Gardens of Sabotage

In: Aztlán: international journal of Chicano studies research, Volume 40, Issue 1, p. 63-86

Abstract

This essay explores the self-valorization of work in the context of community gardens to further the discussion toward a grounded theory of time and value, something that has been lacking within Chicana/o studies. Urban community gardens are pivotal to the environmental justice movement, and Chicana/os are playing a central role. This essay begins the process toward a reconceptualization of work, time, nature, food, and the body. It proposes a revolutionary logic of labor as realized through the reframing of time and value that seeks to reconnect community gardeners to the means of their own production and reproduction. Transcending capitalist logic and moving beyond the dialectic of productive and unproductive labor, community gardeners have the potential to transform estranged labor into affirmative labor. By creating gardens of sabotage, communities challenge capitalism by reclaiming the value of work and confronting orthodox notions of economy, work, citizenship, community, and time.