For the last four hundred years, the struggle to protect and sustain acequias has required the contributions of many community members, from the peones who clean the acequia each spring to the comisionados and mayordomos who govern and care for the acequia. The guiding principles that have sustained acequias for generations are rooted in values of fairness, equity, sharing, and respect. More recently, in the past thirty to forty years, acequia community leaders have kept traditions alive and tended to their duties, but they have also had to take on new responsibilities. In addition to traditional roles in managing the acequia through local customs, acequia leaders had to adapt and learn the fundamentals of New Mexico water law - the survival of their water rights and acequias depended on it. The struggle took many forms. For some, it was to defend acequias in the adjudication process. For others, it was fighting to change state laws with regard to water transfers and other potential threats.

In a recent article Kay Matthews, writer and publisher for La Jicarita News, was critical of some of these efforts suggesting that acequia leaders had become compromised because they were defending water rights as private property rights. The NMAA recently celebrated our 20th anniversary that was marked with an affirmation of core values, especially the principle that water is life and that treating water as a commodity threatens the survival of acequias and the potential for locally grown food. While we remain firm in this principle, we are also confronted with the sometimes harsh realities of state law in which the right to use water is considered a property right.

Our approach has been to strengthen our cultural view of water as a community resource so that in our hearts and minds, the acequia parciantes have such a strong attachment and querencia for their acequia that they are unlikely to want to sever their water rights from the land and sell them. We also work to strengthen agriculture, and parciantes seek to keep water rights attached to farmland. But we have also sought to change state law so that the acequias have the decision-making power over transfers thereby regaining some measure of local self determination about our future. To date, we have worked with over 300 acequias on strategies to protect their water rights from the increasing pressures to transfer them out of acequias. A relatively small part of this campaign was the policy change; the larger part has been an unprecedented outreach and organizing effort to work directly with acequias. Through this work, we retained our core values but we strategically found ways to resist water transfer threats within the framework of New Mexico water law. This is only one strategy and the future of acequias rests on our ability to continually adapt and collectively develop more strategies as we move forward. It is essential to remain hopeful about this ongoing work.

Matthews was also critical of the community leaders engaged in the Abeyta (Taos) and the Aamodt (Nambe-Pojoaque-Tesuque) water right settlements because of their defense of "private property rights." It is important to keep in mind that they had to play by the rules of the adjudication and the framework of the legal system. In defending water rights, the leaders were diligent in using the tools available to them. Acequias generally do not enter the adjudication process by choice, rather it is an imposition that is structured by state law and the acequias have to respond collectively in their self-defense. Adjudication by its nature is difficult and can be divisive and polarizing. Adjudication can highlight conflicts and create new conflicts that were not there before it started. For those of us who have never been through one, it is difficult to imagine the complexity.

The work of adjudication defense is the purview of regional acequia associations who are the direct stakeholders. When faced with the challenges of the adjudication process, local community leaders had to dedicate themselves to countless hours of negotiation, and those hours became years, and those years became decades. While a critical analysis of the settlements is justifiable, it is important to keep in mind that it took years of careful negotiation to reach agreement with Pueblos and other governmental entities. These leaders had to make difficult decisions and compromises. These decisions and compromises may be the subject of debate for years to come. However, the commitment and dedication to the process of reaching these settlements has to be acknowledged.

Sembrando Semillas youth and mentor work together to plant fields in Chamisal, New Mexico. Photo by Juliet Garcia-Gonzales.

During the month of May, the Sembrando Semillas Youth Group of Chamisal, NM planted approximately 45 rows on two acres of irrigated land. A group that varied daily from 4-10 youth planted havas, alberjon, calabaza nativa, maiz blanco, maiz azul, frijol de bolita, papas, radishes, carrots, bok choy, lettuces, and a variety of seeds that have been collected over the past few years from seed exchanges. The temperature dropped to below freezing, and we lost some seedlings and, unfortunately, we also lost some fruit. We remain hopeful though, as many seeds are still in the process of germinating, and haven't yet sprouted.

The owners of Zia Queenbee Co. brought a couple of beehives to the property. Over the course of the summer, they will conduct a workshop for the youth on bee behavior, cycles, and appropriate human etiquette around the hives.

More recently some of our youth (including Donne Gonzales, Augustine Gonzales, Adam Casados, and James Rodriguez, along with two adult chaperones) participated in the annual Organizing Youth Engagement (OYE!) Conference. The event was a 3-day collaborative effort of various organizations that provide youth leadership development opportunities. They were able to learn skills in creating positive change in our communities, including bully prevention, financial literacy, employment skills, teen dating violence, artists creating change, and participated in fun activities including swimming, an evening at Cliff's Amusement Park, and an evening of dancing with peers from throughout the state. The youth are all from the Sierra, so they are grateful for the experience, and a chance to get to the city, but come home drained from the heat that Albuquerque offers this time of year.  

Photo by Pilar Trujillo

In mid-April the New Mexico Acequia Association and New Mexico Legal Aid teamed up once again to present a workshop to participants for acequias statewide. The small crowd gathered at the Lodge in Santa Fe. This workshop was the first part of a two part series on New Mexico Water Law. New Mexico Legal Aid attorney David Benavides shared his knowledge with mayordomos, comisionados and parciantes who were all there to learn about the topics. David provided a history and overview of New Mexico Water Law and the elements of water rights and adjudications. David spoke about Prior Appropriation and the imported water law that New Mexico follows; and how acequias became subject to decisions by the Office of the State Engineer (OSE) and courts. In 1907 water rights became transferable and became subject to being lost through forfeiture and abandonment. David talked about emerging issues regarding diversion rights, water sharing customs, and conservation. The OSE's Active Water Resource Management (AWRM) was also covered, listing factors that can lead acequias to potential loss of control over the management of local water. For instance, AWRM's "Water Master" position is charged with coordinating and controlling headgates and the amount of water that the acequia diverts, a role traditionally served by the mayordomo.   

Part two of the series took place in mid-May and accommodated some 60 acequia leaders who came together to learn more about New Mexico water law, specifically the topics of water transfers and water banking. David Benavides presented a customary view of water in the Spanish and Mexican era and the New Mexico Constitution and statutes. David covered the 2003 laws (which NMAA was instrumental in passing through the legislature that year) that help acequias protect their water rights from being lost to their acequias and communities from forfeiture and from water transfers. The Water Transfer Law (73-3-4.1) spells out Commissioners duties and responsibilities if the acequia chooses to adopt this language into their bylaws. Prior to 2003 (and still in effect if an acequia does not have this language in their bylaws) a willing seller or applicant would go to the Office of the State Engineer for approval of their water transfer and follow the OSE process.

This dramatic shift in the law offers an acequia community an opportunity to decide for themselves if a water transfer in or out of their acequia would be beneficial or cause detriment. David further explained the roles of the Commissioners once a water transfer application is received. Commissioners must conduct a membership meeting within 90 days of receiving the application and render a decision no later than 120 days. Commissioners must handle each request on its own merits and remain unbiased. It is important that Commissioners contact the NMAA office at 505-995-9644 or NM Legal Aid 505-982-9886 as soon as they receive a request for transfer to make sure that they are compliant with state laws.

Water Banking was the other topic covered at this workshop. NMAA staff and David Benavides offered Commissioners advice on how to approach parciantes who are risk for losing water rights for extended periods of non use. Those who don't irrigate over a period of time run the risk of losing their water rights at the time of adjudication. Water banks are set up by the Acequia and usually Commissioners keep records of who is using and not using their allocated water. Some attendees suggested that a volunteer parciante can assist the Commissioners with the task of setting up the water bank, doing research and keeping records or whatever else may be needed to make the water bank successful. NMAA is aware that Water Banking is great tool but often not fully understood. Perhaps this is the biggest challenge, understanding the real benefits of water banking and explaining this to parciantes, especially those who are most at risk. We learned that certain acequias have adjusted the water banking language and operation in the bylaws to fit their needs. If you have questions or want to set up an acequia water bank contact the NMAA office at 505-995-9644.

For more information about our acequia governance workshops contact Janice Varela at (505) 995-9644 or email her at organizer@lasacequias.org 

Salad greens grow in one of Algo Nativo Farm's greenhouses in Embudo. Photo by Quita Ortiz

For those of you fortunate enough to have attended the Agricultura Aqui y Alla event held in Rio Arriba county back in early February, you may have had the opportunity to hear a very inspiring presentation by Anthony Flaccavento who spoke of the recent successes of sustainable agriculture in the Appalachian region (in Virginia and Tenessee). He credited much of the success to the establishment of a strong Grower's Network. Mainly, he addressed the benefits (profitability, increased local food security, building community, etc.) of working cooperatively to sell aggregated product to larger markets. In short, his message was "together we stand stronger". Not only can farmers working together develop larger and stronger markets, but working cooperatively can gain farmers immediate savings when it comes to procuring goods and services.  

But with all of the many good reasons to organize and operate cooperatively, cooperatives in Northern New Mexico have historically poor longevity records. Why is it that for hundreds of years our ancestors survived this desolate region by helping each other out, yet when it comes to organizing and operating producer cooperatives, we have failed nine times out of ten? You have to look at the failures of the past so as not to repeat them in the future, correct?

So as I sit down to share my thoughts on cooperatives, it is not the words of USDA, or successes of the human kind that inspire me; it is the memory of the first day of spring, this past 21st of March. The weather had been very pleasant those days, and I often found myself sitting on the rocker on the front porch enjoying the first daffodils, but this day was different. This day I had company, my comadres, las ormigitas (the ants) had made their first showing. Imagine that, how timely they were, I imagined them having tiny calendars and alarms in their den to wake them up. Just how is it that they knew to come out today? Was it coincidence that the ground reached the right temperature on the first day of Spring or should I just accept that they are wiser than I could ever imagine and live in blind admiration?

So as I think back on my comadres on that Spring day, the ants, I think about how organized they are in their work, and how fair and generous they are with their time and themselves, trusting that their strength in numbers is what ensures their survival from year to year, one harsh winter after the next. And it reminded me that by sharing the load, it becomes lighter for all. That when striving to do something one should be prepared, define up front what you want to accomplish, and then prepare for it. Say what you will do, then do what you say. The ants spread out and assess their immediate environment. Once you come to accept the idea or concept, the first step of planning is to assess our environment: what is the market we are attempting to access? Don't forget to look inward as well: what are the strengths and weaknesses of the endeavor? My comadres also reminded me that to be successful, cooperatives must be fair in the treatment of all its members; work and harvest must be shared equitably to be successful. I would imagine that they work to maintain the necessary trust amongst them.

I also noticed that when ants found something to eat, you don't see them waste too much time with a meal. I'm pretty sure they take a bite or two to make sure they are strong enough to support the load, but what you are sure to see is them lining up to carry. Apparently one finds the easiest route, since I've seen them avoid obstacles as they form their line, and they all follow, carrying their share. Not every ants load is the same, some carry tiny little morsels and apparently the big strong ants carry much larger loads; which makes sense - the larger ant probably consumes more, much as a larger farm will have more expenses than a small one. I also remember as a kid, in my mis-spent youth, trying to get them to break up their line, but they must leave a marker or guide for those behind to follow. I also remember those ants attacking me when they thought I was a threat, they all dropped their load to come to the aide of the ants that I'm sure I squashed in my attempt to break them up.   

So what I take from my observation of the ants is that we should have a plan or guide to follow so that when disruptions come along to lead us astray we can get back on the path or route we have defined for ourselves. I believe that we should organize, plan and in unity work together to build food security in our communities. It is my belief that the strength of a community can only be as strong as the weakest of its members; cooperatives are a small community of people coming together to organize their efforts toward supporting a greater good. Like Helen Keller said, "Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much."