The Sustainable, Optimized Urban and Latino-driven Agriculture (SOULA) project started in 2017 with the purpose of addressing food security through interdisciplinary collaborations. The project is supported by a USDA Hispanic Serving Institutions Education Grant and is led by San Diego State University faculty members Drs. Changqi Liu, John Love, and Ramona Pérez. 

Over 1,100 square feet of outdoor laboratory research space used by SOULA researchers (faculty and students) is leased from, and located in, the non-profit College Area Community Garden (CACG). The CACG is directly adjacent to SDSU and leases prime organic growing space to SDSU affiliates, as well as neighboring residents and those working in the general College/Rolando area. 

Each SOULA professor specializes in a unique research area, bringing students from all backgrounds together to work as a team. The project has allowed multiple students to travel abroad, learn from different communities, and apply their knowledge back at San Diego. So far, SOULA has funded student travel to Oaxaca, Mexico for two summers. 

In Oaxaca, students learned about milpa, an indigenous farming technique that has the potential to improve food security and sustainability. Milpa, sometimes called the “Three Sisters,” is growing corn, beans, and squash together. It reduces chemical input and soil erosion and increases productivity through water conservation and nitrogen fixation. 

At the College Area Community Garden, students have been combining milpa and urban agriculture techniques such as composting, raised beds, and drip irrigation and analyzing the success of their integration. The study also compares crops grown in different types of soils for their growth performance, yield, and nutritional values.

Recently, Daniel Pentico, a SDSU student with the SOULA program and an expert in hydroponics, built a hydroponic system at the College Area Community Garden and gave lectures on hydroponic food production to other students. 

The students designed experiments to assess how this system can be utilized to enhance the productivity, nutritional quality, and flavor profiles of food. The facilities used in this study were completely constructed by students from San Diego State University. 

The Urban Milpa Project has also been the topic of several talks, including a competition-winning oral presentation. 

Undergraduate students who are passionate about sustainability and healthy foods were often seen working at the College Area Community Garden prior to March 18. Although SDSU students and faculty involved in the SOULA project are currently not active in the garden due to the COVID-19 pandemic, research under modified and safe conditions is being planned. 

—Cassandra Maya is a Master’s student in the Nutritional Sciences program at San Diego State University. She has worked on the SOULA project since starting at the university in 2018. Specifically, she conducts research with the Urban Milpa portion of the project. After graduation, Cassandra plans to pursue her PhD and then teach.