About Frida (free)
Building networks for food sovereignty in Xochimilco

Instagram: @floresssenelagua
Location: Xochimilco, Mexico City, Mexico

Frida Rocha, also known as Free, is a non-binary activist who has lived in Xochimilco since childhood. Their identity is shaped by the experience of being a young “woman” within the chinampa context — ancient, floating agricultural gardens — walking alongside the original peoples of this territory in resistance to urban expansion.

For Frida, the land is where life begins and is reproduced — a space of mutual transformation between all beings. It is constantly defended against systems that reduce it to a resource or commodity, yet it remains fertile ground where diversity thrives.

“The land would say that we are diversifying forms of existence, that we must keep weaving ourselves together, and that we should never stop nourishing ourselves with what we plant and dream — because that is the key to sustaining each other.”
Frida Rocha

Frida understands climate justice as a lived struggle. It means rejecting false solutions like greenwashing, halting destructive megaprojects, and recognising the structural roots of the crisis—capitalism, colonialism, and patriarchy—whose impacts fall disproportionately on historically marginalised communities.

Frida’s project:

In Xochimilco, the chinampas have been cultivated for centuries by local communities. Chinamperas—women and gender-diverse people—work these gardens, planting, harvesting, and transforming food while maintaining traditional knowledge and practices. These gardens are not only sources of food but also living spaces where memory, culture, and community bonds thrive.

Today, the chinampas face pressures from land grabbing, urbanisation, predatory tourism, and government projects imposed without community consultation. Meanwhile, the knowledge and practices of chinamperas are increasingly folklorised and commodified.

Frida’s project brings together nine young women and gender-diverse chinamperas, strengthening networks of mutual support. By weaving together collective practices, narratives, and agroecological knowledge, the project fosters food sovereignty and autonomy, while resisting extractivism and defending local ways of life.

Through workshops, storytelling sessions, and audiovisuals shared both in the community and online, participants will identify needs, exchange strategies, and build long-term networks for collaboration. The project also develops practical marketing and distribution strategies, ensuring that agroecological foods remain accessible to the local community.

By consolidating this network, Frida’s project empowers chinamperas to sustain their work, defend their land, and promote food justice in Xochimilco and neighbouring communities.

Learn more about the Amos Climate Fellowship →