La Soledad: where the city is cultivated and shared
Did you know that in the heart of Bogotá, just a few blocks from the hustle and bustle of Avenida Caracas, there is a neighborhood where residents exchange lettuce harvests for homemade jams? It is not a social laboratory experiment or a textbook utopia. It is everyday life in La Soledad, a neighborhood that in recent years has become a Latin American benchmark for urban resilience, community gardens, and collaborative economy. Here, concrete has not been able to defeat the soil, and citizen distrust has given way to a solidarity network that is watered every morning with a hose and shared every month in a barter basket. If you are one of those who believe the city is just a place to pass through, this article will change your perspective.
Introduction: La Soledad, a neighborhood with memory and a green future
La Soledad is not just another neighborhood in Bogotá. Located in the Los Mártires locality, it has a history dating back to the early 20th century, when it was a meeting point for Bogotá's middle class and a stage for important cultural and political movements. Its English and Republican-style houses, many declared Assets of Cultural Interest, today house a fascinating mix of artist workshops, architects' offices, specialty coffee shops, and most importantly, an organized community that has decided to take charge of its surroundings.
About a decade ago, a group of residents began to wonder what they could do with abandoned lots and neglected front gardens. The answer was simple but powerful: plant. From that concern, the first urban gardens were born, which today total more than a dozen active spaces in the neighborhood. But what makes this project unique is not just agriculture in the city, but the social fabric that has been created around it. Here, the garden is the excuse to get to know each other, resolve conflicts, educate children, and demonstrate that another way of living in the city is possible.
In August 2026, this neighborhood movement is more alive than ever, with an activity calendar that includes composting workshops, barter markets, and community planting days. If you live in Bogotá or plan to visit, La Soledad offers you an experience you won't find in traditional travel guides: the opportunity to see how a community builds citizenship from the root, literally.
Feature: the network of community urban gardens
The garden network in La Soledad is not an institutional project or an international NGO initiative. It is a grassroots effort, led by the residents themselves, that has managed to transform forgotten spaces into productive green lungs. Below, we tell you how this network is organized, what is grown, and who are the hands that keep it alive.
Location and distribution of the gardens
The gardens are not concentrated in a single point but are strategically distributed throughout the neighborhood. Some of the most visible and active include:
- Huerta La Esperanza: Located on Calle 34 with Carrera 19, it occupies a lot that for years was a rubble dump. Today it is a space of about 200 square meters divided into individual plots and a communal area for growing aromatic herbs.
- Huerta El Solar: On Carrera 17 between Calles 35 and 36, this garden is famous for its raised bed design, ideal for people with reduced mobility. It was the first to install a rainwater harvesting system.
- Library Garden: Although smaller, the space in front of the community library (on Calle 35 with Carrera 18) has become an outdoor classroom where neighborhood children learn to plant and care for plants.
- Huerta El Triángulo: An irregular space at the intersection of Diagonal 34 with Carrera 20, which residents turned into a pollinator garden and a small food forest with fruit trees such as arrayán, cherry, and peach.
Most of these gardens are publicly accessible and have no fencing. Anyone can enter, as long as they respect basic care rules and do not damage the crops. Residents offer guided tours on the first Saturday of each month, starting from the La Esperanza garden at 9:00 a.m.
Cultivated species and techniques used
The diversity of crops is impressive and reflects a smart strategy for Bogotá's climate, which ranges between 8 and 18 degrees Celsius. In the gardens of La Soledad you can find:
- Leafy vegetables: Curly lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard, arugula, and kale. These are the most successful because they grow quickly and adapt well to cool temperatures.
- Roots and tubers: Carrots, beets, radishes, and papa criolla (Andean potato). Papa criolla is a flagship crop, as it connects Andean agricultural tradition with urban life.
- Aromatics and medicinal plants: Mint, spearmint, lemon balm, chamomile, calendula, and rosemary. These plants are favorites for bartering, as they are used both in cooking and home remedies.
- Legumes: Fava beans and peas, which help fix nitrogen in the soil and naturally improve its quality.
- Fruit trees: On the edges of the gardens, feijoa, fig, uchuva (golden berry), and blackberry trees have been planted. Although they take longer to bear fruit, there are already successful feijoa harvests in the El Triángulo garden.
In terms of techniques, residents have adopted a regenerative agriculture approach. They do not use agrochemicals; instead, they prepare their own fertilizers with compost from the neighborhood's organic waste and use biological pest control, such as introducing ladybugs to combat aphids. They also practice crop rotation and companion planting (for example, corn with beans and squash, an ancient Mesoamerican technique that has yielded excellent results).
Who maintains the gardens
Maintenance is a collective effort. There is an urban gardens committee, made up of about 20 active residents, that meets every Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. at the community library to plan activities. However, the basis of the work is open participation. Anyone can sponsor a plot or simply join the community workdays held on Saturday mornings. These sessions, called "sábados de azadón" (hoe Saturdays), are a space for integration where you work the soil, share a coffee, and strengthen friendships.
The committee leaders are aware that the project's sustainability depends on the participation of new generations. Therefore, they have created a "seedling relay" program, where young people between 15 and 25 receive training in community leadership and agricultural techniques, with the commitment to take on coordination roles in the future.
A curious fact few know: the gardens of La Soledad have been visited by delegations from cities like Medellín, Mexico City, and Buenos Aires, seeking to replicate the model. However, residents insist that their success lies not in a magic formula, but in perseverance and the ability to resolve conflicts face-to-face, something that cannot be copied from a manual.
The monthly barter market in the park
If there is an event that symbolizes the collaborative economy in La Soledad, it is the monthly barter market. It is not a crafts bazaar or a gastronomic fair; it is a space where the community exchanges surplus from their gardens, homemade products, and used items, without money being involved. The rule is simple: you offer what you have and ask for what you need, under the principle of use value rather than exchange value.
How to participate in the barter
The market is held on the last Saturday of each month in Parque La Soledad, located between Carreras 17 and 18 with Calle 36. The event starts at 10:00 a.m. and runs until 1:00 p.m. Participation is completely free and requires no prior registration. However, there are some recommendations that organizers ask you to keep in mind:
- Arrive early: The best garden products are usually exchanged in the first hour. If you arrive late, the lettuces and radishes will likely already have an owner.
- Bring something to offer: It doesn't have to be a garden product. It could be homemade jam, a book you've already read, clothes in good condition, ornamental plants, or even your time to help with a planting day. Barter is not just about objects; services are also exchanged.
- Be clear about what you're looking for: Residents often post signs on a community board indicating what they need. If you're looking for something specific, you can leave your "wish list" at the information table.
- Respect use value: It's not about haggling down to the last peso (which doesn't exist here). It's about reaching a fair agreement where both parties feel they win.
The barter is not an improvised activity. Behind it is a committee of residents responsible for logistics, ensuring products are in good condition, and mediating in case of disagreements. There is also a "social barter" table, where people can offer skills like English classes, bicycle repair, or help with digital procedures, in exchange for garden products.
What is exchanged and what is not
The variety of products circulating at the market is surprising. In the last edition in August 2026, exchanges such as the following were seen:
- Garden products: Lettuces, Swiss chard, radishes, carrots, spearmint, and calendula. These are the main currency of the barter.
