New Mexico`s AcequiAs: wAter: ? !

Transcription

News & Views
from the
S u s t ai n ab l e S o u t h w e s t
New Mexico’s
Acequias:
A ncient S ystems
S till V iable
in the
21 st C entury
Water:
C ommunity
R esource or
C ommodity ?
¿P ala o pluma ?
¡L os dos !
January 2014
New Mexico’s Third Largest Circulation Newspaper
Vol. 6 No. 1
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Contents
A Bird’s-Eye View of Northern New Mexico’s Acequias. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
A Brief Acequia History . . .. . .. . . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . ..9
Anatomy of an Acequia. . . . . . . . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . 10
The New Mexico Acequia Association: 25 Years and Counting . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. 13
The Acequia Movement in New Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Congreso de las Acequias . . .. . .. . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . 16
Acequia Waters: Community Resource or Commodity? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
¿Pala o pluma? ¡Los dos! . . .. . .. . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . 20
How Do You Put a Dollar Value on Acequia Culture?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Acequias as a Sustainable Model for Hydro–Ecology . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. 23
Ancient Systems Still Viable in the 21st Century . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
The Mayordomo Project Aims to Train a New Generation . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. 27
Escuelita de las Acequias . . . . . . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . 29
Somos Gente de la Tierra: The Sembrando Semillas Program . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . 29
Food Hubs in New Mexico / Book Profile . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . 31
La Cosecha del Norte: A Growing Co-op /San Ysidro Prayer, and Poetry . . .. . .. . 32
Farmer-to-Farmer Training in Mora. . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . 35
Newsbites . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . . 28, 35, 37
What’s Going On. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . 38
Acequias Provide Insight into Sustainability
A
cequias are the age-old, hand-dug, gravity-fed irrigation ditches in
northern New Mexico that make possible the cultivation of locally grown
food. But they represent much more than that. As a social system implanted
into the hydrological cycle for community subsistence, acequias constitute
a place-based knowledge of watershed, intertwined with food traditions,
community and culture. They are an instructive example of democratic selfgovernance, stewardship and sharing of resources. They are also the defining
structure of their ecosystem. The unlined ditches allow water to seep into
and recharge local aquifers, providing a rich riparian zone for wildlife, shade
trees and native plants.
Acequia leaders have maintained that El agua es la vida: water is a life-giving
common resource intertwined with the economic viability of local agriculture
for families in rural communities. During periods of drought, for generations
parciantes (water-rights holders) have collectively withstood water shortages.
Today, in response to climate change, they are sensitively integrating new
technologies. Will the acequias of New Mexico survive into the remaining
decades of the 21st century and retain local water rights for community
needs? Not if water rights are reallocated to the highest bidder for urban
development. Fortunately in New Mexico, acequias, as an association of users, do have a say in water transfers
because they are legally defined as local institutions of government. They are currently on the front lines, confronting
powerful interests whose impacts would sever deeply cherished ties to water and land, our region’s unique legacy.
COVER: n
maa acequia photo contest winner “nieve en la presa” by irene córdova
la placita northside ditch, vadito, taos county, new mexico
Green Fire Times is not to be confused with the Green Fire Report, an in-house quarterly publication of the New
Mexico Environmental Law Center. The NMELC can be accessed online at: www.nmelc.org
5
6
A Bird’s-Eye View of Northern NM’s Acequias
Alejandro López
ew Mexico is fortunate to have
any number of cultural and
physical phenomena such as sovereign
Indian communities, historic Mexicano
villages and adobe buildings. These
unique legacies set our state apart
from other regions of the country, lure
tourists and make life interesting. They
also challenge the state and its people to
ponder new levels of their integration
into, coexistence with, or possibly even
resistance toward mainstream culture’s
reigning paradigm of endless growth
and “progress.”
The case of New Mexico’s intricate
sy stem of acequias, number ing
approximately 800, is a classic example
of such a cultural artifact that has
met with contradictory attitudes by
nearly everyone involved in their use,
maintenance, administration and even
appreciation, since American culture
began to interact with the indigenous
cultures. At present, it is not known
whether this historic, holistic system
of water technology and distribution
will survive, thrive or all but disappear.
Urban growth
threatens to overtake
any other use of water.
© Alejandro López
At one time, these gravity-fed irrigation
channels intersected most of the
bottomlands of northern New Mexico
and made these lands into a virtual
paradise, yielding copious amounts
of fruit, vegetables and grains. Not
surprisingly, they also recharged the
aquifers of each of the valleys that
they meandered through. According
to our elders, the water in the acequias
in the early part of the last century
was so pristine that most people,
unhesitantly, drank from them. For
some communities, such as Las Truchas
in Río Arriba County, there were no
other sources of drinking water.
On yet another level, the village
acequia governance system made
for a highly democratic form of
interaction between the people, as
well as for a democratic parcelingout of this precious resource in the
context of a mostly cooperative
agrarian society in which everyone
tended to watch out for everyone
else’s good. As might be expected,
the mayordomo (ditch-master) was
accorded the respect enjoyed today
by judges and other arbitrators.
One can onl y imagine the
time and energy it took for the
villagers of several centuries
ago to dig out these channels,
at times with wooden implements,
as their predecessors had done in
other parts of the Southwest, México,
Spain, Morocco and the Middle
East, beginning with the dawn of the
agricultural revolution at least 8,000
years ago. Indeed, so arduous was
the task of building earthen dams
to hold back the water during times
of snowmelt and while digging the
acequia channels, that out of this
enormous labor there arose a nearly
fanatical love of homeland (querencia)
and a willingness to sacrifice oneself
for the defense of one’s agricultural
community. This is a trait that one still
finds among many New Mexicans who
are tied to the land and to its hard-won,
hand-wrought waterways.
Among the first Americans to enter
New Mexico, there were many who
compared its landscape to that of
Egypt, not only because of its general
aridness, but also because of the lifegiving presence of the Río Grande, its
many tributaries and the myriad oases
that thrived as a result of the acequias.
Even though the majority of Pueblo
Indian and Mexicano New Mexicans
valued and made use of the water
that flowed through their acequias for
© Seth Roffman
N
A canoa, hollowed-out logs over an intermittent stream, supported by a sawn timber
frame, is a once-common structure that is still part of the acequia system that brings
water to fields and pastures of the village of Las Trampas.
subsistence agriculture, the incoming
Americans had, by and large, other uses
in mind for this same water. They were
mainly concerned with its application
in the development of stock raising,
industry (sawmills and mines), and
ultimately for urban growth, which,
over time, has increased exponentially
and at present threatens to overtake
any other use.
Throughout the second half of the
19th century and first half of the 20th,
both the Pueblo Indian and Mexicano
people of the state continued to raise
crops and feed themselves using their
age-old systems of irrigation, although
their populations were burgeoning and
beginning to outstrip the land’s ability
to sustain them. When the people of
northern New Mexico were deemed
to be poor by the government and
enrolled in state welfare programs,
commodity foods such as bulk cheese,
powdered milk and canned meat
further undermined people’s sense of
self-sufficiency and connection to the
land and water.
Coincidentally, other pressures were
beginning to be
felt that would
radically alter
the landscape
o f p e o p l e ’s
re l a t i o n s h i p
to acequias.
During the
course of the
20th century the Pueblo and Mexicano
people were socialized and schooled
in institutions that undervalued the
regional labor-intensive agriculture
as well as the traditional diet of the
people, in favor of large-scale, out-ofstate agriculture and the importation
of foodstuffs such as sugar, coffee and
white flour from other parts of the
world. New Mexicans were steered
away from agriculture toward wageearning jobs. Many people loyal to
the land attempted to do both but in
time discovered that such a regimen
was deeply exhausting and mostly
unsustainable. Much of the water
from the acequias was then diverted
to producing cash crops requiring
little manual labor, such as alfalfa, or
was allowed to find its way back to
the river, leaving the fields some lands
uncultivated. In time the two peoples
who had acted as both the creators and
stewards of these age-old waterways
were forced by the prevailing conditions
to ignore, or relegate to a secondary
level of importance, their agricultural
traditions, and with them, the acequias.
Concurrently, in 1907 the State Water
Code redefined the use of the acequias’
water resources in terms of water rights
measured in acre-feet of water, as
opposed to the duration of water use
in irrigation as had been customary
during the Spanish and Mexican
periods. Furthermore, the state decreed
a separation of water use from land use
and made it possible for people to lose
continued on page 10
7
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A Brief Acequia History
José A. Rivera
T
© Seth Roffman
he acequias of southern Colorado
and New Mexico are the oldest
water-management institutions in
the United States of European origin.
These irrigated agrosystems date to
the time of Spanish settlement in
the northern borderlands of Nueva
España during the late 16th century
with the Juan de Oñate colony in 1598
and expanded after the De Vargas
resettlement of 1692. Due to the
arid region, it was essential to settle
forest timbers, brush and rocks at the
diversion point, and the acequia madre
defined the landscape and demarked
the boundaries for irrigation for several
miles downstream, extending the
riparian zone beyond the narrow
confines of the natural channels. These
technologies of construction and
irrigation methods were replicated by
the successive waves of settlers into the
upper watersheds of the Río Grande
Basin, fostering the growth of agrarian
communities
along the Camino
Real de Tier ra
Adentro from El
Paso del Norte
to Santa Fe and
later to the Taos
Basin and parts
of southern
Colorado, and
eventuall y the
San Juan Basin
to the west and
other tributaries
of the Canadian
River to the east.
During the 15981821 Spanish
colonial period,
El Rancho de las Golandrinas in La Cienega near Santa Fe
water resources
were owned and managed by a
near water. The irrigation technology
community of landowners, “los dueños
employed by the waves of pobladores
de propiedad regable,” all irrigating from
(settlers) was gravity flow of surface
a single main canal similar to what was
water from rivers diverted to headgates
found in medieval Valencia in southern
through a system of earthen canals.
Spain (Glick, 1970). In New Mexico,
Without the aid of survey instruments or
each acequia system was built as a
modern tools, early settlers engineered
commons where the irrigators formed
earthen canals on the desert landscape
agreements as a joint labor force. Their
by the use of collective human labor.
path to self-government was aided
by the lack of municipal structures in
the immediate vicinity to prescribe
their rules, appoint their officials, or to
manage their irrigation system. Arreglos,
or local agreements, prescribed how
to govern their affairs and allocate
water resources in a fair and equitable
manner and, also, to resolve conflicts
and disputes.
The first step, as instructed by the
Loose and informal, this cohesion of
ordenanzas de descubrimiento (Laws of
community members laid the foundation
the Indies, 1573), was to locate a bend
for the evolution of the acequia associations,
in the river or another suitable feature
recognized and empowered later in the
to build a diversion structure from
territorial laws of New Mexico during
which to capture water and turn it into
the 1890s. Today there are about 800 local
ditches. The presas, dams constructed
acequias in New Mexico and about 70 in
of locally available materials such as
the San Luís Valley of Colorado. After
These technologies
fostered the growth of
agrarian communities
along the Camino Real
de Tierra Adentro.
more than four centuries, acequias have
maintained and preserved the irrigation
customs and mutual help traditions of
earlier times. For the annual limpia, a
ritual held every spring to clean out the
ditch, parciantes everywhere renew their
strong attachment to their locality for yet
another cycle of irrigation and community
antiquity. On the feast day of San Isidro,
one of the Taos acequias celebrates the
patron saint of farming by holding a
novena and evening mass at their chapel
followed by a procession along the parish
roads and into the irrigated fields to bless
the sacred landscape of springs, ditches,
corrals, homes, the chapel and other
religious shrines (Rodríguez, 2006).
To build capacity and mobilize support,
the acequia associations organize
educational programs, technical
assistance workshops, and an annual
meeting of the Congreso de las Acequias
convened by the New Mexico Acequia
Association. Will the acequias survive
into the remaining decades of the
21st century? To the parciantes, water
is inextricably linked to the survival
of community and is vital to the
building of local food systems, healthy
ecosystems, and a sustainable future
not only for themselves but for other
rural and urban water stakeholders in
the upper Río Grande. i
REFERENCES
Glick, Thomas F. (1970). Irrigation and Society
in Medieval Valencia. Harvard University Press:
Cambridge.
Meyer, Michael C. and Michael M. Brescia
(1998). “The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
as a Living Document: Water and Land Use
Issues in Northern New Mexico.” New Mexico
Historical Review, Vol. 73, No. 4 (October,
1998).
Rodríguez, Sylvia (2006). Acequia: Water
Sharing, Sanctity, and Place. School of Advanced
Research Press: Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Dr. José A. Rivera is a research scholar
at UNM’s Center for Regional Studies
and professor of planning at the School of
Architecture and Planning, UNM. He is
author of Acequia Culture: Land, Water,
and Community. [email protected]
Acequia Culture:
Water, Land, and Community in the Southwest
By José A. Rivera, University of New Mexico Press, 1998
La Cultura de la Acequia, Spanish translation of Acequia Culture
Universidad de Valencia, Spain, 2009
This book delineates an acequia culture based on a reciprocal
relationship between irrigation and community. The acequia
experience grows out of a conservation ethic and a tradition
of sharing that should be recognized and preserved in
an age of increasing demand for scarce water resources.
Rivera lays out the legal and administrative status of these
communal institutions, from their Old World roots to
the contemporary period, and recommends a number of
public policy actions to sustain the acequia communities
into the future.
The Historical Role of Acequias
and Agriculture in New Mexico
By José A. Rivera, in Water Policy in New Mexico:
Addressing the challenges of an uncertain future, David S.
Brookshire, Hoskin V. Gupta and Olen Paul Matthews,
editors, Resources for the Future Press, 2012
This book by a group of academics from multiple
disciplines addresses water policy and management
issues in New Mexico, including specific topics such as
water quality, endangered species, and the evolution of
new water-management institutions.
9
La Sierra: The upper watershed and source of the snowmelt that creates the flow
for rivers and streams that are diverted into the acequias through a diversion
structure known as a presa. The sierra, often under the management of the US
Forest Service, is also the location of livestock grazing permits.
La Acequia: The acequia has both a physical and a social definition. The word
acequia refers to the water canal that carries irrigation water from the stream to
fields and refers to the irrigation infrastructure along the way. The word acequia
also refers to the community of families who use the acequia for irrigation. For
example, one would say, “I belong to the Acequia del Monte.”
Presa: The presa is a small impoundment, historically made of rock, brush and logs,
to divert water from the river to the acequia madre, or the mother ditch. Modern
presas are usually constructed of concrete.
Drawing by Arnie Valdez
Compuerta: Individual farm headgates divert water from the acequia to the fields
that are owned by individual parciantes, or irrigators, who own water rights along
the acequia.
Parciante: Individual irrigators who own water rights are called parciantes. Each
parciante owns a derecho or a water right that is attached to his or her land.
Comisión: The three-member elected commission of each acequia is responsible
for certain decisions concerning the maintenance and operation of the acequia.
Mayordomo: The mayordomo is the day-to-day caretaker of the acequia and the
person who manages the irrigation system. Acequias differ in their local customs
sharing water within the acequia and between neighboring acequias.
Derecho: Each parciante on the acequia has a derecho or water right attached to his
or her land. The derecho may be measured both in terms of approximate acreage and
also in terms of time or flow rate for purposes of water allocation by the mayordomo.
Sacar la acequia: Each spring, the mayordomo organizes a work crew of peones
(or workers) to clean the acequia. Each parciante is required to participate in the
spring cleaning by contributing peones in proportion to the amount of derechos
owned by each parciante.
Regadío: Land that is irrigated along the acequia is often referred to as regadío.
Irrigated lands of the acequias support pasture, orchards, crops and livestock.
During the summer, many parciantes take their livestock to grazing allotments in
the sierra while allowing hay and pasture to grow on their regadío. i
10
their water rights even though they
retained their land.
Given the interplay of these many
complex forces, it is no surprise that
by the late 1960s the subsistence
agriculture for which New Mexico
was known had shifted away from
self-sufficiency to a combination of
wage labor and part time agriculture.
Symptomatic of this development
is the fact that, at present, of the
approximately 9 to 12 original acequias
that once crisscrossed Santa Fe, all but
three have ceased to flow.
The decisions and
actions of two
opposing movements
will determine the
ultimate destiny of
New Mexico’s acequias.
However, the late ‘60s was also the
period during which the American
Indian and Chicano movements stirred
the memories and aspirations of both
peoples and inspired a new wave of
activism in defense of their traditions
and homelands. This resulted in a
movement to protect New Mexico’s
land and water resources. It emerged
simultaneously f rom communities
such as Tierrra Amarilla, Las Vegas,
Santa Fe, Mora and Taos in the form
of local, regional and even statewide
acequia associations. These associations
have championed the plight of local
acequia communities and of the
parciantes (water-rights holders and
users) over those who would separate
the land and water of a community for
more industrial and urban purposes.
They have also advocated for the
maintenance and repair of the acequia
infrastructures and recently launched
mayordomo trainee programs and
programs that stimulate the interest
of youth in the region’s agricultural
traditions. Both the New Mexico State
Legislature and national and regional
foundations have been responsive to
requests for assistance in furthering
these goals, and indeed, some progress
has been made.
Today we witness two opposing
movements whose decisions and
actions will determine the ultimate
destiny of New Mexico’s acequias. The
first is the progressive desertification
of New Mexico, the rapid growth
of its urban centers and the extreme
commodification of and competition
for water resources. The second is a
growing movement among Native
American and Chicano people to
recover the healthy traditions around
land, food, water and work that they
once had, which may be the only
salvation for redeeming a generation
of youth mired in drug and alcohol
abuse—the symptoms of physical and
spiritual dislocation from land, water
and the traditional cultures that had
once nourished them.
© Alejandro López
© Yasmeen Najmi
Anatomy of an Acequia
A Bird’s-Eye View continued from page 7
Echoing the latter local movement
is a mainstream movement known
through such terms as bioregionalism,
sustainability, permaculture and farmto-table. The sometimes parallel values
of these “isms” at times coincide with
those of native farmers, while other
times they compete with and displace
the local historically tied belief systems
around land and water. Be that as
it may, it is certain that northern
New Mexico has become one of the
country’s hot spots for organic farming,
heirloom seed banking, and now, the
veneration of acequias, together with
the waters that flow through them.
More and more, local restaurants and
stores, once the purveyors of almost
exclusively out-of-state foodstuffs, are
purchasing locally grown fruits and
vegetables to meet their customers’
demand. Another aspect of this
multifaceted movement to reclaim
New Mexico’s potential to grow its
own food and use its water wisely is the
continued on page 32
11
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NM Acequia Association: 25 Years and Counting
Paula García
I
n 2014, the New Mexico Acequia
Association is celebrating its 25th
anniversary. It is humbling to mention
such a milestone when acequias have
endured in New Mexico for centuries.
Through their long history, acequias
have been keepers of tradition, the
caretakers of water for growing food,
and communities bound together for
the common purpose of sharing water.
For many generations, acequias have
retained a great degree of autonomy
in local water governance and have
made possible the cultivation of locally
grown food. This legacy of placebased knowledge of our watersheds,
intertwined with food traditions,
community and culture is very much
alive in the 21st century.
Concilio of the NMAA (l-r): Jackie Powell, Don Bustos, Alfredo Montoya, Harold Trujillo,
Antonio Médina, Gilbert Sandoval
By the late 1990s, acequia leaders
recognized the importance of structural
change in New Mexico water law to
enact some protections for acequias.
They needed a stronger collective voice
in state water policy to have more
of a decision-making role in water
transfers. The NMAA reinvented
the organization in 2000, so that it
could serve to collectively advocate for
acequias, and created the Congreso de las
Acequias, a statewide governing body.
After a two-year statewide organizing
effort, the NMAA led the passage of
new laws to regulate water transfers
and protect water rights from loss for
non-use through water banking (both
carried by the late Speaker Ben Luján
and Sen. Carlos Cisneros). Since then,
© Seth Roffman (2)
The efforts of working toward
a common purpose began before
NMAA was founded, when acequias
in various regions banded together
for a united legal defense in waterrights adjudication in the 1960s.
The first version of NMAA was
established in 1990 by acequia leaders
concerned primarily about the transfer
of water rights out of acequias and
attempts to change the use of those
water rights away from
agriculture to purposes
such as subdivisions,
resorts and industrial
uses. NMAA leaders
countered the adage
“water flows uphill to
money” and reframed
the water issue with
the statement, “Water
is Life.”
NMAA staff at the November 2013 Congreso
NMAA’s Vision for the Future
Acequias flow with clean water, people work together to grow food, and communities
celebrate cultural and spiritual traditions. People honor acequias as part of
their heritage and express querencia through a strong connection to land and
community. Our communities have an abundance of healthy, locally grown food
because we recognize agriculture as a respected and dignified livelihood and way
of life.
Guided by our core values, the NMAA grows a movement of people of all
ages and walks of life to defend and protect our precious water by resisting its
commodification and contamination. Through involvement in NMAA, families
and youth are inspired to cultivate the land, care for our acequias and heal
injustices. Knowledge and experience about growing food, sharing water and saving
seed are passed on from generation to generation.
the NMAA has worked to ensure that
acequias have a voice in state water
policy. The Acequia Governance Project,
dedicated to strengthening acequia
governance and implementing new
statutory powers of the acequias, was
established during this same time frame.
A strong collective voice
in state water policy
While water was a driving force in
uniting acequias for a common purpose,
the NMAA also embraced work
focused on youth in agriculture through
Sembrando Semillas (Cultivating Seeds)
and to encourage more people to serve
their acequias through the Mayordomo
Project. Both of these projects build
upon the idea that acequias are not
only about water; they are
about families, youth, food
and people entrusted with
responsibilities to care
for the acequia. NMAA’s
Escuelita de las Acequias
(L ittl e S c h o o l o f t h e
Acequias) is an approach to
experiential learning where
youth and adult leaders find
support, inspiration and
encouragement to fulfill
their devotion to their
communities and acequias.
We measure our work in centuries and
in decades. It is important to honor
the generations who came before us,
to keep our acequias flowing, our lands
under cultivation, and our waters
under the care of local elected officials
who have been doing this for the past
400 years. Likewise, in this rapidly
changing world, we seek to honor the
leaders of recent acequia history of the
past 50 years who have devoted most
of their lives to the continuation of the
tradition. And we intend to encourage
and support the current and next
generation of acequia leaders. NMAA
is working so that the intergenerational
leadership of New Mexico’s acequias
can look back with respect and look
forward with hope that our vision of
acequias can become more vibrant. i
Paula Gar cía,
executive director
of the NMAA, has
worked for many
years in areas of
land, water and
community. She
ser ves on the
board of her local
regional acequia association, La Asociacion
de las Acequias del Valle de Mora. She is also
president of La Merced de Santa Gertrudis
de lo de Mora (Mora Land Grant), a Mora
County Commissioner, and president-elect
of the NM Association of Counties. Paula is
raising a garden and her son Joaquin along
an acequia in the Mora Valley.
Ways to Support Acequias
and Locally Grown Food
Reduce your water footprint by conserving water and lessening the demand to
transfer agricultural water rights. A good resource for water conservation is the
New Mexico Water Collaborative (nmwatercollaborative.org).
Buy locally grown food at your local farmers’ market or, increasingly, at local
restaurants or grocery stores that purchase from local growers. For a listing of
farmers’ markets in New Mexico, visit the website of the New Mexico Farmers’
Marketing Association: www.farmersmarketsnm.org
Join the New Mexico Acequia Association and support programs to protect
rural, agricultural water rights, support local acequia leaders, and mentor the next
generation of acequia farmers and ranchers. www.lasacequias.org
13
the Acequia Movement in New Mexico
10
9
20
18
13 19
8
7
6
1
3
11
5. Río de las Gallinas Acequia Association:
Established for collective defense in water-rights
adjudication, RGAA represents about 16 acequias. Best
known for fighting a 50-year legal battle against the City of
Las Vegas over the concept of an “expanding water-right.”
4
2
5
21
12
23
14
17
15
22
16
6. Río de Chama Acequias Association: One of the
oldest regional associations, the RCAA (about 27 acequias)
has been very engaged in adjudication, water management
along the Río Chama, and education and outreach to its
members. Recently was involved in a basin-wide, watersharing agreement with upstream La Asociación de las Acequias
Nortenas del Río Arriba.
7. Las Nueve Acequias del Río Grande: Comprising
nine acequias along the Río Grande near Alcalde and
Velarde, Las Nueve was first established to resist a plan
to build a large dam, which would have flooded acres
of farmland. In recent years, Las Nueve has focused on
acequia governance and infrastructure improvements. Local
acequia leader Alfredo Montoya, chair of the Río Arriba
County Commission, led the effort to pass an agricultural
land protection ordinance and worked to enact one of the
most strict oil and gas county ordinances in New Mexico.
Alcalde is also one of the three sites for a NMSU acequia
multidisciplinary research project funded by the National
Science Foundation.
8. Embudo Valley Acequia Association: Organized
mainly around the activities related to water sharing, the
acequias of the Embudo Valley are renowned for their
produce. The valley is the site of the annual Celebración de
las Acequias in June of each year.
1. Taos Valley Acequia Association: Established in the 1980s when leaders
fought gentrification and land subdivisions in acequia villages such as Valdez.
Organized for united defense of acequias in the Abeyta adjudication for 55
community acequias. Reached a negotiated settlement with Taos Pueblo and other
parties in 2012. The Taos Valley is also one of the three sites for a NMSU acequia
multidisciplinary research project funded by the National Science Foundation.
Acequias are prevalent in other areas of Taos County along the Río Pueblo, Ojo
Sarco, Chamisal, and others.
2. Río Pojoaque Acequia and Water Well Association: Also one of the
oldest regional acequia associations, the Río Pojoaque acequias have been involved
in adjudication for several decades, most recently culminating in the Aamodt
settlement with the Pueblos of San Ildefonso, Nambé, Pojoaque, and Tesuque.
Elsewhere in Santa Fe County, acequias are active in the City of Santa Fe, La
Ciénega, La Bajada.
9. La Asociación de las Acequias Norteñas del Río Arriba: Comprising nearly two
dozen acequias on the upper tributaries to the Río Chama, Acequias Norteñas was
also established for united defense in water-rights adjudication. Acequia leaders
of the area were vocal in opposing oil and gas drilling in the upper watersheds
where their acequia waters originate and advocated for strict controls. The Acequias
Norteñas leadership negotiated a historic water sharing agreement with the Río
Chama Acequias Association during the dry summer of 2013.
10. Questa/Cerro/Costilla: Although very distinct communities, this area
completed the adjudication on the Red River and succeeded in restoring water
rights to hundreds of acres that had been omitted in the first survey of water rights.
Recently, Questa acequias and the Village of Questa have protested a water transfer
to the Taos Valley. Acequias along the Río Costilla share a border with Colorado
and are carefully administered to meet an interstate water compact.
3. Río Quemado, Río en Medio, Río Frijoes, Río Santa Cruz Acequia
Association: Established in the 1980s for collective defense of about 40 acequias in
water-rights adjudication proceedings. About 30 of those acequias are part of the Santa
Cruz Irrigation District created in the 1920s to improve water supply for irrigation.
11. Jémez River Basin Coalition of Acequias: About 16 acequias in the area
have developed a water-sharing agreement with the Pueblos of Zía and Jémez. The
coalition was the first in the state to work together to prioritize infrastructure needs
for Capital Outlay, and they united behind one package each year highlighting the
needs of one or two key projects. Additionally, Sandoval County has numerous
acequias in the Nacimiento Basin in the communities of Cuba, Ponderosa, and
others.
4. La Asociación de las Acequias del Valle de Mora: Representing over
30 acequias in the Mora Valley, AAVM was created about ten years ago to protect
acequias from upstream illegal diversions of water. Since then, they have established
a Family and Community Gardening Project.
12. South Valley Regional Association of Acequias: Although the Middle
Río Grande Conservancy District absorbed much of the operation of irrigation
in the Middle Valley, historic acequias persist. Making a comeback to maintain
historic farmlands in irrigation, seven acequias have reorganized in recent years.
14
Acequia leaders are currently protesting a water transfer from the South Valley
to Santa Fe. In addition to the South Valley acequias, Bernalillo County, east of
Albuquerque, historic acequias in Carnuel and San Antonio continue to be active.
13. El Rito Acequia Association: About fourteen acequias in El Rito and
surrounding areas organized themselves for common defense in adjudication. The
association has been active in outreach and community education in the area and
is one of the three sites for a NMSU acequia multidisciplinary research project
funded by the National Science Foundation
14. La Joya: A single acequia in the Middle Río Grande excluded from the
Middle Río Grande Conservancy District has been instrumental in high-profile
water transfers including a protest against Intel Corporation and another against
the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Authority.
15. Upper Hondo Water Users Association: A network of acequias in Lincoln
County has vigilantly worked to protect local water rights from diversions and
transfers by the City of Ruidoso and Ruidoso Downs. Local acequia leader, Jackie
Powell, chair of the Lincoln County Commission, worked to enact a moratorium
on subdivisions because of the scarcity of water.
16. Mimbres Valley: Water rights in the Mimbres Valley were adjudicated several
years ago and are one area where the State Engineer has sought to administer
water rights using meters. Local leaders scrutinized metering agreements and
are working to retain autonomy over their own diversions while complementing
administration of water rights by the State Engineer.
17. Monticello, La Cuchilla, Reserve: Acequias in this area protested a
water transfer to Los Lunas and are involved in the protest of an application to
appropriate water from St. Augustín Plains to the Middle Río Grande.
18 and 19. Acequia organizations have also organized in Gallina/
Capulín, Ojo Caliente/Río Las Tusas, Truchas areas to provide for a unified
defense of water-rights in their respective water rights adjudication suits.
20. Community ditches in the northwest part of the state, the San Juan
Water Users Association, are also organized and advocate for the community
ditch water rights of the area.
21. Acequias in the western part of the state, in the Grants and San
Fidel area have been involved in that adjudication for several years.
22. Tularosa Community Ditch: A unique community ditch in the town
of Tularosa runs through the residential streets and on the outskirts, irrigating
farms and gardens.
23. Guadalupe County is home to acequias in the villages of Tecolitito, La Loma,
Anton Chico, Dilia, and Puerto de Luna. i
15
14th Annual Congreso de las Acequias
Strengthening Communities in Times of Water Scarcity
T
he Congreso de las Acequias, the governing body of the New Mexico Acequia
Association, was created to strengthen the collective voice of acequias in New
Mexico and for the acequias to have a vehicle from which to work toward a common
vision. The Congreso is a federation of regions defined mainly by watersheds and
a common stream system. Most of these regions have established associations of
acequias that work for their interests at the local level, such as adjudication defense
or water-sharing agreements. Other regional acequia associations have expanded
their role to also include youth mentoring, leadership development and rebuilding
local and regional food systems. Some regions have not yet established watershedbased regional associations but may do so in the future.
Acequia supporters from around New Mexico, including US Congressman Ben Ray
Luján (2nd from left in front), attended the Congreso in November 2013.
Photos © Seth Roffman
Senators Peter Wirth and Carlos Cisneros gave an update on water policy issues
and a preview of the 2014 legislative session.
Once a year, the Congreso de las Acequias meets to
approve resolutions that define the policy platform
and agenda of the NMAA and to elect leaders to
govern the organization. The Congreso is the only
statewide gathering of acequias, and it is often attended by various dignitaries and
elected officials to show support for New Mexico’s acequias. The annual Congreso
usually takes place in November. It keeps NMAA members and supporters
informed about current issues affecting acequias, celebrates acequia culture with
music, and provides an opportunity for people to greet old and new friends. i
NMAA recognized outstanding farmers of the year Jasper and Orlina Tucker, who operate a winery in the Embudo Valley, and
Lorenzo Candelaria and Dora Pacías, who operate a farm in Atrisco, where they are also involved in the Agricultura Network.
L-R: Acequia leaders Harold Trujillo and Don Bustos shared insights about ways that
farmers and ranchers are adapting to drought including crop selection, seed saving,
irrigation technologies and year-round production.
16
Ignacio Gonzales contributes to the offering of water
from acequias around the state.
L-R: Fred Vigil, Río de Chama Acequias Association; Medardo Sánchez, Asociación
de las Acequias Norteñas del Río Arriba; and Scott Verhines, New Mexico State
Engineer, share their experience in creating a water-sharing agreement along the
Río Chama during the severe drought of 2013.
Acequia Lifetime
Achievement Awards
Facundo Valdez (2013) is best known
for his pioneering work in community health
as the founder of the Social Work Program at
New Mexico Highlands University and as the
executive director of Sangre de Cristo Community
Mental Health Services. His leadership has been
appreciated locally and nationally in his service
to the Con Alma Foundation and as a founding
member of the National Council de la Raza. Valdez
has served on the NMAA Concilio for over 15 years
and commissioner for Acequia de San José along
the Pecos River. Although he is retiring from the
Concilio, he has been appointed as the founding
member of the Consejo de las Acequias to advise on
matters relating to acequia governance.
John Carangelo (2012) is a parciante
of the Acequia de la Joya in Socorro County. He
received the Lifetime Achievement Award for
his efforts to protect acequias in his region. One
of his many accomplishments includes a protest
of a water transfer by the Intel Corporation
from the Socorro area to Río Rancho. He was
also the lead protestant in Carangelo v. City of
Albuquerque. Along with a coalition of others,
Carangelo challenged State Engineer approval
of a permit for Albuquerque to divert 96,000
AFY from the Río Grande, which would impair
downstream water users.
Palemón Martínez (2010) is well
known as a leader in the Northern New Mexico
Stockmens’ Association and the Taos Valley
Acequia Association. Prior to that he had a
long, distinguished career with the Cooperative
Extension Ser vice. Martínez was one of
several early founders of the TVAA and has
served as president for over 30 years. He was
instrumental in achieving legal recognition of
historic water-sharing customs in the waterrights adjudication process. He also served as
the lead acequia representative in negotiations
that resulted in the Abeyta settlement with Taos
Pueblo. Understanding that no party achieved
all they wanted in the settlement, Palemón and
his TVAA colleagues persisted by attending over a hundred meetings per year
relating to water-rights adjudication.
Río Chama Water-Sharing Agreement:
Mutual Benefit by Cooperating
Rising to the challenges of historic drought and water scarcity, in 2013 the leaders
of the Río Chama Acequia Association and the Asociación de Acequias Norteñas
averted crisis and a priority call by coming together with the Office of the State
Engineer to negotiate a water-sharing agreement. The agreement followed the
tradition of repartimiento (or sharing), which guides communities in distributing
water during a shortage. Thus, while the Río Chama acequias have senior water
rights, the shortfalls did not leave the junior Acequias Norteñas without water. All
experienced reduced flows and received less than a full allotment.
During a panel at the 2013 Congreso de las Acequias, Fred Vigil, president of the
Río Chama Acequia Association, reminded attendees, “In a drought period pretty
much nothing produces water; what a drought period does produce is cooperation,
and that’s what we intend to do.” State Engineer Scott Verhines said, “We really did
have a great collaborative effort between all of the parties—not only the acequias,
but our agencies, to sit down and figure out how to do this.” Medardo Sánchez,
president of the Acequias Norteñas, explained the process of working out legal
options, bringing it back to his constituents and moving the group to consensus,
and then meeting again with other stakeholders. All parties showed a deep respect
for one another, as well the water—they have a model for the state of New Mexico
that shows how acequia traditions can guide us through challenging times.
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Acequia Waters:
Community Resource or Commodity?
Paula García
A
is fully appropriated, any new use
comes at the expense of an existing use
through the transfer of a water right
through a process regulated by New
Mexico water law.
As the population of New Mexico
grows, especially in the urban areas,
the demand increases to move water
f rom irrigation to urban or other
uses, and pressures are mounting on
acequias and other agricultural uses.
A common assumption is that water
for expanding residential, commercial
or industrial uses will be transferred
from agriculture. A typical example of
a water transfer is moving a water right
from an agricultural field irrigated with
surface water to a groundwater well
that provides water for a municipality
or industry.
Since the 1907 water code was enacted
and codified into state law, water rights
have been defined as transferable
property rights. Water transfers raise
questions about the value of water.
Acequia leaders have maintained that
Miguel Santistévan and his students clean
water is a life-giving common resource
an acequia in Taos.
intertwined with community wellIn New Mexico, practically all water
being, culture, food traditions and the
in the state is appropriated through
economic viability of local agriculture
a system of water rights administered
for families in rural communities.
by the State Engineer. Because water
Broadly speaking, historic acequia-
based water rights are also vital to
long-term water security for possible
uses other than agriculture, such as
mutual domestic water systems.
Water transfers raise
questions about the
value of water.
Beginning in the 1980s and 1990s,
acequia leaders expressed concern
about water transfers, arguing that if
water transfers tend to go toward the
entities with the most money, rural
communities could be dispossessed
of the essential water that keeps them
alive. During this time, there were
some important protests to water
transfers in Ensenada (near Tierra
Amarilla), Mora and Anton Chico. A
protest is a legal term used to describe
the objection to a water transfer in the
administrative proceedings of the State
Engineer. These early protests also
included a high-profile protest of water
rights from San Acacia (near Soccoro)
to Intel Corporation in Río Rancho.
The results were mixed, but it was clear
that acequias wanted a place at the table
with regard to water-transfer decisions.
NMAA was formed in the late 1980s
and served as a vital communications
network to resist the growing trend
toward the commodification of water in
the 1990s. After a multi-year organizing
effort, by 2003, NMAA led the passage
of new laws that authorized the role of
local acequias to determine whether to
approve water transfers out of acequias.
Prior to having this authority, only
the State Engineer could make such
decisions.
The rationale for this new governance
power for acequias was that it would
result in decisions that could better
account for the needs of the acequia at
the local level. Now that acequias have
a say about water transfers, they also
play a vital role in shaping the future
of their communities in the hope that
irrigated agriculture will thrive and
that communities can retain local water
rights for local community needs. i
Acequias: Ancient Water Governance
Other than the indigenous nations and peoples of the Americas, acequias are the oldest form of government in present-day
New Mexico and southern Colorado. Given the importance of water to survive in a high desert, it comes as no surprise
that this region would be the center of water governance or could even be considered the cradle of water civilization.
Acequias are rooted in North African and Iberian water-governance traditions brought by settlers during the Spanish and
Mexican eras of colonization, but they are also grounded in the ancient water traditions and foodways of the Americas.
Water governance by acequias is rooted in the fundamental principle that water is so essential to all life that it has to be
shared for the common good. Often referred to as the repartimiento or reparto, customary water-sharing practices made
survival in a water-scarce landscape possible for many generations. Acequia customs of water sharing endure in a way that
is unique to each acequia and collectives of neighboring acequias. Much of the day-to-day and season-to-season work of
the acequia is concerned with the sharing of scarce water.
Acequias are also defined as local institutions of government in New Mexico. As such, acequias have two articles of state
law dedicated to their governance. As public institutions, acequias also are eligible for state funding for their irrigation
infrastructure. As local governments, acequias make important decisions about water management and public funds.
The New Mexico Acequia Association established the Acequia Governance Project in 2003 to strengthen acequias in
local water governance by working to update their rules of operation or bylaws and by assisting with planning to make
improvements to their irrigation infrastructure. To date, the NMAA has worked with over 400 acequias throughout the
state and continues to attend numerous acequia meetings to serve as an information resource to acequia parciantes and
their elected officials, mayordomos and commissioners. Any acequia or community ditch can contact NMAA for more
information about the Acequia Governance Project. www.lasacequias.org
© Alejandro López
© Seth Roffman (2)
water transfer is the change of
a water right from an existing
use to a different use. For the past
two generations, acequia leaders
have been at the forefront of raising
concerns about the impacts of water
transfers on agricultural communities.
Somos el Maíz farm, Santa Cruz, NM
19
¿Pala o pluma? ¡Los dos!
(Shovel or pen? Both!)
© Sharon Stewart
Patricia Trujillo
L
i k e m a ny k i d s w h o h a ve
homework, as I approached my
tarea de la Escuelita de las Acequias
(School of the Acequias homework),
all I could think about was playing.
I’d rather be outside with the sun
shining on me, digging my fingers
into the dirt and concocting new
senses of joy for my spirit. For many
of us who grew up on an acequia, the
work associated with preparing the
fields, planting and taking care of
the rows, meant that little ones got
to play alongside their family. As the
youngest in my family, while others
were working, I familiarized myself
with the acequia, literally from the
ground level. I’d jump down from the bridge straight into the acequia to see what
wonders I’d find: magical spiders with deity-like powers to walk on water, fuzzy
fairy cottonwood seeds floating down from the trees lining the ditch, and if I was
lucky, I’d catch a toad that my dad would let me play with until the end of the day.
Despite my relentless entreaties, he would always say, “Deja aquí (leave it here),
they are good for the garden.” We learned about hard work through the joy of play.
The starting point to “Treasures o
Game Designed by HUM 100.”
Acequia de los Vigiles is one of two acequias that run
through the Northern New Mexico College campus. This
is the acequia we studied. Mr. Roberto Valdez, a cultural
geographer, mapped the acequia using Google Earth to
give us a virtual tour.
Close-up of one
Reading and writing are important and
necessary, but we also have great and necessary
land-based literacies.
Eventually, small tasks like picking and bundling cilantro were entrusted to me.
Then, I was given rows to weed by hand. Finally, gloves and a pala (shovel) of my
own, the short pala that dad especially brought for me, Patricia-sized. Playing
prepared me for understanding the tools and the practice of work. This is the
approach I took while enacting my NMAA tarea for the Escuelitas Project.
At first, my grandiose idea was that I was going to organize a campus- and
community-wide limpia (cleanup) at Northern New Mexico College—to my
knowledge, the only college in the United States with acequias running through
it. In my mind, hundreds—no, thousands—of people would show up to clean
the acequias, so many people cleaning that the rocks would shine! Organizations
would line the campus celebration with kioskos, where inspired students would
instantaneously come to consciousness and dedicate themselves to their current
studies and then dedicate themselves to become water- and land-rights attorneys,
farmers, conscientious surveyors and community-minded planners. Yes, that was
my vision. There would be música Nuevomexicana, puppet theater for the little
ones based on Juan de Oso, a circle for elders to tell us community stories, and
food—rows and rows of delicious food—like tamales, vino de capulín (chokecherry
wine), biscochitos, pastelitos and delicately fried flor de calabaza (squash blossoms).
Everyone would clean and laugh and learn and celebrate! Oh, and also, there
would be the perfect amount of cloud cover and wind as to have my imaginary
banners of all colors gently sway in unison with the leaves on the cottonwoods.
Instructor Myrria
and played along
Student taking notes as he plays the game. He said, “I need
to look this up!”
Needless to say, this is hard to plan. For two years, I’d mention my idea in meetings
and classes, ask for volunteers on campus, and for two years, it didn’t happen.
Many people who played the game said that it was the first time that
they had walked the entire length of the acequia on campus.
20
Students work tog
to move through t
Education
of the Acequia: An Interactive
Tesoros de las Acequias was previewed as part of the NNMC
Research and Creativity Symposium on May 2, 2013. In
regards to sharing research, the game got people out of their
seats inside to learning outside.
My idea was always to create a community celebration of acequias through the
critical educational concept of “multiple literacies.” We are trained to think of
literacy just in the realm of reading and writing (formal education, book learnin’).
For instance, if we say someone is illiterate, we often think “¡Ay, pobrecito, no puede
leer! They can’t read!” This supports the erroneous concept of “pa’ la acequia or pa’
la escuela,” as if the two spaces were mutually exclusive. When we engage with
multiple literacies, we can address the plurality of literacies. So, when we hear that
someone doesn’t know how to irrigate, we can also say, “¡Ay, pobrecita, no puede
regar!” Reading and writing are important and necessary, but we also have great
and necessary land-based literacies. Having multiple literacies opens up dominant
educational paradigms to connecting our cultural basis of knowledge to formal
classroom spaces. It also insists that formal classroom teachers and students learn
to “read” and “write” the land with us. We cannot be traditional land-based people
and be expected to learn solely in rooms that only give us windows to our culture,
our language and our practices. I want more than a view of these things; I want
a full sensory perspective—mind, body and spirit.
So what came of my tarea, you ask? Back to the drawing table! In spring 2013,
instead of imagining a project so large and overwhelming that it exists only in
my mind, I reframed my own classroom. As part of a grant to support culturally
relevant learning at a Hispanic-serving institution, I teach a college skills course
called “HUM 100: Northern New Mexico History and Culture.” In this class,
students transitioning to college are taught basic study skills and tips for student
success by engaging in New Mexico history and culture as the content for
the course. Paradoxically, I started the course by keeping my students in the
classroom and reading from two textbooks: Nuevomexico: A New Mexico History
Anthology and Academic Transformations. As the class took shape, I found myself
“wah-wah-wah-ing” in front of the room like the teacher from Charlie Brown
cartoons. I’d lament, “Why aren’t these students reading? Don’t they care about
their history?!” To engage them in culture, I used PowerPoint, Prezi, YouTube…
you name it. Technology a la fregada. But, the enthusiasm in class was as flat as
a rolled-out tortilla.
of the riddles
Student Alejandra Duran setting up the game along the
acequia.
ah Gómez brought her class out
gside her students.
I tossed out my original class schedule and revised it after midterms. This time I
practiced what I preach and combined literacies: books and acequias, palas y plumas.
We read Acequias by Dr. Eric Romero, The Acequia Metaphor: Educating Hispano/
Latino Students by Levi Romero. We watched videos from the Acequia Youth
Project on YouTube, as well as Land, Water, People, Time, directed by Cynthia
Gómez and David Lindblom. We went outside and read by the acequia. We spent
time observing the water flow. Then students were asked to interview an elder about
water usage in New Mexico. These water interviews were written up as essays that
were shared with one another. Throughout it all, we were talking and connecting to
these traditional practices. Students with firsthand knowledge shared with others
who may have never worked on an acequia. We discussed why we should even
care about acequias and how it connects to our identity formation as students at
Northern, and people living in the Norte. As the students’ final project, they were
charged with working as a community to organize a life-size educational game on
the Acequia de los Vigiles. With about five weeks left of class, after discussing the
concept of community organizing, I turned the class over
to the students and let them run with it as community
organizers. The accompanying photos illustrate parts of
the process and how the game turned out. i
Patricia Trujillo, Ph.D., is assistant professor of English and
Chicana/o Studies and director of equity and diversity at Northern
New Mexico College in Española, NM. [email protected]
Members of NNMc’s Humanities 100
gether to solve the riddles
the game.
NNMC President Nancy “Rusty” Barceló and student Nathana
Bird at the end of the game with their prizes
New Mexico History and Culture Course • Tesoros de las Acequias
Heather Apodaca • Debra Cata • Kenny Chávez • Daniel Denipah • Alejandra Durán
Claire García • Rebecca Gutiérrez • Emma Hardison • Amanda Martínez • Denisa
Nastacio • Ana Nava • Jasmine Quintana • Gabriela Rodríguez • Edgar Ronquillo
Sierra Trujillo • Amber Tso • Manny Vargas • Mario Valerio • Jessica Valdez
21
How Do You Put a Dollar
Value on Acequia Culture?
Jon Goldstein, Juan Estévan Arellano, Najem Raheem
ow much is something worth?
If you are looking at an ounce of
gold, a pound of rice or a barrel of oil, the
answer is easy. Markets exist to set prices
between buyers and sellers. But what if
you are trying to establish the value of
clean air and water, the cohesiveness of
your community or your health? What
if you wanted to understand how much
each of these things was worth in order
to knit them together and establish the
value of an entire ecosystem?
Economists call this establishing the
value of “ecosystem services” and believe
it is no less important than setting the
right price for a barrel of West Texas
crude. By working together, economists,
ecologists, local residents and others can
help begin to set the values for the pieces
that make up the ecosystem. Through
study, interviews with locals and research,
values of clean water to irrigate crops,
or well-functioning wetland habitat for
aquatic species begin to come into sharper
focus. Understanding these values can
help protect these natural landscapes in
the face of development pressures and a
changing climate.This understanding also
helps scientists bolster what is working
and transfer lessons learned to other
landscapes that may not be functioning
as well.
Putting a Dollar Value
on Ecosystems
In July 2013, a team of scientists, policy
experts and local citizens, led by Dr.
Steven Archambault of New Mexico
State University and Dr. Najem Raheem
of Emerson College in Boston, began
such an effort to examine ecosystem
service values in acequia communities in
northern New Mexico.
By distributing water from the high
slopes of the Sangre de Cristos, acequias
literally provide the lifeblood of these
communities. They are also the defining
structure in the ecosystem. Their banks
are typically green ribbons in the desert,
grown up with willows and grasses that
provide habitat for a number of species,
while the unlined ditches also allow water
to seep into and recharge local aquifers.
Understanding the value of the ecosystem
services these acequias provide will help
us to protect this unique ecosystem as
pressures mount. Ecosystem service values
let us compare between different uses of
water by using a common measurement:
money. The dollar value of acequia
water rights or property development
is fairly straightforward to figure out;
by understanding the dollar values of
the ecosystem services these landscapes
provide, communities can make better
decisions in the face of these pressures.
What’s Clean Water
Really Worth?
For example, once values are established
for what economists term “non-market
resource”—things like clean water or
wildlife habitat—these values can be
included in policy considerations or
cost-benefit analyses. For an acequia,
establishing these values could help a
community seek full and just payment
from a developer seeking to alter the
landscape. Or, these values can be used
to compensate a community when an
ecosystem becomes degraded through an
environmental accident. This approach,
to more fully and holistically value the
worth of an ecosystem after a manmade
disaster, is exactly what the National
Research Council of the National
Academies of Science
has recommended in the
wake of BP’s Deepwater
Horizon spill.
Climate change has
already been diminishing
winter snowpack in the
region, and projections
show this could get much
worse. As the Los Angeles
Times noted last year, in
the drought gripping the
entire western US, New
Mexico was the driest
of the dry, with reservoir
storage dipping to a mere
17 percent of normal.
Even after the summer
and fall rains and snow,
three-quarters of the state continues to
experience moderate or extreme drought.
How will the acequia systems and
landscapes cope with these pressures? Will
an altered climate and less runoff mean
the end of these ancient systems and the
traditional villages that depend on them?
Or is the acequia half full? Is it possible
that this community-built and maintained
infrastructure can actually provide greater
resiliency and adaptability in the face of a
drier climate?
It will take a few years for researchers to
start developing answers to these and other
questions. But their effort will help protect
these communities and the landscapes they
inhabit, as well as, potentially, provide us
all a lesson in how to better cope with a
changed world.
Next Steps
To date, the team has assembled a
framework for understanding what
© Alejandro López
H
ecosystem services occur in which areas,
from the upper slopes of the sierras all
the way down through the solares and
towns, the acequias and ciénegas to el río.
This is part of several papers they hope to
publish in the scientific literature. What
the team needs most now is participation
from local communities.The work to date
needs to be discussed with community
members to ensure that it is widely held
to be correct and understood. From there,
the team needs to start talking about
what values people might hold for these
services, whether they are cultural or not.
This will involve surveys, interviews, and
a variety of other research methods.
Ultimately, the dollar values of these
services are what you think they are. We
need your help to find out what our water
systems—our ecology—are worth and
how we can compare those values to the
economic values of alternatives. i
Jon Goldstein, M.A., former secretary of the New
Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources
Department and deputy secretary at NM
Environment Department, is senior energy policy
manager at the Environmental Defense Fund.
© Seth Roffman
Author and community leader Juan Estévan
Arellano has devoted most of his life to documenting
the traditional knowledge of the Indo-Hispano
in northern New Mexico, especially as it relates to
land and water.
In the spring, parishioners and farmers gather in Albuquerque’s South Valley to bless an acequia and pray for rain. The San Ysidro
y Santa María de la Cabeza celebration honors the patron saint of farming and the Virgin Mary.
22
Nejem Raheem, assistant professor of economics at
Emerson College in Boston, received his Ph.D. in
economics from UNM, writing his dissertation
on the acequias of El Río de las Gallinas.
Acequias as a Sustainable Model
for Hydro–Ecology
Hamid R. Mansouri Rad,
Water Resources Research Institute, New Mexico State University
Quita Ortiz
C
ultural landscapes illustrate the links between
people and the physical environment in which
they live. Throughout the world humans have
developed a relationship with their surrounding natural
environment, and the acequia system is a great example
of a multifaceted social and physical structure that
integrates nature, people and place, together achieving
a sustainable model that clearly demonstrates resilience.
In recent years we’ve established a greater understanding
of this resilience, from a research perspective, about
how and why acequias have remained resilient while
challenged with changing economic structures, climate
change, a flawed food system and other factors. For the
past several years, the New Mexico Acequia Association
has partnered with researchers at NMSU and UNM for
a multidisciplinary project. In November 2013, Dr. Sam
Fernald, who has been engaged in acequia hydrology
research since 2001, spoke at NMAA’s annual Congreso
de las Acequias membership meeting, where he presented years of collected data
that essentially supports the claim made by advocates who have long proclaimed
the multidimensional benefits of acequias.
The hydrological cycle is a term that most of us are familiar with. But what about
the concept of a “hydro-social cycle?” Acequias are at the outlets
of snowmelt basins, and as irrigation ditches, they divert water
from a river and use gravity-flow to deliver water to agricultural
fields. When acequias were being established, the variations in
local topography dictated each acequia’s uniqueness. Acequias also
make up a social structure in which the irrigation water is locally
managed by the community according to its bylaws. When we
combine the physical attributes of a ditch with its related social arrangement, we
have what researchers are referring to as a hydro-social cycle. It’s a social system that
implanted itself into the hydrological cycle for community subsistence. An acequia’s
link to its bounding watershed inherently tasks the system to be sustainable. For
example, less snowpack results in less runoff, which means there will be less water
for irrigation. During drought periods, for generations acequia irrigators have
collectively withstood water shortages, which has helped to shape the sustainable
nature of acequias. This repartimiento concept of water sharing developed into a
collection of customary practices rooted in the knowledge of the land, watershed,
and a varying water supply.
consumptively depleted and sent back to the atmosphere. About 33 percent seeps
into the groundwater and flows back to the river, while the remaining portion
moves through the ditch and goes back to the river as surface water. Additionally,
the researchers looked down past the rooting zone of crops and found a response
to irrigation seepage—acequia flood irrigation actually recharges the aquifer, as
the irrigated valley acts as a sponge, retaining the excess water
that’s not utilized by crops. What does this mean? One thing
it means is that flood irrigation is not the water-hogging villain
that many water-conservation advocates proclaim. Rather, it
actually conserves water because it acts as an underground
reservoir that holds water upstream for longer periods of time.
© Seth Roffman
Years of data support
the multidimensional
benefits of acequias.
Dr. Sam Fernald
In Dr. Fernald’s summary of the research
highlights, he asserted that “acequias
actually create the conditions for their
own self-perpetuation,” referring to their
ability to adapt to changes in climate,
economic structures and other influences.
Additionally, acequias provide many
hydrologic and ecologic benefits. Acequia
leaders and advocates throughout the state
have long known about these benefits,
but now they have objective research to
support their claims. In his early studies,
Dr. Fernald focused mainly on acequia
hydrology using Alcalde as a study site,
where he found that only between 7.4 and
15 percent of diverted water is actually
Since the Acequia de Alcalde diverts water from the Río Grande, the ongoing
research expanded studies into different sites including El Rito, which is a very dry
system, and acequias along the Río Hondo near Taos, with conditions somewhere
in between. In addition to hydrologic contributions, acequias are also beneficial
to the ecology. Species biodiversity is maintained when acequias distribute water
through the valley landscape, supporting the riparian vegetation that provides
wildlife habitat.
Drought can have a major impact on acequias. Other than the obvious reduced
water for crops, it also results in reduced herds, which negatively impacts acequia
systems because of the close connection between the valley and the upland. Dr.
Fernald’s research argues that the core of acequia resiliency is in the ability to adapt
to change, even when hit with stresses from land use, economics and climate.
From a sociocultural view, the study also found that if you retain ownership of
land, you inherently possess certain family values, local knowledge and strong ties
to cultural traditions that help mitigate some of the impacts.
Looking ahead, the current research tells us that we’ll face a reduced water supply.
Tree ring data show that in the past acequias faced very dry periods that lasted
between 75 and 150 years. It’s probably part wisdom and part geographic luck that
acequias were established in their particular physical landscape,
but, regardless, the end result is still the same: acequias are a
sustainable water management system that is well-suited to
adapt to external and internal changes. i
Quita Ortiz is the communication and project specialist for the NMAA,
where she works on the Mayordomo Project, the NSF-funded Acequia
Research Project, and acequia resiliency and restoration planning projects.
23
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del are llano / From the Arid Land
Ancient Systems Still Viable in the 21st Century
Juan Estévan Arellano
T
Scholars from all over the
world are starting to notice
New Mexico’s acequias.
Another coming clash is the competition
for water between commercial growers
and what orchardist Fred Martínez calls
“hobby farmers.” I saw this inching up
since the drought of 2001, when there
was a major disagreement between the
bigger farmers versus those who plant
only for family use.
Then there’s the lack of involvement or
apathy on the part of most parciantes
(water-rights owners) that is rampant in
all acequias, as well as absentee landowners.
In one particular acequia, over 50 percent
of the landowners are absentee owners.
This has created problems when it’s time
to elect commissioners and mayordomos.
Several acequias last year couldn’t find
mayordomos. When this happens, it
puts a lot of pressure on the elected
commissioners.
Then, added to the mix of problems
is the clash between newcomers and
traditional acequia users who are mostly
Indo-Hispanos. This started to happen
in the late ‘60s with the coming of the
hippies. As a result, the acequia meetings,
instead of being run in Spanish as
before—out of respect, the elders told
me—started to be conducted in English.
The old bylaws, which were simple and
In July 2013, acequia leaders met in La Ciénega with foreign dignitaries from a number of Middle Eastern and North African
countries. The dignitaries—government officials, academics, educators, industry representatives and technical experts – were there
as part of a water resource management project funded by the US Department of State’s International Visitors Leadership Program.
written in Spanish, all of a sudden had to
be translated into English. Most of the
old terminology, such as surcos, melgas,
linderos, eras, regaderas, cabeceras, has
disappeared, as have the old concepts of
the landscape: altitos, jollas, vegas, ciénegas,
esteros, ancones.
The workers, or peones, have also changed.
Before, the acequias were worker-owned
cooperatives where the parciantes were
also the workers. Families were big,
so there was always a younger sibling
coming along to work in the acequia.
Today most of the owners, whether
newcomers or from the established old
families, are getting older and older. In
our acequia, many of the parciantes are
in their 80s, 70s, or 60s, with very few
between 40 and 50. And those that are
still working no longer live here; it has
become a “bedroom community.”
Today’s acequia workers all are salaried
employees, and as far as they’re concerned,
the more days they work, the better for
them. And to top it off, many of them are
not very good workers. They have no idea
of how to handle a shovel, or worse, how
to clean the acequia. It used to be called “la
saca de la acequia” (digging). Then, in the
past 20 years they were mostly “limpiando
la acequia” (cleaning), and lately many
have told me all they do is “barrer la
acequia” (sweep the canal).
We now also have people without water
rights who have been allowed to irrigate
because they volunteer to be ditchriders. Since they don’t own water rights,
they can’t serve as mayordomos. Also,
many people, due to new technology,
are pumping water above the acequia,
something that wasn’t allowed in
the past. The ones to blame are the
commissioners and mayordomos who
don’t know their duties.
the old irrigation systems and compare
them with their own. Events such as
Celebrando las Acequias have brought a
lot of scholars from different disciplines
together to discuss the role of acequias as
part of the landscape.
As there are now more and easier ways
to communicate, there is less face-toface communicating, as parciantes use
the phone, Internet, texting and other
types of social media. In the past, the
mayordomo would take the water directly
to whoever was going to irrigate, and
once his time was up, he would come and
remind the irrigator that the time was up
and then deliver it to the next parciante.
Finally, the acequias and those who
work the land are getting noticed and
recognized for what they are doing
to provide local, organic produce at
affordable prices to those who don’t plant.
Farming is being looked at with more
respect by the youth, as many of them
want to get back to the land. The only
obstacle is the price of farmland, which
is way too high.
Today the NMAA serves as an advocate
for acequias in getting legislation passed
in Santa Fe. The Acequia Association’s
Governance Project is helping hundreds
of acequias update their bylaws, and
it offers many other services. Groups
such as the Arid Lands Institute of
Woodbury University in Burbank, Calif.,
the University of New Mexico and New
Mexico State University are also offering
their expertise.The state of New Mexico,
through the Environment Department,
is helping develop watershed plans and
is monitoring the Embudo River for
turbidity, which helps the acequias deliver
clean water to farmers. And farmers’
markets help make it possible for farmers
to sell their produce locally.
But if the ancient acequias continue to
show that their parciantes are willing to
embrace some aspects of new technologies
without abandoning their traditional
knowledge, they will survive. i
Scholars from all over the world are
starting to notice New Mexico’s acequias.
They have come from México, Spain,
Argentina, Chile and Morocco to study
© Anna C. Hansen
This past summer, probably due to the
drought (which will only be exacerbated
by climate change), a lot of problems
that nobody thought about suddenly
showed up as a prelude to what is ahead
in the near future. In the Embudo Valley,
the repartimiento, the traditional way
of sharing water in times of shortage,
simply didn’t work. But that was only
one factor. In the past few years, the
introduction of new technologies has
thrown a monkey wrench into how
water was used in the past.
© Seth Roffman
he acequias of the 21st century are
going to be very different from
those of the past. As new technologies
are introduced, a lot of the traditional
knowledge that goes back centuries will
slowly erode until it is known only to
scholars of ancient systems.
Elena and Juan Estévan Arellano
Juan Estévan Arellano and his wife
Elena raise heirloom fruit and vegetables
in the Embudo area of northern New
Mexico. Arellano, a 2013 NM Community
Foundation Luminaria Award recipient,
is the translator-editor of the book Ancient
Agriculture. [email protected]
25
26
THE MAYORDOMO PROJECT
AIMS TO TRAIN A NEW GENERATION
Sylvia Rodríguez
M
The Mayordomo Project began in late 2008 as collaboration between the New
Mexico Acequia Association and the UNM Ortiz Center for Intercultural Studies.
The purpose of the project is to affirm the important role of mayordomos in acequia
irrigation, agricultural traditions and water-sharing customs. The project supports
the continuation of this tradition by honoring existing mayordomos, documenting
their practical local knowledge and developing ways to share this knowledge with
people who want to learn the art and skill of mayordomía.
© Seth Roffman
ayordomos historically have been the keepers of tradition and knowledge
about their stream source and their community. Through respect, diplomacy
and a careful measure of authority, skilled mayordomos have kept acequias flowing
and fields irrigated for generations.
Mayordomo Project Team: At NMAA’s 2013 Congreso, founders of the Mayordomo
Project were honored for their work on a pilot mentorship project between Gilbert
Sandoval (2nd from right) and his daughter Juanita Revak (woman in red) in the Jémez
Valley. Other team members were Kenny Salazar (center), Elise Trott, David García
and Sylvia Rodríguez (3rd from right).
The final and most critical phase of the Mayordomo Project will involve year-long
(or more) internships, during which an experienced mayordomo guides and instructs
a promising and committed recruit to take over the job on his or her acequia. For
generations, people have learned how to be mayordomos by watching and doing. The
Mayordomo Tool Kit is meant to supplement but not replace this all-important,
face-to-face process. The NMAA is looking for teams of individuals willing to
undertake internships. These internships will be supported and monitored by the
NMAA in order to learn from them and continually improve the process.
© Donatella Davanzo
Mayordomía should be fostered as an
economically viable “green job” for young men
and women in the 21st century.
The annual limpia in the spring (shown here near Dixon) is a time when people from
the area get together to prepare the acequia for the first flow of irrigation water.
Public policy is needed that fosters the development of mayordomía as an
economically viable vocational choice or “green job” for young men and women in
the 21st century. In order to survive and adapt to modern conditions, mayordomía
de la acequia must ultimately become a socially valued, salaried job with benefits. It
must be recognized as a vocation essential to acequia irrigation as a resilient socialecological system and as a successful model for managing water as a commons. i
The methodology of the project is community-based participatory action research
(PAR), whereby a community of interest defines a problem it faces and seeks to solve
it through a collaborative group process of investigation and action. A team comprised
Dr. Sylvia Rodríguez was raised in Taos. She is the author of Acequia: Water-sharing, Sanctity,
of Kenny Salazar, Gilbert Sandoval, Sylvia Rodríguez, Juanita Revak, Quita Ortiz
and Place. A professor emerita of anthropology at UNM, she has worked with NMAA on the
and Elise Trott has carried out the project. The work evolved through several stages,
Mayordomo Project since 2008. [email protected]
beginning with planning and design, followed by the recording and
transcription of pláticas or interviews with mayordomos in a variety
Mayordomía Educational
of communities, field trips to observe and record video of la limpia
Toolkit Available
(ditch cleaning) and other acequia work, and review an analysis of
the materials collected. Over 40 pláticas were conducted, a number The NMAA has produced an educational toolkit that includes:
• The Art of Mayordomía 30-minute film
of them by Estévan Arellano. A pilot internship was also carried
•M
ayordomo Handbook & Field Guide — A practical guide to
out, whereby Gilbert Sandoval, mayordomo of the Sandoval ditch
seasonal mayordomo duties
in Jémez for over 35 years, began to prepare his daughter, Juanita • Movie poster template (to announce a screening)
• Guiding questions for community dialogue
Revak, to become a mayordoma.
Two project goals include the production of a 30-minute
video about the mayordomo crisis and the urgent need to
recruit new mayordomos; and a practical handbook or field
guide that describes in detail the duties and responsibilities
of a mayordomo. David García narrated and composed an
original theme song for the video, which is titled, The Art of
Mayordomía. The video and handbook have now been compiled
into a Mayordomo Tool Kit. The handbook is considered a
living document that will be revised periodically, according to
feedback provided by those who use and test its practical value.
The $25 kit provides tools to engage acequia parciantes and
community members in a conversation about the challenges facing
acequias in continuing the mayordomo tradition. The materials are
also appropriate for educators and researchers who want to explore
issues of water, acequias, food, agriculture and community as part
of their curriculum.
Host a film screening—The NMAA encourages communities to
host screenings of The Art of Mayordomía, community dialogues
and other cultural or educational events inspired by the toolkit.
For more information, contact Quita Ortiz at the NMAA: 505.995.9644 or [email protected]
27
NM Recycling Coalition
Launches Food Waste Program
The New Mexico Recycling Coalition’s “Reducing Food Waste in NM: Feeding
the Hungry, Building Our Soils and Diverting Waste with Food Management
Best Practices” program will provide trainings, resources and market development
support to implement food-waste reduction, donation and diversion programs. The
campaign, which has received a $50,000 grant from the Walmart Foundation,
launches this month, targeting food-handling operations in Albuquerque, Las
Cruces, Río Rancho and Santa Fe.
“Food waste is currently the single largest type of material entering our landfills.
Americans throw away up to 40 percent of their food, while nearly 15 percent of
US households don’t know where their next meals will come from. It’s time to feed
people, not landfills, by working with businesses to properly divert food waste to
become food for the hungry or to be composted into soil,” said NMRC’s director,
English Bird. To learn more, visit www.recyclenewmexico.com.
reunity resources: Moving Mountains
with Commercial Compost
If you care about the environment and where your dollars go to help keep our air
clean, our landfills less filled, and think composting is a key way to reduce our use,
Reunity Resources has a solution for you. The Santa Fe nonprofit has been awarded
a contract with the city for a pilot food-waste collection program that will allow
local restaurants, hotels, community centers and nonprofit groups to have their
separated food waste collected and composted into valuable nutrient-rich garden
dirt, which will be available for purchase.
“Our program is designed to divert up to two million pounds of food scraps from the
landfill in its first year of operation. That is enough organic material to create a pile
as high as Mount Everest,” says Reunity Resources founder Tejinder Ciano. That
amount of waste requires additional funds to purchase the equipment necessary to
launch the program, and so Reunity has launched a fundraising campaign to help
meet its operational goal of $143,000. For more information and to vote with your
dollars for a sustainable food-waste reduction plan, call 505.629.0836 or visit http://
www.indiegogo.com/projects/moving-mountains-with-commercial-composting
28
Escuelita de las Acequias:
Mutual Support for Intergenerational Acequia Leadership
n creating the Escuelita (little school) de las Acequias, the New Mexico Acequia
Association (NMAA) envisioned acequieros and acequieras of all ages learning
from one another and cooperating to manifest the vision of acequias flowing with
clean water, people working together to grow food, and celebrations of culture and
acequia tradition. Embracing the principle that everyone is a teacher and everyone
is a student, the Escuelita is a space for learning through dialogue and shared work.
Each year, the NMAA works with some 30 adults and 10 youth leaders through a
series of encuentros (gatherings). Each participant commits to a tarea or community
project and shares experiences with the whole group.
Joseluís Ortiz, originally of Peñasco and now living in Albuquerque, has long had an
interest in supporting his community and in social justice. Ortiz was a participant
in the Escuelita and has been embraced as an upcoming NMAA young leader.
Asked about his Escuelita experience, he said, “By honoring the elements of life
and love, La Escuelita opens a space that strengthens deep understandings… It has
fueled my need to fight for our water, land and ways of life. One of my favorite
parts of La Escuelita is the ongoing intergenerational exchange of knowledge and
the transfer of energy and wisdom.” Ortiz also has an important leadership role
with Los Jardines Institute in Atrisco.
Ignacio Gonzales of Chamisal tagged along to his first Esceulita at age 9, accompanying
his parents and two older siblings, and became one of the most enthusiastic
participants. “Escuelita got me to plant more,” he says. “It has taught me about our
acequias, and how we’re supposed to keep our water clean. Don’t sell your water
rights and don’t let
anybody take your
water rights. My
favorite activity has
been the singing
and the songs. It’s
fun.” Ignacio is one
o f s e ve r a l yo u t h
involved with
NMAA’s Sembrando
Semillas program in
Chamisal.
© Alejandro López
I
Martha Trujillo has served as a commissioner for her acequia for several years in
the Pojoaque area and has recently taken on a new level of leadership as a result
of her participation in the Escuelita. “Escuelita gave me a level of awareness on
how big the acequia community really is. My focus has been my local acequia,
but the community is statewide! Without the Escuelita I had kind of forgotten
the love, that water is life. Without it you won’t exist—without love you won’t
exist—without investing something it won’t grow.” Trujillo was recently elected to
the NMAA Concilio or board of directors and also serves on the Santa Fe County
Water Committee as the acequia representative. i
Somos Gente de la Tierra
The Sembrando Semillas Program
Pilar Trujillo
hen we started the Sembrando
Semillas Program (“Planting
Seeds”) in 2006, the purpose was to
create an inter-generational agriculture
program to inspire the next generation
of parciantes (acequia irrigators) and
increase the cultivation of foods that are
culturally and spiritually meaningful to
our communities.
Many of the youth in the program have
an innate knowledge of food traditions
and acequia culture by way of being raised
in agricultural communities. What we’ve
come to experience is that the youth who
participate in Sembrando Semillas are
often unaware of how much wisdom they
already have about food traditions, natural
resources and the challenge of growing
food in the high desert.
We believe that having a background in
acequia agriculture gives these youth a
Over the years, some of the youth
have created digital storytelling
pieces about their food traditions or
experiences in the program. You can
see some of these stories by visiting
www.youtube.com/acequiayouth
unique platform from which to become
community leaders on issues that affect
land-based people. We believe that the
key to creating positive social change in
our communities comes from a deep love
and respect for our land, water, air, seeds
and community. For that reason, we strive
to foster a sense of querencia, or love of
place, within our local youth by affirming
their identity as land-based people, or
gente de la tierra.
Positive social change
based on a deep love
and respect for our
land, water, air, seeds
and community
In the Sembrando Semillas Program,
youth learn about seasonal agriculture
activities f rom mentors in their
respective communities through handson experiential learning. The main
demonstration site is in Chamisal,
led by mentors Juliet and Edward
Gonzales. Other sites include a project
in Alcalde through La Tierra Charter
School, in Mora through the Family
and Community Gardening
project, and there are a few
other sites that are in the
planning stages. Each site is
unique and creates its own
projects.
© Seth Roffman
W
The preservation of native,
landrace seeds is another focus of the
program. Some of the traditional crops
grown from seeds that have been passed
down for many generations include:
alverjón (peas), habas (fava beans), maíz
concho (white corn), papas (potatoes),
calabaza (squash), chile, pinto beans, as
well as various fruits.
While planting activities are the
fundamental basis of the program, a sense
of querencia comes from more than just
planting; it comes from pride in one’s
heritage and sense of place. To cultivate
this querencia,the youth participate in many
other activities.In the past several years they
have built an horno (outdoor oven), learned
how to make capulín (chokecherry) jam,
made chicos (traditional roasted corn) from
the corn they grew,learned about traditional
uses of herbs, orchard maintenance and
beekeeping. Subsequently they have given
numerous presentations on their learning
and work. We also include trainings and
workshops for the youth on leadership
development, policy advocacy and acequia
issues in general.
The youth are our future. It is our hope
that the Sembrando Semillas Program can
help support our local youth to become
the generation that maintains a part of
our culture that is essential: that we are
inextricably tied to the land and water.
Somos gente de la tierra. i
Pilar Trujillo is a project
specialist for the NMAA.
She works in the areas
of food, agriculture and
leadership development
through projects including
the Escuelita de las
Acequias, the Food and
Seed Sovereignty Alliance,
and Sembrando Semillas.
29
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30
Food Hubs in New Mexico
Sayrah Namaste
“F
ood hubs are not new in New
Mexico; there have always
been sustainable food systems,” says
Patrick Jaramillo, of the American
Friends Service Committee (AFSC).
“But way back, it was just called ‘the
community.’ Traditional agricultural
communities throughout New Mexico
have produced the food they needed to
sustain themselves for more generations
than can be remembered,” Jaramillo says.
“Now food hubs are being rebuilt by
farmers and land-based advocacy groups
like the AFSC and the New Mexico
Acequia Association.”
AFSC has been helping develop food
hubs in New Mexico through three
farmer networks: Agri-Cultura Network
in Albuquerque; La Cosecha del Norte: A
Growing Co-op in the Española Valley;
and Sol y Tierra Growers in southern
New Mexico. The nonprofit AFSC has
linked the farmers they’ve trained and
the networks they’ve developed to move
food throughout the state, collaborating
to meet the demand for local food and to
support local farmers.
“Traditionally, all land-based people
grew food and used a bartering economy
in New Mexico, sharing communal
lands and acequias,” explained AFSCNM Co-director Don Bustos, who
farms his ancestral land. “In the rise of
agribusinesses and federal subsidies, we’ve
seen a shift to a more aggressive and
competitive model of agriculture.”
Small-scale agriculture
appropriate for our
environment, as a
matter of policy, has been
actively discouraged.
Over the years, many of the components
of New Mexico’s food system have been
dismantled and destroyed by a long series of
policies that, whether by design or because
of unintentional consequences, made it
very difficult for the state’s long tradition
of sustaining its people to continue.
“New Mexican farmers have to operate
within a system that operates on a set
of policies designed to remove people
from the land and push them into a
wage economy in the name of progress,”
says Bustos. “The practice of smallscale agriculture appropriate for our
environment, as a matter of policy, has
been actively discouraged, while largescale factory farming has been promoted
and subsidized.” This has created a
situation where New Mexican farmers
must compete with wealthy industry,
developers and municipalities for the
precious little land and water available in
this high-desert oasis.
Acequia: Water Sharing, Sanctity, and Place
By Sylvia Rodríguez,
School for Advanced Research Press, 2006
Yet with the recent rebuilding of food
hubs in New Mexico, the communal
values of land-based people are evident.
Last summer AFSC brought 30 farmers
from across the state together to build
relationships and collaborate on ways to
feed New Mexico communities. Ranging
in age from 18 to 70 years old, the farmers
shared stories of why they farm and their
connections to the land. At the conclusion
of the meetings, they agreed to work
collaboratively to increase the capacity
for NM growers to meet market demand.
Due to the range of climates in New
Mexico, farmers can support each other’s
markets. For example, when heavy rains
flooded farms in Anthony last fall, setting
back production, Española farmers sent
their produce to help fill existing orders
for customers in Las Cruces. Since
Anthony has a longer growing season
than northern New Mexico, those
farmers are able to send produce north in
the winter to help Española farmers fulfill
demand for local produce as production
slows in the coldest months. AFSC has
also built 19 cold frames in New Mexico,
so that farmers can grow in the winter.
Farmers trained by AFSC have been
taught the same methods for crop
selection, planting, harvesting and postharvest handling, which has helped with
quality control and consistency of product,
especially when farmers work together to
fill large orders for institutional buyers
such as public schools. The AFSCaffiliated farmers are selling to grocery
stores and co-ops in Española, Los
Alamos, Santa Fe, Albuquerque and Las
Cruces; three public school districts; the
Mora senior citizen center, and a daycare
in El Paso, as well as numerous restaurants
and farmers’markets throughout the state.
AFSC provides logistical support to
the co-ops and networks by helping
with sales, invoicing and delivery, as well
as technical assistance to incubate the
farmer networks in their infancy. AFSC’s
farmer-to-farmer training program is
community-based, hands-on education
that honors the ancestral knowledge of
New Mexican farmers like Don Bustos
to mentor beginning farmers and connect
them to farmer networks for marketing
their produce collaboratively. i
To learn more about this initiative, visit:
www.afsc.org/newmexico
Sayrah Namaste
is co-director of the
A mer ican Fr iends
Service CommitteeNM. She raises her
daughter and a family
garden year-round in
Albuquerque.
Native American FooD Hub Being Developed
This book, winner of the 2007 Association of
Latino and Latina Anthropologists Book Award,
is a fascinating account of the interaction of water,
faith and landscape in northern New Mexico,
detailing the historic management of water and
its impact on daily life in the Taos Valley.
Last month at the Southern Pueblos Council monthly meeting, US Department
of Agriculture Rural Development State Director Terry Brunner presented a
certificate of obligation to the Acoma Business Enterprise, LLC, to develop a
business plan and marketing study to expand the marketing of produce grown
by Native American farmers through a food hub. Brunner said, “This strategic
investment will help Native farmers find new markets for their products and offers
a path to sustainable farming in the 21st century.” The $75,000 grant, made through
the Rural Business Enterprise Grant (RBEG) program, promotes development
of small and emerging businesses in rural areas.
Every society must have a system for capturing,
storing and distributing water, a system
encompassing both technology and a rationale
for the division of this finite resource. Today,
people around the world face severe and
growing water scarcity, and everywhere this vital
resource is ceasing to be a right and becoming
a commodity. Rodríguez places her acequia
study in this global arena. Many northern New
Mexicans still gather to clean the ditches each spring and irrigate fields and
gardens with the water that runs through them. Increasingly, acequia associations
go to court to defend their water rights against the competing claims brought by
population growth, urbanization, and industrial or resort development. Their
insistence on the traditional “sharing of waters” offers a solution to the current
worldwide water crisis.
The Native Food Hub will be the first of its kind in the nation. Some pueblo
farmers, at the end of the growing season, have found that they usually have an
abundance of produce not being sold or utilized. A food hub will offer a location
where producers can deliver their goods for processing and distribution to market.
31
La Cosecha del Norte:
A Growing Co-op
C
osecha del Norte (harvest of the north) is a co-op comprising 10 Española
Valley area farmers seeking to make chemical-free, healthy local fruits
and vegetables available to community members. The co-op sells to schools and
businesses. Cosecha del Norte stands apart from the other two growing co-ops in
New Mexico sponsored by the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC)
in that most of our members come from an historically long line of farmers and
ranchers. As descendants of the first European colonists who came to north-central
New Mexico, we have been guided, desde chiquitos (since we were children), to
manage seeds and acequia water wisely.
Extending the paradigm from the village
into the greater community
When we were invited to get together and form a grower’s co-op, the tricky part
was not necessarily the actual growing of food, but more about creating time to
meet regularly and invest ourselves as farmers in becoming better producers. What
did that mean to a bunch of busy people whose families were, for the most part,
already producing enough corn, beans, squash, fruit and meat to satisfy the needs
of their families? Mostly it meant extending that paradigm from the village into
the greater community. It also meant being willing to share farm plans, seed and
know-how to increase yields and
fill orders.
Our approach to meeting our goals
was to get to know each other better
and familiarize ourselves with each
other’s farms and families. So, for the
first year our monthly meeting was
held at members’ homes. From Santa Cruz to Velarde to Chamisal and Chimayó,
we would break bread and discuss the logistics of successfully filling an order to,
for example, Cid’s Food Market in Taos. That was something most of us had never
even considered doing, but something a few of our members had accomplished.
We began to discuss the possibility of supplying our produce to the public schools.
With the assistance of AFSC, our members found themselves becoming more in
tune with the concept of growing together to supply a larger amount of greens
for sale. At the end of our first year, we received our letter of incorporation from
the state of New Mexico. We were now one body represented by several farming
families. At that time, AFSC began showing us how to broker our produce:
Mondays, all available produce is taken into account and calls are made to interested
buyers. By Wednesday, the washed and prepped produce is picked up and delivered
to the stores. Within a couple of weeks, invoices and payments are recorded and
checks sent out to the member/producers of La Cosecha del Norte. A percentage
of each sale is invested back into the co-op. The last quarter of 2013 has been
encouraging, with sales approaching $4,000. We even got the first contract with
Española Valley Schools: 150 pounds of local red chile for the children’s Frito pies!
As we take a small breather for the holidays, Cosecha del Norte is thankful. We
have hung in there and are beginning to savor the fruits of our mutual labor. In
2014 we hope to continue our relationship with Sostenga, the farming program
at Northern New Mexico College, where our monthly meetings are now held. We
hope to increase our production and get even more local food into our schools
and grocery stores, thus strengthening our ancestral food
traditions and water rights. Our first meeting of the new year
has been scheduled for farm planning and seed ordering. Our
grandparents would be pleased. i
Camilla Trujillo is a grower/member and treasurer of La Cosecha del
Norte. She teaches pottery at La Tierra Charter School in Española.
32
Prayer by Ted Trujillo
A Mi Glorioso Padre Eterno, humildemente
te doy gracias por la vida de tu servidor, San
Ysidro Labrador, Patrón de los labradores.
El cual que por los siglos nos ha mantenido,
vuestro sembrado libre de langostas y
temblores. Pidemos a tu servidor, San Ysidro
Labrador, que por tu sudor y trabajo con que
fuites fatigado, liberta vuestro sembrado
del ladrón acostumbrado de no tener temor
al Criador de esta Tierra. Liberta vuestro
sembrado de la tempestad, de la sequía y del
granizo que daña vuestro labor, le pedimos por
el amor del Gran Señor. San Ysidro Labrador,
Cortesano del Señor, Hasta el año venidero,
nos despedimos de ti. Adíos mi querido
Santo, San Ysidro Labrador, te dejamos en la
compañía del Gran Señor.
Artwork by Ron García, santero from El Carmen, NM
Camilla Trujillo
San Ysidro Labrador
Yo Soy part IV by David Martínez
I am Tlaloc, He who makes things sprout.
Carrier of water and words
to mythical lands of green and acequia.
I wear belts of clouds and fists of rattle thunder
walking on foam, like equinox aguas y retoño
I carry you on my back, brown como soquete
y sangre, en sacos de guangoche and
cleaned out Clorox jugs.
I submerge these palabritas de mata
en tierra y sudor
letting them come to fruition in this time and
space of chorritos and calloused markers.
Escribo en arboles que dan vida y fruta
to ancient children, that learn cosecha y regar.
I am you, before las venas del Español
came and harnessed you, your mind and force
both powers to be tamed and reckoned with, taking Christian name
and pila de bautismo as your own.
I am Río Grande and acequia Madre, queer and fluid, damning and sustaining
mi terreno
the entrance to birthright and homeland
mis hijos
sin frontera o puente.
mis ojos
I drink of myself, mis antepasados
mis palabras.
Madre Tonantzín y tierra.
Yo soy agua.
De estas aguas viven mi gente
A Bird’s Eye View
continued from page 10
presence of large numbers of immigrants who are willing to roll up their sleeves
and throw themselves wholeheartedly into the work required to make northern
New Mexican plots productive again. They deserve respect for keeping many a
small farm alive.
Will New Mexico’s youth, in spite of the rigor involved, join in to truly make
this a sustainable movement, and in the process, create for themselves a life
vibrant with all that the Earth and its water resources has to offer? Certainly in
50 years’ time we will know which of the two opposing paradigms will prevail:
that of nearly indiscriminate water consumption in the service of maintaining
a Midwestern-like urban and suburban lifestyle, or one
oriented toward the affirmation of indigenous cultures and
local food production. i
Alejandro López is a photographer and writer in Spanish and English.
He lives on an acequia and uses its water to raise crops. In 2012-2013,
he served as coordinator of La Escuelita de las Acequias program of
the New Mexico Acequia Association.
Supporting Local Business in Southern New Mexico 221 N. Main Street, Las Cruces. 575-‐323-‐1575 www.GreenFireTimes.com
33
* Foreclosure defense
34
Farmer-to-Farmer
Training in Mora
Acequias Get Support in Farm Bill
Serafina Lombardi
G
eniva “Peggy” Boney has been
farming in the Mora Valley for 31
years. She now teaches beginning farmers
her successful farm model through a
Peggy Boney
farmer-to-farmer training program
created with the American Friends
Service Committee (AFSC), the New
Mexico Acequia Association (NMAA)
and La Asociación de las Acequias del Valle
de Mora. “I’ve never had the opportunity
to train anyone besides my
children, so this has been an
adventure. It’s great to have
trainees by my side that are
as passionate about farming
as I am,” she says.
produce. As part of AFSC’s work to
build more farm infrastructure, the
Boneys were given a 30x70-ft. passive
solar cold frame for season extension.
AFSC farm trainers Don Bustos and
Patrick Jaramillo helped the Boneys
build it, and the NMAA recruited
interested community members who
also learned how to do it. Students
from Highlands University, NMAA’s
Sembrando Semillas youth program
and the Mora Family Garden Project,
as well as local residents, have attended
farming workshops at the Boneys’
farm.
The Boneys, along with their trainee,
Mabel Medina, participated in the
AFSC statewide farmer meeting with
30 other AFSC-affiliated farmers.
They shared tips on how to prevent
wind damage to cold frames and ideas
on sustainable farming. Boney’s farm
accepts farmers’ market WIC (Women
Boney’s farm is well known
in the area, and her farm
stand at the local growers’
market sells out quickly.
People drop by her farm
regularly to purchase from
her directly, and ever y
AFSC trainer Patrick Jaramillo teaches cold-frame
spring she has a waiting list
construction.
of people who want to buy
her sweet peas. Boney is one of the only
Infant Children) checks, which enable
local farmers in the state who sells to a
low-income mothers to buy her organic
senior citizen center, providing freshly
food. In just four months, she collected
harvested salad, tomatoes and green
1,100 WIC checks.
beans in the summer and fall.
By irrigating with acequia water and
experimenting with drip irrigation,
the Boneys’ farm provides inspiration
for the realization of community food
sovereignty: creating access to nutrientrich produce for the most vulnerable
and demonstrating collaboration
Boney and her husband agreed to
across organizations
use their family farm as an AFSC
and generations. i
demonstration site for the training
Seraf ina Lombardi is a
program, which runs from May through
farmer/rancher specialist
November. Trainees learn to plant,
for the NMAA. She also
harvest and irrigate with both the
serves on the board of the
Santa Fe Farmers’ Market.
acequia and the drip system; and they
clean, package, can, dry and sell the
Inspiration for
the realization of
community food
sovereignty
The farm bill is under consideration by a conference committee of members of the
US House and Senate. The New Mexico Acequia Association joined with several
other state and national organizations in calling for a full and fair farm bill that
will support local and regional food systems, beginning farmers and historically
underserved farmers and ranchers. One of the provisions included in the House
version of the bill was a measure introduced by Congressman Ben Ray Luján, which
would make acequias and community ditches eligible for a conservation program
of the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service called the Environmental
Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). This would streamline the application
process for acequias in the hope that acequias will have greater access to federal costshare funds for water efficiency and conservation projects. The measure received
bipartisan support from the New Mexico congressional delegation. The provision
would benefit acequias in New Mexico and southern Colorado.
The NM Food and Seed Sovereignty Alliance
The future of New Mexico’s rural communities is connected to the agricultural
traditions that have sustained them for countless generations. An integral part of
this is the practice of saving and sharing native seeds. Each seed contains a wealth
of information carried forward by the farmer who plants it, unique knowledge of the
landscape and the growing conditions. The seeds also bring communities together
through the practice of sharing seed with neighbors, friends and colleagues, then
ultimately through the bounty of sharing meals.
The New Mexico Food and Seed Sovereignty Alliance was established to play a
role in helping rural communities continue this tradition, to promote the cultural
practices of seed saving and sharing, and to protect heirloom seeds from genetic
contamination. Founding members include the New Mexico Acequia Association,
Native American Farmers’ Association, Honor Our Pueblo Existence, and Tewa
Women United.
Some of the Alliance’s accomplishments:
• Declaration for Seed Sovereignty (2006)
• Women’s Declaration for New Mexico (2007)
• NM Senate Joint Memorial recognizing the significance of indigenous agricultural
practice and native seeds to NM’s cultural heritage and food security
• Memorial for Protection of Native Chile
The Alliance also hosts an annual heirloom seed exchange in which native and
traditional farmers from acequia and pueblo/tribal communities come together to
share seeds and stories. This event has attracted as many as 300 attendees and over
100 heirloom seed-savers.
For more information, contact Pilar Trujillo: [email protected] or visit
http://www.lasacequias.org/food-and-agriculture/seed-alliance/
The Native American Seeds
Protection Act of 2013
Tribes are increasingly concerned with the threats of environmental and genetically
engineered contamination of Native seed. Two members of New Mexico’s
congressional delegation, Reps. Michelle Luján Grisham and Ben Ray Luján,
have recently introduced legislation that supports the preservation of Native seeds;
seeds that are used for cultural, religious, medicinal, ceremonial and agricultural
purposes. Under the legislation, which has been referred to the House Agriculture
Committee, tribes could get grants from the US Department of Agriculture for
research, education and training programs that protect the purity of Native seed,
and for construction of seed-storage facilities.
35
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NEWSBITEs
PRC Reverses Decision on Renewable Energy
After a backlash from renewable-energy advocates, last month the NM Public
Regulation Commission reversed its November 2013 decision, advocated by the
NM Industrial Energy Consumers Group (NMIEC), on how to value solar energy
in the renewable portfolios of the state’s power companies. Critics charged that the
decision had been made without public input and without any discussion about what
the overall impact and tradeoffs would have on the state’s economy at a time when
the solar industry has been booming.
The commission’s abrupt about-face makes the value of solar energy equal to wind
energy. The commission also lowered from three to two the number of credits
utilities earn for other types of renewables, such as geothermal and biomass. Prior
to November, the credits were one-to-one. Investor-owned utilities are mandated
to provide 15 percent of customer electricity from renewable sources by 2015, and
20 percent by 2020, and must acquire 30 percent of renewable generation from wind,
20 percent from solar and 5 percent from other sources.
NMIEC, which represents some of New Mexico’s largest electricity consumers,
includes the University of New Mexico, the City of Albuquerque and Intel Corp.
among its members. The industry group has also been pushing the PRC to reject a
PNM plan to add 23 megawatts of solar to its electricity system. Despite this, the
PRC approved the plan, which calls for three new solar generating plants in Valencia
and Sandoval counties. Under a 20-year contract, the utility will also purchase 102
megawatts of wind-generated electricity from the Red Mesa Wind Energy Center, 50
miles west of Albuquerque, slated to open in 2015. To cover its additional renewable
energy costs, PNM will add about 83 cents per month to the average residential bill.
Local and national opinion polls confirm that large majorities want, and are willing
to pay for, cleaner electricity, especially solar.
New Mexico’s Energy Profile
The US Energy Information Administration, in an updated state energy profile, says
that New Mexico is currently the third-largest net energy supplier of petroleum and
natural gas to the nation. The agency also highlighted the state’s substantial potential
for solar, wind and geothermal energy. There are nearly a dozen commercial wind
farms in operation, with more on the way. The USEIA profile says that with New
Mexico’s statewide electricity demand relatively small, more transmission capacity
is needed to reach markets in Arizona and California. New Mexico is also second to
Wyoming when it comes to producing mineral leases on federal lands.
New Mexico’s Green Jobs
New Mexico’s unemployment rate of 6.9 percent (2012), while comparable to Texas
and better than that of neighbors Colorado, Arizona and Nevada, and better than the
US average, is still considered dismal. The real problem with New Mexico’s economy
is that it is not creating jobs fast enough; in fact, the state’s job creation rate is the
worst in the nation.
The one area where New Mexico and Colorado have been beating the competition
in job creation in the Southwest is in green jobs. In both states, about 3 percent of all
jobs are in green jobs industries—higher even than in green-focused California. New
Mexico has been growing green jobs at a rate of over 6 percent per year, compared
to an overall job growth rate of .06 percent. Many in the state Legislature recognize
that the state’s abundant renewable-energy potential is a viable avenue of statewide
economic growth. The potential economic development benefits of renewable energy
are spread across the state and across industries.
New Mexico Environmental Law Center Awards
The New Mexico Environmental Law Center has
awarded its Karl Souder Award for Water Protection
to William C. Olson. Olson, former chief of the
groundwater quality bureau of the NM Environment
Department, retired in 2011 after holding that position
for seven years. Previously, he worked for the Oil
Conservation Commission’s environmental bureau
for nearly 13 years. After his retirement, he continued
to work to protect groundwater resources, working
for the department as a consultant and, most recently,
testifying as a private individual against the adoption
of the current copper rule. Marcy Leavitt, who received William C. Olson
the award in 2012, presented the award to Olson at
an event in Santa Fe last month. “Bill was seen as a knowledgeable scientist and a
regulator who was fair to those with whom he worked,” said Leavitt. “He remains
one of the strongest advocates for clean water.”
The Law Center gave its Toxic Turkey Award to Ryan Flynn, secretary-designate of
the NM Environment Department . The Law Center gives that award to “a person
or group that has shown extraordinary disregard for New Mexico’s environment.”
According to the Law Center, Flynn “has made every effort to offer up New Mexico’s
public health and natural resources to irresponsible polluting industries, including
copper mining and industrial dairies.” For more information, visit http://nmelc.org
Renewable Energy Day at the Roundhouse
Saturday, Jan. 25, 10 am-2 pm; Press Conference, 11 am
With 300 days of sunshine, New Mexico has the
potential to lead the nation in renewable-energy
development, creating jobs, improving the
economy and reducing water use. The economic,
environmental and social benefits of renewable
energy and energy efficiency will be celebrated at
the state capitol on Jan. 25. The event will provide
opportunities for people to learn about the latest
developments in the RE field and to network
with people who are working to improve New
Mexico’s energy future. A diverse array of advocates, including community groups,
business associations, public institutions, workforce development associations and
homeowners will have information tables at the event.
The press conference will feature mayoral and gubernatorial candidates, legislators,
youth, and industry specialists who will share their policies and plans to help grow
the RE industry in New Mexico. Free parking will be available in the facility at 420
Galisteo St. Information: 505.310.4425 or [email protected]
The Clean Economy Conference: ABQ: Feb. 1-2
New Mexico Environment Dept. Considering
‘Cradle-to-Grave’ Rules for Products
The New Mexico Environment Department is studying “Cradle-to-Grave” programs
in states such as Oregon, where there is a product stewardship program that provides
a way to avoid having hazardous products end in a landfill or dump site. Under
Memorial 56, sponsored by Rep. Jeff Steinborn, D-Doña Ana, the NMED was
charged with forming a group to study product stewardship, looking at a product’s
entire life cycle—how it’s made, used and disposed of—and to find a way to share
responsibility among those involved in the product’s life cycle.
Regulations are increasingly being instituted across the country, in which
manufacturers and retailers pay a fee to institute recycling programs for difficultto-handle or toxic products. Such programs could slightly raise prices consumers
pay for things such as paint and electronics. The fees may actually be beneficial for
retailers, however, because this system brings consumers back to the stores to return
things for recycling.
Joel Salatin
The Carbon Economy Series, a New Mexico
nonprofit dedicated to teaching sustainable
principles and practices, is presenting the Clean
Economy Conference, Feb. 1-2 at the Albuquerque
Embassy Suites. Can we feed New Mexico (and
beyond) with locally produced food? The potential
of backyard gardens and multi-speciation are among
the topics keynote speaker Joel Salatin of Polyface
Farm will address. Salatin will also be part of two
pre-conference events: a Celebrity Chef Gourmet
Farm-to-Table Dinner fundraiser, 7-9 pm on Jan.
30, and Ballet in the Pasture, a workshop on Jan.
31 from 9 am-5 pm on the nuts and bolts of how 20
people generate $2 million by providing over 10,000
people a month with healthy, organic food while
maintaining a happy and healthy lifestyle.
Some of the other conference topics: zero-waste; the triple bottom line
(manufacturing products that are good for people/society and the environment, as
well as economically viable); building an agricultural production center; sustainable
education based on natural systems; aquaponics; water harvesting; beekeeping,
and urban permaculture. For more information, call 505.819.3828 or visit www.
carboneconomyseries.com
37
What's Going On!
Events / Announcements
ALBUQUERQUE
Jan. 8, 9 am-12 pm
Agricultural Collaborative
Meeting
Mid-Region Council of
Governments, 809 Copper NW
Don Bustos, Sayrah Namaste and several
farmers will facilitate a discussion on Farmer-to-Farmer Training and the network of
food hubs the American Friends Service
Committee-NM is developing in Doña Ana,
Bernalillo, Mora and Río Arriba counties
(See story, pg 31). https://afsc.org/story/
afsc-new-mexico-creating-food-hubsacross-state
Jan. 8, 5:30-7:30 pm
Green Drinks
Hotel Andaluz, 125 2nd St. NW
Network and mingle with
people interested in local
business, clean energy
and other green issues.
Guest speaker: Lydia
Ashanin, NM Health
Connections.
Free.
505.244.3700, Lindsay@
nmgreenchamber.com,
http://nmgreenchamber.com/events/
Jan. 11
Winter Bird and Bat Festival
Río Grande Nature Center State Park
Explore wildlife habitats and migration patterns, enjoy nature walks and view birds and
bats. 505.344.7240, www.rgnc.org/
Jan. 24-25: First Course
4 Photovoltaics Courses
CNM Workforce Training Center
PV courses offered toward North American
Board of Certified Energy Practitioners
exam through CNM’s Advanced PV Academy, a follow-up to courses offered in 2012-13
through a Solar Center of Excellence grant.
All four modules: $699. Info: cnm.augusoft.
net/index.cfm?method=CourseSeries.Cour
seSeriesRegistration&CourseSeriesGroup
Id=61
Jan. 27-Feb. 1
Holistic Management in
Practice Course
Location TBA
Understand and manage stressed ecosystems, learn about financial, land, agricultural and people resources with certified Holistic Management International educator
Kirk Gadzia. 505.867.4685, kirk@rmsgad
zia.com, www.rmsgadzia.com
Jan. 30-Feb. 2
Clean Economy Conference
ABQ Embassy Suites
1000 Woodward Place
Building Resiliency through Sustainable
Practices. Keynote speaker: Joel Salatin of
38
Polyface Farms. 1/30: Gourmet Steward’s
Dinner; 1/31: Pre-conference full-day workshop on Local Food Production; 2/1-2 (9
am-5 pm): Conference with plenary sessions
on wise water use, regenerative agriculture,
zero-waste, organic food production, compost tea, strategies to shrink our carbon
footprint, seed saving, creating an agricultural production center, community gardens,
urban farming, sustainability tradeshow
and more. $125/day or 3 days/$275. www.
carboneconomyseries.com
Feb. 1
Off-Grid Solar Electricity
Design and Installation
CNM Workforce Training Center
5600 Eagle Rock Avenue NE
8-hour class (ID: 25589) for PV professionals. Learn core principles of off-grid living,
differences between grid-tied and off-grid
PV systems, principal components used, resources available, etc. Info: 505.224.5200,
[email protected], www.cnm.edu/depts/
wtc/index.html/index.html
Feb. 5-6
Fossil-Free Film Festival
The Guild Cinema
3405 Central Ave. NE
The best new films about climate change
and what you can do about it. 505.350.3839,
[email protected]
Feb. 13, 7 pm
Thinking Like a Watershed
Kimo Theater, 423 Central NW
The first of five monthly panel discussions
featuring 3 different humanities scholars,
who will be introduced by Jack Loeffler. The
intent is to contribute to a new Land Ethic
for the preservation of our endangered ecosystems in the Southwest. Panelists William
deBuys, Patty Limerick and John Nichols
will provide an historic overview of human
habitation and water use. Funded by the
NM Humanities Council. Free admission.
505.768.3522
Feb. 14-15
New Mexico Organic
Farming Conference
Marriott Albuquerque Pyramid
North, 5151 San Francisco Road NE
The Southwest’s premier conference for organic agriculture. Producers and researchers
share their experience and expertise to help
agri-producers make decisions in running
their farm and ranch operations or in starting a new one. Workshops and exhibitors.
Presented by Farm to Table, NM Department of Agriculture, NMSU Cooperative
Extension Service. Registration: $100/$60.
Discounts for student groups if approved
ahead of time. Info: 505.473.1004, ext. 10
(Santa Fe) or 505.889.9921 (ABQ).
Feb. 25
Crawford Symposium:
Green Trails for the Next
Generation Conference
Bosque School
Info: 505.898.6388,
bosqueschool.org
Rebecca.belletto@
March 5-7, 8 am-5 pm
3rd International Meeting on
Indigenous Women’s Health
Hotel Albuquerque at Old Town
Healthy Generations: Integrating Tradi-
tions and Science to promote well-being.
An opportunity for physicians, midwives,
nurses, community providers and others who
work with indigenous women to share, support, network, learn and build partnerships
to improve the health of indigenous women
and their families. 505.272.3942, kbreck
[email protected], http://som.unm.
edu/cme
April 7-9
10th International Conference
on Concentrator
Photovoltaic Systems
Hyatt Regency Albuquerque
An opportunity for suppliers of components
and services to the PV and CPV industry to
connect with experts and potential customers
from all over the world. 400 people from more
than 25 countries, including many corporate
executives from global companies are expected to participate. Host committee: CFV Solar
Test Laboratory, Fraunhofer USA, Sandia
National Laboratories. www.cpv-10.org
May 3 Opening
Acequia Research Project Exhibit
Maxwell Museum of Anthropology,
UNM
Based on NSF-funded research by scientists and scholars across several disciplines
and institutions, including UNM, NMSU,
NM Tech and the NM Acequia Association,
this exhibit will tell the story of how acequias
operate as part of whole watershed systems,
how and why they persist, as well as the challenges they face today. 505.995.9644, quita@
lasacequias.org
May 4, 1-4 pm Opening
SW Herbalism & Curanderismo:
Healing and Ritual Exhibition
Maxwell Museum of Anthropology
UNM
Traditional and contemporary Southwest
herbalism will be explored at the 5th annual
Food and Life series, featuring herbalist Dr.
Tomás Enos, permaculturalist/chef Trish
Cyman, Sophia Rose of La Abeja Herbs and
curandera Tonita Gonzales. 505.277.1400,
[email protected]
Daily
Degrees of Change:
NM’s Climate Forecast
NM Museum of Natural History & Science,
1801 Mountain Rd. NW
With a focus on NM and the SW, this exhibit
reveals current and predicted impacts on humans, landscapes and ecosystems. Tickets:
$7, $6, $4. Info: 505.841.2800,
www.nmnaturalhistory.org
SANTA FE
Through Jan. 5, 2014
New World Cuisine: Histories
of Chocolate, Mate y Más
Museum of International Folk Art
Exhibit focuses on the mixing of food cultures in the Americas. 505.476.1200, inter
nationalfolkart.org
Through March 16, 2014
Cowboys Real and Imagined
NM History Museum
This exhibit explores NM’s contribution to
the cowboys of both myth and reality from
the 1600s to the present day.
Through April 1, 10 am-5 pm
Heartbeat – Music of the
Southwest
Museum of Indian Arts and Culture
A celebration of sight, sound and activity for
visitors of all ages. Over 100 objects relating
to Southwestern Native music and dance
are featured. 505.476.1250, http://indianart
sandculture.org/
Jan. 4-10, 6 pm
IAIA Writers Festival
Institute of American Indian Arts
campus, 83 Avan Nu Po Road
Graduate students and instructors, including Santa Fe Poet Laureate Jon Davis, author
Sherman Alexie (RSVP required), screenwriter and poet Ken White, author Sherman
Bitsui and novelist Ramona Ausubel read
from and sign copies of their works. Free.
[email protected], www.iaia.edu/iaia-news/
events/iaia-writers-festival/
Jan. 8, 6-7:30 pm
Artspace Survey Results
Release and Community
Discussion
NM History Museum Auditorium,
113 Lincoln Avenue
Public presentation on results of Artspace
market survey of artists, arts organizations and Creative Sector businesses. Free.
505.989.9934, [email protected]
Jan. 8, 7:30 pm
A Wild Solution
for Climate Change
James A. Little Theater
1060 Cerrillos Road
SF Institute Community Lecture by Tom
Lovejoy, senior fellow, United Nations
Foundation and University professor of
environmental science and policy, George
Mason University. Free. www.santafe.edu
Jan. 8-9, 9 am-5 pm
Advanced Green Building:
Building Science Class
SF Area Home Builders Association
1409 Luisa Street
Advanced green building is available to anyone who is ready to take the next steps in green
building education. The course is not limited
to Certified Green Professionals. The instructor is green building scientist Armando Cobo.
Presented by the SFAHBA. $375/$295. Info:
505.982.1774, [email protected], www.sfahba.
com/index.php/green/events/
Jan. 9-Feb. 13, Thursdays 6-8 pm
Craig Barnes Lecture Series
Collected Works Bookstore
202 Galisteo St.
Author, poet, playwright and
host of the weekly KSFR radio program Our Times, on
“An Enquiry into Empire,
Capitalism and the Engines
of Inequality”
Jan. 14 Application Deadline
Food Justice
Thematic Residency
Santa Fe Art Institute
From July 2014-May 2015, the SFAI will
address pertinent food justice questions
facing diverse regional and global communities. How can we use creative practices
to confront social, cultural and economic
problems in our food system? How can we
bring together insights from creative fields,
environmental sciences, sustainable agriculture, critical theory and food studies to
have a local, national and international impact? 505.424.5050, [email protected], http://
sfaiblog.org/residency/application/
Jan. 17-19
Salt and Pepper
Teatro Paraguas Studio
3205 Calle Marie
A play by Los Alamos playwright Robert Benjamin set in SF. Upbeat tales about
maturing with grace, courage and humor.
$18/$15. Reservations/info: 505.424.1601,
www.teatoparaguas.org
Jan. 22, 12 pm
Firefighters Rally
at the Roundhouse
NM State Capitol
Rally in support of Capital Outlay bill
to solarize all fire stations in SF County.
505.989.7262, www.newenergyeconomy.org
Jan. 25, 10 am-2 pm
Renewable Energy Day
NM State Capitol
Celebrate the economic, environmental and
social benefits of renewable energy and energy efficiency. This family-friendly event will
include an ecological art table, electric cars,
solar ovens and hands-on electricity generation demonstrations. 11 am press conference will feature mayoral and gubernatorial
candidates, legislators, youth and industry
specialists who will share their policies and
plans to help grow the renewable-energy
industry in our state. Info: 505.310.4425,
[email protected]
Jan. 29, 9 am-12 pm
Food and Farm Day
NM State Capitol
Speakers, exhibits, demonstrations. Press
conference starts at 9 am
Jan. 29, 4 pm
Southside Quality of Life
Listening Session
SF Community College Board Room
Feb. 1, 7 pm; Feb. 2, 3 pm
Canticum Novum Chorus
& Orchestra
St. Francis Auditorium,
NM Museum of Art
Music by Mozart, Schubert, Cimarosa,
Hovhaness & Holst. Pre-concert lecture by
Oliver Prezant one hour before each performance. $35/$25/$15. Info: www.sfcanticum
novum.com, tickets: 505.988.1234,
ticketssantafe.org
Feb. 4 Registration Deadline
City of Santa Fe
March 4th Election
Santa Fe County Clerk, 103 Grant
Ave., 505.986.6280, co.santa-fe.nm.us
Feb. 8, 12 pm
Southside Quality of Life
Listening Session
Southside Public Library Community
Room
Feb. 11, 6:30-8:30 pm
Lifesongs Community
Conversations
Academy for the Love of Learning,
Seton Village
An evening with Molly Sturges, Acushla
Bastible, Denys Cope and Christine Sandoval. Lifesongs is an intergenerational
arts program that promotes social inclusion
and dignity for elders and people in hospice
care. Free. Registration: 505.995.1860, www.
aloveoflearning.org/programs/lifesongs
Feb. 21, 5-8 pm
Edible Art Tour (EAT)
Members of the SF Gallery Association
team with local restaurants; stroll from
doorway to doorway or take shuttle busses
between downtown and Canyon Road; EAT:
$35; EAT and Fashion Feast dance party $70.
505.603.4643, artfeast.com
March 27-28, 8 am-5 pm
SW Jemez Mountain
Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Project
Santa Fe Community College
Jemez Rooms
3/27: All-Hands Monitoring Presentations
will showcase results from 2013 activities.
3/28: Implementation Workshop will use
information from monitoring to develop
implementation strategies in the project area
for 2015. Info: 505.438.5431, pashmead@
fs.fed.us
First Saturday of Each Month,
10 am-12 pm
SF Citizens’ Climate Lobby
Natural Grocers, Community Room,
3328 Cerrillos Road
“Creating political will for a livable world.”
[email protected]
Tuesdays and Saturdays
8 am-12 pm
Santa Fe Farmers’ Market
1607 Paseo de Peralta (& Guadalupe)
Northern NM farmers & ranchers bring you
fresh greenhouse tomatoes, greens, root veggies, cheese, teas, herbs, spices, honey, baked
goods, Southwestern body care and much
more. www.santafefarmersmarket.com
Sundays, 10 am-4 pm
New Mexico Artisan Market
Farmers’ Market Pavillion
www.artmarketsantafe.com
Santa Fe Creative Tourism Workshops, Classes and Experiences
http://santafecreativetourism.org/
7th Edition of “Day Hikes in the
Santa Fe Area”
Features 56 destinations, new reconfigured
hikes with maps and photos, safety tips, resource guide. Available in local bookstores.
Unwanted Mail
and Phone Books
Opt out of unwanted phone books, catalogs, credit card solicitations. Free service
will help SF shed thousands of pounds of
waste and dollars in costs. http://santafe/
catalogchoice.org
Santa Fe Recycling
Make 2014 the year to reduce, reuse and recycle as much as you can. City residential curbside customers can recycle at no additional
cost and drop by 1142 Siler Road, Building
A to pick up free recycling bins. At least 50
percent of curbside residential customers
recycle now. Let’s take that number to 100
percent. For more information, visit http://
www.santafenm.gov/trash_and_recycling or
call 505.955.2200 (city); 505.992.3010 (county); 505.424.1850 (SF Solid Waste Management Agency).
HERE & THERE
Jan 2-24
Ghost Ranch Workshops
Abiquiú, NM
Indigenous Pottery & Southwest Culture;
An Inner Journey: Still the Mind, Open the
Heart; Outdoor Adventure; Photography in
the Desert; Southwest Weaving & Culture;
Sustainability Practices in Action: Agriculture
and the Earth. 505.685.4333, ext. 4196, caler@
ghostranch.org, www.GhostRanch.org
January 10 Submission
Deadline
Aldo Leopold Writing Contest
Eligibility: Students grades 6-12 in public,
private and home schools in NM. Describe
what “wilderness” means to you and your
community. $500 prizes (total of $2,000 will
be awarded). Info: 505.898.6388, Rebecca.
[email protected]
Jan. 13-May 11
Adobe in Action Online Classes
An approved Continuing Education Systems provider through the American Institute of Architects. 1/13-3/9: Passive Solar Adobe Design; 1/13-3/9: NM Adobe
Building Permit Process; 3/17-5/11: History and Basics of Adobe Construction;
3/17-5-11: Foundations for Adobe Structures. Each class: $250. Instructor: Kurt
Gardella. Also, on-site classes in northern
New Mexico. Info: [email protected],
www.adobeinaction.org/education
Jan. 30, 7 pm
Backcountry Film Festival
Reel Deal Theater
2551 Central Ave., Los Alamos
13th biennial conference and trade fair on
business and sustainability. Speakers include Amory Lovins, chief scientist, Rocky
Mountain Institute; Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, chairman of the board, Nestle; Hans
Engel, CFO, BASF. 400 exhibitors from
North America, Latin America, Europe, the
Middle East and Asia. 604.637.6649, www.
GLOBESeries.com
March 26-28
2014 National Food Hub
Conference
Raleigh, North Carolina
“Building capacity for healthy regional food
systems” www.ngfn.org/
April 15-18
7th National Farm
to Cafeteria Conference
Austin, Texas
“Powering Up” Three days of inspiring field
trips, workshops, speakers and networking.
Farmtocafetereiaconference.org
Tuesday-Friday, 10 am-1 pm
and Saturday
Pajarito Environmental
Education Center
3540 Orange St., Los Alamos, NM
Exhibits of flora and fauna of the Pajarito
Plateau; herbarium, live amphibians, butterfly and xeric gardens. Free. Pajaritoeec.org
Tree Seedlings Available
Ten unique films will inspire you to embrace
your spirit for outdoor adventure. The only
showing in NM. $12 adv, $15 at the door.
505.662.0460, [email protected],
www.PajaritoEEC.org
Feb. 10-11
Good Jobs, Green Jobs
Conference
Washington, D.C.
“Where Jobs and the Environment Meet” Informative workshops led by issue experts, state
and local government officials, agency officials,
business and industry representatives. Workshops include: Climate Resiliency and Adaptation; Creating Good, Green Jobs: Repairing
Our Economy; Repairing and Transforming
Our Energy Systems; Repairing Our Workplaces, Communities and the Environment;
Repairing and Transforming Our Manufacturing Base; Repairing Our Democracy; Repairing Our Schools and Communities to Be
Healthy and Safe; Water and Pipes: Repairing
the Infrastructure Under Us. $225/$125. www.
greenjobsconference.org/
Feb. 14 Application Deadline
Northern NM Conservation
Opportunity
Rocky Mountain Youth Corps is hiring young
women and men 18-25 for seasonal, full-time conservation programs. Applications and program
descriptions: 575.751.1420, www.youthcorps.org
March 26-27
Sustainability Summit
and Exhibition
Wisconsin Center,
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
March 26-28
GLOBE 2014
Vancouver, BC, Canada
Implementing sustainable business models,
supply chain innovation, freshwater challenges – global and local, sustainability opportunities in global markets, sustainable
food supply, the efficiency and nutrition revolution, sustainable energy, climate: the global
challenge. www.sustainabilitysummit.us
The NM State Forestry Division is selling 60
species of tree and shrub seedlings as part of
the division’s Spring Conservation Seedling
Program to promote healthy forests and watersheds around the state. The seedlings are
available to landowners who own at least one
acre in NM and agree to use the seedlings for
conservation purposes such as erosion control or riparian restoration. 505.476.3325,
www.emnrd.state.nm.us/SFD/treepublic/
ConservationSeedlings.html
Río Grande Return
Gifts from the River
Locally produced salsas, jams, honey, chocolates, soaps, lotions, incense and more. Supports local farmers, producers and the conservation of the Río Grande. 505.466.1767, toll
free: 866.466.1767, www.riograndereturn.com
Veterans Green Jobs Academy
Northern NM College, Española
Workforce training and specific degree programs
to support military veterans in fully accredited
academic certificate and degree programs in areas of environmental science related to renewable
energy, hazardous materials response, forestry,
sustainable agriculture, wildland fire science, construction trades and others. A partnership with the
NM Dept. of Veterans Services. For more info, call
Dr. Biggs at 505.747.5453 or visit www.nnmc.edu/
vetacademy.htm.
New Mexico Green Chamber
of Commerce
The NM Green Chamber of Commerce, with
chapters around the state, has a business directory that is a great resource for conscious
consumers looking for locally owned and
environmentally friendly businesses in their
area. Contribute to a sustainable future by
supporting businesses in your city/town that
are striving to be leaders in green business
practices. Info: 505.859.3433, info@nmgre
enchamber.com, http://nmgreenchamber.
com/members?page=2
39
40

New Mexico`s AcequiAs: wAter: ? !

Transcription

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