The ¡Sostenga! Center is a farm, commercial kitchen, and tiendita (small store) where students are learning and developing a local, student based food collaborative.
Following nature's example, sustainability is reliant on integrated systems where the more local, the more diverse a system, the more productive, the more resilient the system will be.(ZERI,2005) ¡Sostenga! seeks to identify collaboratives that strengthen the productivity and diversity of northern New Mexico's natural resources.
In the interest of preserving the natural heritage of Northern New Mexico through hands-on learning and economic development ¡Sostenga! serves as a center for collaboration and research. Inherent in the indigenous metaphor "healthy environment, healthy people, healthy culture," (Cajete,1999) ¡Sostenga! seeks to support projects that foster sustainable living based on the premise that healthy food has long been a tradition of northern New Mexico and only in recent decades have generations moved away from the natural agricultural and land based heritage of this area.
