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Land-based communities in New Mexico have an ancestral connection to place, acequias, and food traditions. Many of our elders can remember a time when most people grew some or most of their own food for their families or for exchange, sharing, or gifting with relatives and neighbors. The tradition of mutual benefit and sharing is a traditional concept also embodied in the acequias which are communities organized around customs for sharing scarce water, particularly in times of drought. For our ancestors, growing food and sharing water were essential to survival.
Contrast that with our current era in which most of the food we eat is imported through the industrial food system. Farmers and ranchers who practice small scale agriculture, which is characteristic of the acequias, have faced great challenges in trying to make a livelihood from growing food and raising livestock. Families over the past two or three generations have had to adapt to a changing economy by earning wages with farming and ranching often becoming a vocation practiced in addition to other jobs. During this time of transition, families retained some of their land and water rights, livestock, heirloom seeds, and knowledge. This is an inheritance that is the necessary foundation for a renewal of agriculture that is underway.
The history of acequia agriculture, therefore, in the past hundred years can be characterized with three phases: 1) community self-reliance, 2) economic change, hardship, and adaptation, and 3) revitalization of agriculture. The NMAA has maintained that for acequias to survive and even thrive over the long term, it is important to understand what has contributed to the resiliency of acequias and what are the ongoing challenges facing acequias. In 2009, the NMAA conducted a participatory research project that resulted in a report entitled, "Nuestra Cosecha: Reflections on Acequia Agriculture and Food Traditions in Northern New Mexico." The research process included about twenty one-on-one platicas and several resolanas (dialogues). A community research team reviewed notes and transcripts and surfaced emerging themes from the information gathered.
One of the objectives of this project was to understand how traditional agricultural practices could endure generations of pressures to assimilate into the broader economy. One insight gained through the conversations was that the agriculture of the region is deeply steeped in faith and tradition. Growing food in the extreme climate and water scarcity of northern New Mexico required a spiritual devotion.
As the economy changed over time, that devotion helped to sustain agricultural practices even as communities adapted to wage labor. The way of life and land-based identity tied to agriculture survived even though the manner in which people families made a livelihood changed over time. The spiritual root of agriculture and the adaptation to economic changes form the resiliency of agricultural traditions in northern New Mexico including some of the following: love of place, or querencia, generational ownership of land and water rights,recognition of the dignity of work,continued practice of traditional knowledge, water sharing customs, and seedsaving traditions.
Acequia parciantes identified availability of water and the ability to make a living from agriculture as the most significant constraints to revitalization of agriculture. Water rights (and farmland) are threatened by development pressures. Several irrigators were concerned with what they observe to be declines in stream flows and reduction in water supply for acequias to divert. Additionally, the condition of irrigation infrastructure and on-farm irrigation systems makes acequia irrigation challenging. Most land is currently used for pasture or hay. Converting to other crops would require more certainty of availability of water.
The other major issue that surfaced was the ability to make a living from agriculture. Farmers indicated that learning from other farmers/ranchers about successful practices would allow them to try new crops that could generate more income. The cost of equipment and labor were viewed as major challenges. Other felt that marketing and distributing their product, in addition to operating their farms/ranches, was a major challenge. Assistance with marketing and distribution, including collaborative and cooperative structures, was suggested as an option for the future.
NMAA's approach to supporting acequias was greatly influenced by the lessons learned in this research. The following is a summary of NMAA's current work:
- Protect water rights and support local governance and customary practices in sharing water.
- Promote investment in acequia infrastructure through technical assistance and advocacy for funding
- Support agricultural revitalization by supporting farmers and ranchers apply for USDA programs
Please contact NMAA if you or your acequia would like to schedule a meeting, workshop, or consultation in your community by calling our office at 505-995-9644.
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