 15-4182-7551)/Mait Oliva (Cel. 15-5010-2729) -MDG Communication"
[Many thanks to Kate Castelo for her tranlation into English. Editor]
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