Implementing Water Security Initiatives in Oaxaca, Mexico
by Anna Bruce
Building a well in San Isidro Guishe, Oaxaca.
The drought in Mexico made international headlines this summer. Nearly two thirds of municipalities reported water shortage, with Northern states seeing riots and violence as people fought to access water. Although many causes contribute to the current climate, it is certain that industrial-scale human-activities are altering rainfall patterns and impacting water security in Mexico.
Recently, I was invited to document a new project run by SACRED focussed on water security in agave growing regions of Mexico. SACRED is a nonprofit and partners with 1% for the planet. The project began in 2013 with informal fundraising by founder Lou Bank. They aim to help improve lives in rural Mexican communities where agave spirits are made, raising money for programs in these areas such as replenishing agave and ensuring water security.
I first documented one of SACRED’s supported projects in 2019 when they were planting donated agave with a school in Zaachila, Oaxaca. Since then, SACRED has donated more than 35,000 agave seedlings, worked on rain-catch solutions, and most recently begun well construction to help address water shortages.
Planting donated agave with a school in Zaachila, Oaxaca.
“Our standard procedure is to ask members of a community what their problems are and how they think they can best solve those problems. Then we attempt to support them in implementing those solutions, financially and in any other way they think appropriate." says Bank
“Lou meets the exact needs of the community in order for them to carry out traditions authentic to them” says Lucy Angel of Luce Ends, a consultancy that assures brands are avoiding cultural appropriation and insensitivity.
The need for action projects around water security has risen to the forefront as the La Niña weather system brings drought to much of Mexico. In Oaxaca the long awaited rains came very late this year, throwing agricultural practices out of sync. Oaxaca is known for a rich history of agave farming and distillation of mezcal. Usually this time of year would be for planting the agave, however, although agave is relatively drought resistant, water is still essential for young plants, and this year has seen many producers stalling as they wait for reliable weather.
Many producers of agave spirits rely on traditional practices rather than turning to industrial methods. Multi-generational wisdom in these communities, looks to the past to develop a more sustainable future. Banks says, “ in the communities we visit, they've been solving problems for hundreds of years using a model that looks, I would argue, further into the future than we tend to.”
SACRED are collaborating with Expressiones Bioculturales, an Oaxacan initiative that promotes social and environmental regeneration associated with the maguey agroecosystems. Expressiones Bioculturales and SACRED first worked together building a rain harvest system in the Mixtecan town of Ixcatlan, Oaxaca. Vinik, a founder of this project, is well known in the agave community and works closely with remote communities in Oaxaca. One of his main contributions to the activities with SACRED will be offering workshops to help engage locals with the conservation and sustainable use of water.
Vinik from Expressiones Bioculturales and Mezcalero Jose Garcia discuss the well building project in San Isidro.
When I arrived at the project site in San Isidro with Vinik, the well was almost complete. A space had been excavated into the cliff side, and Jose and a team of local construction workers guided a digger to lower rings of concrete into a deep hole. One of the workers confidently climbed inside the hole between each drop to align the rings. There was a slight lean as the tower inside the hole reached the surface, but mezcalero Jose Garcia and the team managed to right this deftly with a smartly placed boulder. This will be secured in the next stage when the digger fills in the sides of the well with earth.
Placing the rings of the well at the SACRED project in San Isidro, Guishe.
After a successful day of work the team came back to Jose’s palenque (distillery) for a few mezcals. It was an honor to be invited along for the celebration, to be a small part of the collective effort for water security in this community.
SACRED's projects rely on donors. Currently they are working with Pensador Mezcal, who are contributing a percentage of sales to the building of a well in the area of San Isidro Guishe, Oaxaca. Pensador describe themselves as being: “defined by the place, process and people of the communities which branch from the Calle Pensamientos (Thought Road)”. This road runs through the area of San Isidro, and the land where the well is being dug is on land owned by the family of Pensador Mezcal, producer Jose, who is contributing this work to support his community.
Mezcalero Jose pouring a celebratory mezcal.
“We've been able to work on a project which is really important to the community as well as the local environment. Lou's pulled together the dream team and Vinik has been a superstar - getting everything moving and bringing the biological and sociological know-how. As well as improving water security in San Isidro Guishe, I hope that this can be used as a model for more sustainable water management throughout the region.” says Ben Schroder, founder of Pensador Mezcal