{"id":28413,"date":"2025-04-22T11:30:53","date_gmt":"2025-04-22T09:30:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lacultivada.com\/chapter-7-time-to-cultivate-ourselves\/"},"modified":"2025-04-22T11:30:53","modified_gmt":"2025-04-22T09:30:53","slug":"chapter-7-time-to-cultivate-ourselves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lacultivada.com\/en\/chapter-7-time-to-cultivate-ourselves\/","title":{"rendered":"CHAPTER 7. Time to cultivate ourselves"},"content":{"rendered":"

The olive tree\u2026<\/span> just looking at one fills you with gratitude.<\/b><\/p>\n

Here in Santa Ana, we breathe the green soul of trees \u2013 olives, pomegranates, figs, palms\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

Each olive tree is like a spring with a tiny local climate of its own.<\/b>. It heals. It\u2019s a miraculous medicine of nature.<\/span><\/p>\n

Woods and forests are humanity\u2019s greatest heritage.<\/span><\/p>\n

I think of <\/span>Wangari Maathai<\/b>, the African woman who won the Nobel Peace Prize, her Green Belt Movement and her \u201cTrees of Peace.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, we face new challenges: drought, climate change, soil erosion\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

So<\/span> why not plant more trees, over and over again,<\/b> in villages, towns, cities\u2026 indeed everywhere? Why not make the entire planet ecological and organic? <\/span><\/p>\n

In some parts of Andalusia where the heat is excessive, people continue to uproot trees and the local mindset still sees plants as messy and dirty. A mere handful of flowerpots decorate their patios, and bleach is used without restraint.<\/span><\/p>\n

I remember a village I used to visit as a child. Nowadays the main square has no big trees left\u2026 they\u2019ve been replaced with orange trees pruned into little lollipop shapes…<\/span><\/p>\n

The square is now a wide, bare space, stripped of greenery, just scorching hot concrete.
By May, it\u2019s already too hot to cross during the day, and people call it <\/span>\u201cthe Gobi Desert<\/b>“.<\/span><\/p>\n

Those big trees that are no longer there provided shade, and helped cool down the blistering summer heat\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

Doesn\u2019t it seem like the world is upside down?<\/b> Temperatures rise, yet we\u2019re still cutting down trees.<\/span><\/p>\n

And those of us who farm without toxic agrochemicals still have to pay fees so we can be labelled \u201corganic\u201d…<\/span><\/p>\n

Wouldn\u2019t it make more sense for polluters to pay to help repair the damage?<\/span><\/p>\n

Isn\u2019t it time we started cultivating a better world?<\/span><\/p>\n

Our true destiny is to be <\/span>caretakers, not predators.<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Elena Vecino<\/strong><\/p>\n

Read all my “CULTIVATED STORIES”<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The olive tree\u2026 just looking at one fills you with gratitude.
\nHere in Santa Ana, we breathe the green soul of trees \u2013 olives, pomegranates, figs, palms\u2026
\nEach olive tree is like a spring with a tiny local climate of its own. It heals. It\u2019s a miraculous medicine of nature.
\nWoods and forests are humanity\u2019s greatest heritage. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"0","ocean_second_sidebar":"0","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"0","ocean_custom_header_template":"0","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"0","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"0","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"0","ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"on","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[210],"tags":[282,283,242,280,281],"class_list":["post-28413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cultivated-stories","tag-aove-en","tag-casaicon-en","tag-evoo-extra-virgin-olive-oil-gourmet-oil","tag-historiascultivadas-en","tag-lacultivada-en","entry","owp-thumbs-layout-horizontal","owp-btn-normal","owp-tabs-layout-horizontal","has-no-thumbnails","has-product-nav"],"yoast_head":"\nCHAPTER 7. 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