New Blog site!

Living Roots has a new blog site, which now has a page for Spanish translations. PLease check it out and continue to "follow" us.

Thanks for your support!

Springtime in Baja

Spring is in full swing and lots is moving and shaking with Living Roots.

If you're in the San Javier region this week, come join the Living Roots team for a festival of sierra culture, as well as a regional market of sierra-made craft, artisanal foods, and seasonal produce. The market will be open daily, April 16 - 24 from 10 AM to 6 PM, with artist demonstrations happening the 21st - 24th. For a complete schedule of events, visit our website or Facebook page.

Local olive oil production is also in full swing! You can even get a taste of how the local's produce this culinary staple at this week's festival (link to demonstration schedule above). Sierra-made olive oil is made by hand with olives picked from the very first olive trees brought to the Americas almost 300 years ago. Local artisans have been experimenting with different production techniques, and now offer unique, delicious, and highly sought after blends for customers.

In other Living Roots news, we have a new organization system in place utilizing local community representatives. We now have ten Living Roots representatives - one from each ranch cluster, or Rancheria. These representatives (eight women and two men) coordinate local communication and distribution of sierra products, utilizing existing transportation infrastructure such as vehicles already being used to pick up children from boarding school on Fridays. Bios and photos of these representatives will be up on our website soon.

It is amazing to see our team continuing to grow new roots and shoots. In addition to our community representatives, we have gained the support of students studying Alternative Tourism at the University of Loreto. A group of 21 student volunteers have been divided into small groups to help us research government regulations and permits for various products, and also help with promotion and translation of our website into Spanish.

It is also a great honor to have Rafael Roustan, Phd. at the University of Arizona and a Fulbright Scholar, join us in San Javier this Friday to walk through the huerta (orchard) and talk to San Javier students about her research on the historical and biological significance of the oasis communities through Baja California Sur.

More exciting events and activities are on the books this spring and summer, so stay tuned; as always, thanks for your support and staying up to date!

Out Of The Blue

Two days ago, Living Roots received its first "out of the blue" communication via our web presence. Shane J. Macfarlan, Ph.D., a professor of Anthropology at Washington State University Vancouver, contacted us after stumbling upon www.livingrootsbaja.org; he was excited and pleasantly surprised. He and his wife (an archeologist) have been working with Baja rancheros over the past five years - actively researching, documenting, and attempting to preserve this unique culture. Professor Macfarlan is in the process of preparing a manuscript on the cultural geography of one of the arroyos in the southern Sierra de la Giganta, the mountain range where Living Roots is currently working.

Recently, Prof. Macfarlan used Living Roots as part of a learning exercise for a course he teaches - Anthropology and World Problems. He had students consider the natural and cultural assets of sierra communities and how different stakeholders value these resources differently, which impacts how they are used and managed. Finally, students discussed how Living Roots is attempting to build community capacity through sustainable development principles. He said his class really enjoyed learning from our website and that it provided students with valuable information; needless to say, we are excited and pleasantly surprised.

It's exciting to keep meeting and learning of others who are interested in revitalizing ranchero and Baja sierra culture ~ thank you Professor Macfarlan for reaching out! We look forward to keeping in touch.

Living Roots : A New Era

After much needed rest and rejuvenation over the holiday season, the Living Roots team is back in action. Three months have rapidly passed by since our last posting, so it's about time to "back the burro up" and share a few noteworthy highlights.

Fiesta Success: December 16, 2010

First and foremost, we'd like to thank everyone who came out for our inaugural fundraising fiesta. Nearly 100 people descended upon the Fort Collin's Brewery to support Living Roots... and, of course, bust a few salsa moves. Thanks to everyone's dancing feet and silent auction bidding, Living Roots raised enough money to launch operations in Baja this January. Again, a special thanks goes out to The Fort Collins Brewery, the Public Service Credit Union, Lupita's Mexican Restaurant, and to everyone who donated to our silent auction; without their generous contributions, the event would not have been possible.

San Javier Days / Sales Trial: December 2-4, 2010

In the midst of preparing for final exams and presentations, pulling a final business plan together, and planning a fundraiser, McKenzie, Mila and Colleen scooted down to Baja for Living Roots' sales trial. The team was joined by their faithful advisor, Professor Asad Aziz, for a few days of delicious shared taco plates, much success, even more fun, and as always, valuable lessons learned.

The team earned booth space right in front of the Mission of San Javier, the heart and center of festival activities. From sun-up to well past sun-down there was traditional music, food, dancing, and lively processions on horseback - all in honor of Saint San Javier, the town's

namesake. Thousands of people from all over Baja came to participate in the three-day celebration.

Throughout the festival, sierra artisans came down from their ranches to help (wo)man our booth, and had the opportunity to talk with festival-goers from all over the state about ranchero products and culture. Sierra-made wine and honey were an especially huge hit. The artisans also helped us sell over two hundred raffle tickets. Much interest and excitement was generated for the artisans, their products, and Living Roots' mission.

All said and done, the sales trial generated enough pesos not only to pay our artisans, but also compensate Living Roots' community representatives and fund our first traditional skills training workshop of 2011!

Graduation: December 17, 2010

The December sales trial was certainly the icing on the several layered cake of our GSSE experience, and yet with so many other accomplishments to savor, the actual earning of three letters (MBA) and a piece of paper seemed, well, no big deal. With that said, it was a tremendous honor to finally sport our gowns, toss our caps, and toast the evening away with our fellow cohorts, forever our GSSE family.

Living Roots - The Real Thing

No longer just a school project, Living Roots became a non-profit organization and celebrated its "first birthday" on November 14, 2010, when it filed its Articles of Incorporation with the Colorado Secretary of State. Two months later, on January 12, 2011 Living Roots gathered at The Wild Boar (coffee shop where we had our first meeting more than a year ago) and held our first official board meeting. We ratified board members, did some strategic planning, and sent McKenzie, Living Roots' Executive Director and ever fearless leader, off to Baja for the unforeseen future. She is already busy organizing a follow-up meeting with the San Javier community and getting a booth ready for an event celebrating ranchero culture this coming Friday. Much more to come from the field as Living Roots begins to launch its programs!

Visit our website for more information about what we're doing to help protect Baja sierra culture - www.livingrootsbaja.org.

As always, thank you for keeping up to speed with Living Roots.

We hope everyone enjoyed a wonderful holiday season and is feeling healthy and energized for this exciting new year!

Still Growing Strong

The fall semester is in full swing and Living Roots is busier than ever. We have been compiling our summer research, revising our business plan, and preparing for return trips to Baja this October and December. Thanks for taking the time to catch up on our latest updates!

New Roots! (team members)

We are excited and honored to welcome fellow classmates Annemarie Logue and Kevin Andrezejewski as consultants to the Living Roots team. They both offer valuable outside perspectives and incredible vision. Annemarie has over 18 years business experience in consulting and project management in the telecommunication industry. She is helping us develop financial statements and a funding plan. Kevin has a background in marketing and supply chain management. He is conducting in-depth market research, assisting in the design of customer surveys and focus groups for our upcoming marketing and sales trials, and working with us to further develop a marketing strategy.

Living Roots Receives Award!

Opportunities Without Borders (OWOB) recently awarded Living Roots with $2,000 for first place in its 2010 Idea to Business (I2B) competition. The competition evaluates teams in terms of how well it proves an idea can be turned into a viable business. OWOB selected Living Roots for doing the best job of designing, evaluating, and analyzing research results and testing proof-of-concept. Prize money supports our upcoming marketing and sales trials.

Returning to Baja...

Marketing Trial. Living Roots' fearless leader, McKenzie, is heading off to Baja at the end of next week to launch our marketing trial at a festival in Loreto. Living Roots' community representatives (who were elected at the end of our summer trip) have been coordinating the production of sierra-made artisan foods and crafts to test under the Living Roots label. The aim of the label is to unify sierra artisans throughout the state and differentiate their products as being hecho a mano en las sierras de Baja California Sur (handmade in the mountains of Baja California Sur). This month's marketing trial is designed to gain customer feedback on both artisan products and the effectiveness of Living Roots initial pricing and promotion concepts. If you are in-country, visit the festival and look for the Living Roots booth and banner!

Sales Trial. The entire team will be returning to Baja the first week of December for San Javier Days to launch a full sales trial of artisan products under the Living Roots label. December 3rd is the anniversary of San Javier's founding and the celebration of Saint Javier. People come on foot from Loreto and on horseback from as far as La Paz. The festival attracts thousands of people. Living Roots will be in San Javier selling artisanal crafts and foods at a booth from December 1-3. There will be craftspeople doing demonstrations and talking about their culture. Please drop by if you are in the region - this is an event you don't want to miss!

Thanks again for staying up to date!

Endings and Beginnings

Full Circle

Our final days in the Baja sierra were marked by a return to Las Animas, the community we visited for a week back in January. It was a great way to end our summer journey, returning to the place where we first began our field work over six months ago. It felt wonderful to reunite with the familiar faces of a community who remembered us well and had been expecting our return. However, while this provided a sense of closure and a feeling of coming full circle, we remain fully aware that the end of our summer in Baja is only the beginning for Living Roots.

Above: Mini tortilla made special for our last breakfast in Las Animas

Arroyo crossing heading into Las Animas in January (middle) and in July, the dry season (bottom)

What's in Store

The next six months has a lot in store for the team: preparing and presenting our summer report (Professor Turley, does our blog count?), finishing up our final semester, beginning the formation of a Mexico-based non-profit, and planning for a significant UNESCO grant in the first half of 2011. In the midst of it all, we'll also be coordinating a market test of mission-era regional foods such as wine and olives, as well as local artisan crafts from both the San Javier and Las Animas areas at a festival in Loreto at the end of October. We will also be participating in a mule pack trip with a group of passionate advocates and experts in the field of conservation and arid land management. To finishing off the year, we will be conducting our first sales trial testing out the Living Roots label in December at the locally famed San Javier Days, where thousands of people make a pilgrimage of sorts to the three day cultural festival in the mountains.

Mission period remains in Comandu

Nopal cactus fruits

Mucho Gracias!

We wouldn't be able to do it all without the hard work of our in-country partners who are helping us on the ground. Many thanks to Fermin Reyagadas, Diana Espinoza Memeza, Christian Higuera, Eduardo Martinez Martinez, Javier "Richie" Arce, Fransisco Olmos and Leonora Morales (and the rest of Niparaja), Refugio "Cuco" Balarezo Vasquez and Alberto Valle Fonesca (and the rest of the Baja Rotaria 4100), Trudi Angel, Cynthia Mayoral, Miguel Angel de la Cueva, and the folks at Baja Paradise. And of course, without the trust, enthusiasm, and support from the sierra ranching communities of Las Animas and in the San Javier area, none of this would be possible.

Our last few days in La Paz have been a whirlwind of decompressing, focusing, tying up loose ends, and squeezing in last minute meetings with our growing list of contacts. (We admit that there has also been a good amount of fantasizing about cooking in our own kitchens again soon. As much as we LUV beans, cheese and lard torillas everyday!)

The Next Chapter

We'd also like to send out a sincere Thank You to all who have been following and supporting us from afar. A special thanks goes out to Tony Dimas, who ventured all the way from Fort Collins to help us for several days in the field, bringing his humor, ranching expertise and outside perspective, all of which was a breath of fresh air at our halfway point. Of course, there were moments along the way when we felt like "wilted roots," but we persevered and feel good about our accomplishments and the many seeds planted. The last half of our trip has flown by, and while we are heading back to the states this week, we are excited about all that is ahead of us and invite you to continue following our blog as we transition from one Living Roots chapter to the next.

Best wishes,

Raices Vivas (Living Roots sounds good in Spanish, too!)

San Javier, Part 2

Everything Coming Together

High in the mountain desert the pittayas are blooming, the cardons are bursting, and the Living Roots gals are celebrating an equally amazing and fruitful week of community mobilization in San Javier.

Top: San Javier Mission ~ Left: Pittaya flower ~ Right: Cardon fruit

This past week was the last of our stay in La Sierra Giganta, at least for the summer. It culminated on July 2 with us hosting a community workshop with families from the San Javier region and surrounding ranches to talk about what they want for their futures. Bringing these remote families together was no small feat. However, between our hand written invitations, radio ads, going ranch to ranch and word of mouth, we gathered an impressive forty attendees. Over one hundred empanadas were prepared by five local women, each with their own special recipe for beef, goat cheese, bean and sweet cheese fillings, while another woman prepared coffee and jamica (hibiscus) water for all. Clouds even rolled in to keep the morning bearable and cool. We could not have asked for a better day.

The Next Generation

The night before the workshop, we met with children of all ages who live in the dormitory school during the week (about 45 of them) and conducted a number of activities including a game where they had to choose to be either alfalfa grass, a goat or a mountain lion. We also piloted a series of short video segments prepared by Fermin designed to teach and inspire youth to learn traditional ranch activities, such as splicing fruit trees. The primary exercise was drawing the skills they would like to learn from someone in the sierra (as well as telling us who could teach them the skill) to be presented at the workshop the next day. The resulting drawings included learning to plant, harvest, ride horses, herd cows and goats, make saddles, cook, sew and braid ropes for many different ranch uses. Overall, the kids were a delight, very engaged during the whole process and were excellent helpers for the workshop.

“Envisioning the Future” Workshop

Our workshop began with the applauded presentation by the youth, after which the audience beamed and was excited to teach them these skills. All were very proud of their children. Next we had the community tell us what was special about the sierra lifestyle that was important for them to preserve or protect for the future. Ideas were written up and posted for all to see and discuss, and included: customs and traditions, taking care of the environment, and being humble, respectful and hospitable. We then spilt into 2 groups (one for men and one for women as is the cultural norm) to discuss the specific products and activities that were most valuable to each ranching family.

Mila working with the men and McKenzie working with the women

The final part of the workshop was discussing the top 5 economic opportunities they want to develop, which include a local market for artisan products and regional foods, as well as the development of both rural and eco-tourism. Tourism ideas included native trail revitalization, creating ranch routes like in Sonoma California to sample wine and local fare while learning traditional skills, and developing basic tourism infrastructure in San Javier proper. The key point was that the community should participate directly in these activities. We also discussed the challenges of attaining their vision, which boiled down to: lacking a direct market, low prices paid by buyer intermediaries, no initial capital, lack of marketing and promotion, and not being accustomed to working together as a community, despite everyone acknowledging the value in doing so.

We could not have done the workshop without the help of Diana and Eduardo, both university students from the Sierra and now an integral part of our team.

All the attendees really enjoyed themselves with the good food and lively conversation, and because social gatherings are few and far between for ranchers scattered in the mountains, they wished they could get together like this every month to share ideas.

Workshop attendees helping themselves to a traditional feast.

Drawing of potential product certification names submitted by attendees. Prizes consisted of seeds, green coffee beans, and a coveted nylon lasso donated by Tony.

Living Roots came away with action steps to test the functioning of a certification process and labeling promotion, including a market trial with sample products scheduled for October 23-25 during the foundation of Loreto festival and a subsequent sales trial based on feedback from the market during San Javier Days during December 1-3, when thousands of people visit the area. Participants also elected (by anonymous ballot) 6 men and women from three different localities to form a committee to coordinate samples for the trials. The formal ending of the workshop was handing out completion certificates to each participant thanking them for their contribution. The biggest “take away” for us from this grass-roots, community-driven event was the high degree of community trust we earned, on top of all the warm smiles.

Ejido in Action

We also found out that the Ejido (communal property authority) was meeting on Sunday and were fortunate enough to present our project to its president and two specialists from La Paz, as well as to the entire gathering of members (including many who weren’t there for the workshop). It is safe to say our project was very well received by all and we found many new friends. On the whole, it couldn’t have gone better in our wildest dreams with all the contacts we made, strong community buy-in and lots of optimism for the future.

Photo op with the San Javier Ejido president

Diamonds on the Soles of our Shoes

In the midst of hard work, we were able to squeeze in a few hours dedicated to the creation of our huaraches (traditional Mexican sandals), handmade by our elderly friend, Martin Castro, who is blind in one eye. It would be hard to find a shoe with more character or custom fit. From a tracing of our feet on a piece of paper torn from a notebook, Martin cut the soles of our huaraches from an old car tire we scored from our mechanic in La Paz. He crafted the sandal straps from a seatbelt part we rescued from a junkyard, carefully hammering rusty nails around our toes and patiently making adjustments until we smiled and danced around with perfectly fitted kicks.

While most ranchers’ huaraches are burly, worn and torn from trekking through the desert by mule and foot, our brand new ones are quite elegant on top of being durable and sustainable. As some say about constructing a building, it’s most important to have a good hat (roof) and a good pair of shoes (foundation). Needless to say, the Living Roots team is beginning the next chapter of their journey with both necessities, which was reinforced by an enthusiastic reception of our huaraches (and of course the ideas under our hats) back in La Paz.

Late Night With the Rotarians

Back in La Paz, the night began with a dinner meeting with Alberto (our lawyer, a Rotarian member) and Diana (formerly known as our intern, now formally a rock star team member) to discuss the steps of creating a civil association (Mexican non-profit). The Living Roots senoritas proceeded to attend the weekly 9 PM Rotary meeting at an elegant restaurant on the marina with the District 4100 Rotarians, who are entirely male. We were scheduled on the agenda to present our project idea and show a video presentation that Diana created titled, "B.C.S Raizes que Perduran" (B.C.S: Roots that Persevere), which is a beautifully captures sierra life.

Our ideas, particularly a sierra-wide certification for artisan goods and rural tourism, were extremely well received and several people provided not only their support, but helpful feedback. Most importantly, the Rotarians are very well-connected and have an extensive network spanning local and international business associations, the political arena, as well as several state and federal government organizations. Afterwards, many went out of their way to individually introduce themselves and offer us their expertise. We are extremely grateful that we have such a respected group of humanitarians and business leaders on our side.

The Next Step

We head back to the sierra tomorrow to revisit Las Animas (where they make amazing knives out of recycled metal) to procure more product samples for our sales trials and find a community representative. The people there have been asking about our return since we left in January and we are eager to return and share Living Roots’ latest developments with them. In the meantime, check out our Haiku posting ~ feel free to comment with your own!