July-August
2014
We often talk about what living here in the ancient indigenous village
of Yucuyoco has taught us about the “good life”.
Recently we have discovered that the pre-hispanic codices tell the
fascinating story of Yucuyoco back to the 2nd century A.D. The ancient symbol for Yucuyoco clearly
indicates the “Hill of the Wasp”. But another ancient symbol for Yucuyoco found
in the codices is puzzling. It seems to indicate the “hill or
plain that opens”. To date we have found no one who has an explanation for this symbol.
But though Yucuyoco was a prominent village some
1800 years ago, today like many indigenous villages, it struggles economically
for a number of historical and current reasons. So the projects that many of
you have helped to fund are a welcome addition to village life. Now instead of
hauling drinking water from the springs by burro, spring water arrives at each
home twice a week through our new water
system. The cisterns, pump, and transformers were paid for by your
donations! This year we had to replace a transformer and import a new one from
the U.S. to keep the system running. This, too, was due to your generosity. We
will continue a small nursery project to increase cash income to
participating families again this year. Next week we will be ordering the cuttings
of Nochebuenas (poinsettias) to
begin preparing for sale during the Christmas season. Our young neighbor, Daniel, one of the youth Phil has trained, has persevered with the carpentry work and has become quite good at windows, doors, tables, and beehives, and supplies the people in surrounding villages. Since he has no mode of transportation except a burro, Phil buys supplies and transports lumber from the nearest large town to help Daniel with the work. Tomorrow he will finish installing a new pair of windows in Tía Nacha’s small adobe house down the hill. Until Daniel can afford another form of transportation, your donations help him get his supplies.
As you have gathered from previous letters, in spite of the poverty of
the villages of the Mixteca where we live and work, they have much to teach us
and share with us about ways of living in community. They also share a rich
heritage of seeds and agricultural knowledge, as well as great ancient wisdom
about a healthy diet. But contact with the TV culture sometime sows doubts, and
CEDICAM is now publishing the beautiful book you have heard about, Milpa:
From Seed to Salsa to reinforce the culture locally and share it with the
English-speaking world. Thanks in part to your contributions, we are only a few
thousand dollars short of printing costs for this beautiful book of gorgeous
photos and recipes. The book on the future of an ancient culture, agriculture,
and cuisine should come out later this fall.
Of course, the great seed heritage that the indigenous villages of
Oaxaca share and serve as guardians for is threatened by new seed laws and
genetically modified crops. So we also work with the Collective for the
Defense of the Territories of Indigenous Pueblos of Oaxaca, who are organizing
to promote and defend native corn varieties in this center of origin of corn.
Your generosity has helped sponsor international events of campesinos (the
Permanent People’s Tribunal),
as well as fliers and visits to rural campesino communities to meet with
communal authorities about these
threats to indigenous culture and biodiversity. Recently we participated in a local
radio program to spread needed information on the dangers of genetically
modified seeds.
This past year CEDICAM has begun a process to establish “farmers
market” type
centers in the villages of Tilantongo and Nochixtlán. A generous foundation grant helped
stimulate production and set-up of market sites. We still struggle to match
supply to the potential demand in the local market in Tilantongo. Your donations have supplemented the
foundation grant and will help us stimulate more vegetable production for
marketing to increase village family income.
Recently the new conservative president of Mexico, Enrique Peña Nieto, has
been pushing through a momentous group of reforms, many clearly contradicting
the Mexican constitution of 1917. One of the most potentially devastating is a
provision in a new energy law which gives the government the right to
expropriate indigenous communal lands if transnational corporations find
evidence of gas or petroleum deposits there. With the help of your donations, we are bringing in legal
and political experts to help inform ourselves and the Oaxacan people about the
details, limitations and potential reach of this battery of new laws.
We thank you for your letters, your
prayers, and your donations, which continue to help make this work possible.
Our principle aim for these letters is to share our view from this little
corner of the planet. But if you wish to contribute to this work, you can send
a much-appreciated tax-deductible donation to: Instituto Paz en las Americas, 2645 Mountain View
Rd., Silver City, NM 88061. Please write on the memo of the
check: “for Dahl-Bredine projects”.
