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News & Views
from the
S u s t a i n a bl e S o u t h w e s t
G rowing L ocal F ood B usinesses
FUZE.SW N ative A merican F ood
and F olklore F estival
T hanksgiving for the H arvest
R enewable E nergy D evelopment
November 2014
Northern New Mexico’s Largest Circulation Newspaper
Vol. 6 No. 11
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Green Fire Times • November 2014
www.GreenFireTimes.com
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Editorial and ad
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Presented in association
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Commerce.
VOTE • Nov. 4
Green Fire Times • November 2014
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Green Fire Times • November 2014
www.GreenFireTimes.com
Vol. 6, No. 11 • November 2014
Issue No. 67
Publisher
Green Fire Publishing, LLC
Skip Whitson
Associate Publisher
Barbara E. Brown
Editor-in-chief
Seth Roffman
Art Director
Anna C. Hansen, Dakini Design
Copy Editors
Stephen Klinger
Susan Clair
Webmaster: Karen Shepherd
Contributing Writers
Malín Alegría, Juan Estévan Arellano,
Alejandro López, Maceo Carrillo Martinet,
Vicki Pozzebon, Seth Roffman,
Kathy Sanchez, Ashley Zappe
Contributing
Photographers
Robert Boherz, Anna C. Hansen, Alejandro
López, Seth Roffman, Melanie West
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News & Views
from the
Sustainable Southwest
Winner of the Sustainable Santa Fe Award for Outstanding Educational Project
Contents
Del Are Llano: Local Food, Then and Now. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Views from the Field: Grown on This Ground . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . 7
2014 Local Food Festival and Field Day. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . 10
Coalition Pokes Holes in New Mexico Chile Certification . . .. . .. . .. . 11
The Local Voice: Growing Local Food Businesses by Leaps and Pounds . . . 12
Taos County Economic Development Corporation Week. . .. . .. . .. . .. 15
Traditional Native American Farmers Association. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . 18
Giving Love and Thanks in Times of Contradictions . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. 19
FUZE.SW 2014 Food & Folklore Festival . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. 20
A Small Sample of Who We Are.. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. 23
On the Land: Together with the Earth - A New Film Documentary . . . . . . 24
Small Agricultural Lands Conservation Initiative . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . 25
Book Profile: Grass, Soil, Hope: A Journey through Carbon Country . . .. 25
Renewable Energy Development on State Trust Land . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. 27
Planning Santa Fe’s Food Future . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. 31
Sustainable Santa Fe Update: Santa Fe’s Community Scorecard. . . . . . . . . 33
Newsbites . . .. . .. . .. . .. . . . .. . .. . .. . ..10, 11, 12, 13, 25, 30, 37
What’s Going On. . . . . . . . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. 38
Distribution
Barbara Brown, Susan Clair, Co-op Dist. Services,
Nick García, Andy Otterstrom (Creative Couriers),
Tony Rapatz, Wuilmer Rivera, Andrew Tafoya,
Cynthia Trujillo, Skip Whitson, John Woodie
Circulation: 27,000 copies
Printed locally with 100% soy ink on
100% recycled, chlorine-free paper
Green Fire Times
c/o The Sun Companies
P.O. Box 5588, SF, NM 87502-5588
505.471.5177 • [email protected]
© 2014 Green Fire Publishing, LLC
Green Fire Times is widely distributed throughout
north-central New Mexico. Feedback, announcements,
event listings, advertising and article submissions to be
considered for publication are welcome.
www.GreenFireTimes.com
© Anna C. Hansen
Green Fire Times provides useful information for
community members, business people, students and
visitors—anyone interested in discovering the wealth
of opportunities and resources in the Southwest. In
support of a more sustainable planet, topics covered
range from green businesses, jobs, products, services,
entrepreneurship, investing, design, building and
energy—to native perspectives on history, arts &
culture, ecotourism, education, sustainable agriculture,
regional cuisine, water issues and the healing arts. To
our publisher, a more sustainable planet also means
maximizing environmental as well as personal health
by minimizing consumption of meat and alcohol.
Fresh-cut alfalfa on a small farm in Abiquiú, New Mexico
COVER: Blue Corn and Cucumber with Marigolds • photo © Alejandro López
Green Fire Times is not to be confused with the Green Fire Report, an in-house quarterly publication of the
New Mexico Environmental Law Center. The NMELC can be accessed online at: www.nmelc.org
Green Fire Times • November 2014
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Green Fire Times • November 2014
www.GreenFireTimes.com
del are llano / From the Arid Land
Local Food, Then and Now
In the Hispano communities, local food has been a way of life.
Juan Estévan Arellano
T
oday, local food is a rave. Everywhere
you go, everyone is promoting local
food. There are local food festivals all
over, from Albuquerque to Santa Fe to
Taos and even in small towns throughout
the Río Arriba bioregion. Farmers who
produce for local farmers’ markets are
given awards for being a “Local Hero.”
How times have changed. Not too long
ago, everything consumed was local food.
To people in the Hispano communities,
local food—mostly grown within the
family or hamlet—has been a way of life.
Local food often was delivered to the
doorsteps of the consumer. This started
with the Chile Line railroad in the 1880s
that used to take chile from Embudo
Station to Antonito, Colo. and beyond.
Growing up in the Embudo Valley, first
in Cañoncito and later in La Junta, all we
ate was local because that’s all we could
afford. Even into the 1960s and ’70s,
pickup trucks loaded with chile, apples,
peaches and an assortment of vegetables
made their way from the Española Valley
to those places that didn’t grow the crops
grown at lower altitudes. Those from the
Embudo Valley and Velarde usually went
to Taos and other towns along the Río
dried peas, beans—pinto and bolita—
cabbage, potatoes, chicos and meat,
from goats to sheep to venison.
Most everyone in
northern New Mexico
grew food and traded
with neighbors for the
products they lacked.
At that time, most of the goods were
bartered or, as it was called in Spanish,
cambalache. Relatively little was bought
in the stores, which were usually small
and family-owned. Even into the
’60s there were mercantile stores in
Española and San Juan Pueblo (Ohkay
Owingeh). The mercantile stores in
Ranchos de Taos, Pecos, Las Vegas and
Peñasco (still in existence) belonged to
immigrants from Lebanon.
Grande all the way to the San Luís Valley
in southern Colorado. Sometimes, those
from Española, Hernández and Chamita
would travel to Gallina, Tierra Amarilla,
Chama and surrounding communities.
Those from Chimayó would go to
Truchas, Peñasco and the Mora Valley
with their produce. On their way back,
they would bring calabazas, maduras,
Then, after the inundation of industrially
processed food, fast-food establishments
and big-box supermarkets, the coin
flipped. In the mid-90s, with the
introduction of GMOs (genetically
modified organisms), people started to
become more conscious of what they
ate. But the nomenclature changed
completely. Whereas local food had
continued on page 8
Views from the Field
Grown on This Ground
Alejandro López
s I write this, I am sipping a cup of warm atole, prepared as I was shown by
my older brother, Joe, when I was but a child of 10 and needed to begin taking
responsibility for my own hunger. The blue corn for this morning’s meal was lovingly
grown and hand-processed by organic farmers, my friends Dora and Lorenzo, from
the South Valley of Albuquerque. Preparing and consuming this hot cereal on a
cool fall morning of contracting greenery and advancing parched ochre leaves and
stalks satisfies not only my palette and my body’s need for energy, maintenance
and repairs; it also thoroughly enlivens
my senses, memory and consciousness
with thoughts and sensations of the
inevitable passage of time, the nature
of relationships and, above all, of the
unique texture and constitution of the
living New Mexican earth, capable of
feeding us still.
I say “still” because she once did and could do so again in the event, say, of
California staggering in its recovery from drought or if we tire of the high prices
and tasteless food brought in from elsewhere. The earth of New Mexico could
actually feed us if we were to convert from the “religion” of petroleum, chemical
fertilizers and GMOs to more homegrown and respectful ways of providing for
our collective nutritional needs.
© Seth Roffman (4)
© Alejandro López
A
Prior to the 1950s, most everyone in northern New Mexico grew food from field or
farm and traded with neighbors for the products they lacked. This time of year saw
continued on page 8
www.GreenFireTimes.com
Green Fire Times • November 2014
7
Local Food
continued from page 7
meant cheap prices, today it often
means food for people who can afford it.
A bushel of local chile—20 lbs. or even
more—sold for $4 at most; today, it’s as
high as $50. Most local people won’t pay
that much for chile, especially if you put
up four to eight bushels. The same for
apples, which usually sold for $2.50 to
$3 a bushel; today, they go for up to $40
or $50 for a 40-lb. box.
© Seth Roffman (2)
Even the way our food is prepared has
changed. I was listening to the Today
Show recently, and a famous chef was
preparing red chile with turkey and
tomatoes. It didn’t look at all like the
chile I am used to eating. It looked more
like a stew. Then, she also made what she
called a “white chile” with what she called
“Mexican tomatoes” or tomatillos and a
lot of other vegetables. She also made
to eat chewing
gum.The mistake
I made was that
I knew the seller,
and, since she
used the moniker
“local heritage,”
I belie ved it,
although she
was a relative
newcomer to growing food.
I don’t understand why people who want
to grow organic produce now have to
fill out tons of paperwork and pay the
government to get certified to prove that
they are indeed organic; whereas, those
who use poisons or pesticides don’t have
to fill out any paperwork, and they can
buy pesticides anywhere without any
documentation.That’s why local food that
is organic is so expensive,
while pesticide-grown
food is cheaper. It doesn’t
make sense, and it
seems that it is a ploy
to charge more for good
food, which in the past
was cheaper and more
accessible to the poor
than today’s organic food,
which caters to those
with a thicker wallet.
How times have
Long-time farmer Romolo Griego chats with neighbor
changed. “¡Ay que
Loretta Sandoval near his chile field in Dixon, NM
tiempos señor don Simón!”
vegetarian chile. For me, real chile has to
be made with pork, if it’s red chile or carne
adovada, or beef, if it’s a green chile stew.
No hamburger meat, please, in my chile.
But the consumer has to be careful when
buying local. Be sure the farmers you buy
from know when to pick their produce at
its prime. Last year at the Dixon Farmers’
Market, I bought some fresh corn because
I fell for the hype that it was locally grown
heritage corn. When we got home and
cooked the corn to eat on the cob, we
couldn’t eat it. It was way past its prime;
trying to eat it was more like trying
EDITOR’S NOTE: It is with great sadness we
learned,as this edition of Green FireTimes was about
to go to press, that Juan Estévan Arellano had passed
away.Arellano has been a semi-regular contributor to
GFT. We will publish a tribute to him in February.
In 2013, the New Mexico Community Foundation
named Arellano one of ten Luminarias, a distinction
awarded to people around the state who make
a profound difference
in their communities.
Arellano is the author of
Ancient Agriculture:
Roots and Application
of Sustainable Farming.
He lived in Embudo,
NM with his wife,Elena.
In his new book Enduring Acequias: Wisdom of
the Land, Knowledge of the Water, Juan Estévan
Arellano explores the ways people use water in dry
places around the world. Touching on the Middle
East, Europe, México and South America before
circling back to New Mexico, Arellano makes a
case for preserving the acequia irrigation system
and calls for a future that respects the ecological
limitations of the land. www.unmpress.com
8
Green Fire Times • November 2014
Views from the Field
continued from page 7
a virtual tidal wave of individuals, families and communities
harvesting and processing food. They gathered, schucked,
butchered, pitted, dried, ground and canned huge amounts
of food, oftentimes enough to feed families of 10 or 12 for
months at a time. It was certainly a sight to behold and
motivation for community engagement. It was the drama
of human survival that has been playing itself out since the
appearance of human beings.
In growing one’s own food on the scale of a small farm or
garden, one is invariably forced to partner with nature—the elements, seasons,
weather and other species of plants and animals—as well as with other people,
because rarely can a single person sustain the load this labor-intensive way of life
requires.
Farming, the growing of food, is worth practicing, if for no other reason than the
numerous biology lessons it provides and the countless moments of pleasure and
insight derived from wondrous natural phenomena—the germination of seeds,
the stunning daily growth of plants and the budding, formation and maturation
of fruit.
The living New Mexican earth
is still capable of feeding us.
On any scale, farming makes sense when we consider that nature tends to be
prolific in its outpouring, unlike our sometimes-limited budgets. Three plants
can bring in a near-endless amount of tomatoes or cucumbers throughout the
late growing season, with the surplus going to friends and family in a gesture
mirroring the generosity of the land itself. When one is at a loss for finding fruit
inside the house, and another trip to the store is not possible, a final visit to the
grape vine or apple tree, together with a more careful search through the foliage,
will usually net a few more bunches of grapes or apples—scrawny perhaps, but
tasty nevertheless.
Fifty years ago, when most people in the area lived off the foodstuffs produced here,
national agribusinesses and supermarket chains were undermining the market for
locally produced food until, eventually, they got what they wanted—a population
totally dependent on their denatured products and processes. Fortunately, more
recently, a growing consciousness around healthy food has developed among
many people, so there is an increased demand for locally raised organic foods, to
such a degree that families wishing to make their livelihood in that way can do
so. Technologies such as hoop houses and drip irrigation have aided this trend.
Perhaps the greatest advantage to growing our own produce may yet be realized in
the way that healthy, wholesome food and the vigorous exercise required to produce
it function as medicine for our entire being—mentally, physically, spiritually and
even aesthetically. A plethora of stories circulates among northern New Mexicans
about elders who spent their lives growing and eating the simple foods that they
produced and of how they lived to a ripe old age without ever having set foot
in a hospital. What so many of us would now give to live such lives! The fact is,
each spring we are given the opportunity to hitch our being to the larger cosmic
forces that drive our universe—the sun, the earth and the snowmelt—and plant
a few seeds in the ground.
By tending to the living plants, we indirectly tend to ourselves. Our world and
all of its life forms constitute a single, thoroughly interdependent organism. It
stands to reason that the care and interest we give plants, we ultimately give to
ourselves and to others. When all of the hoopla of Thanksgiving, Christmas and
New Year’s Day have come and gone, may we remember the
seeds we have stored in our cupboards, basements or clay
pots, for they could be the key to our health, wealth and a
long and interesting vida.
Writer and photographer, Alejandro López, was raised on a small farm
in northern New Mexico where he still plants crops.
www.GreenFireTimes.com
Join the Green Community
New Mexico Chapters
each month at
Green Drinks
Hotel Andaluz
125 Second St. NW, ABQ
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Green Fire Times • November 2014
9
2014 Local Food Festival and Field Day
This annual event was held on Oct. 12, 2014, at the historic Gutiérrez-Hubbell House in the South Valley of Albuquerque.
It offered the public a chance to connect with local growers, producers and businesses. There were a variety of workshops
and lectures on gardening/farming, seed saving, New Mexico’s farming history and culture, as well as lots of locally grown
vegetables, small-batch jams, salsas, baked goods, soaps and other products, cooking and gardening workshops and kids’
activities. The Mid-Region Council of Governments, Bernalillo County, and a variety of local groups and organizations
sponsored the festival. www.localfoodnm.org
© Seth Roffman (7)
NM Organic Farming Conference • Feb. 20-21, 2015
Local Food Takes Hold in New Mexico
Like many states, New Mexico imports most of its food. But the local food
movement is thriving, with increased activity among consumers and entrepreneurs.
Proponents say, the closer the food operations, the lower the fuel costs and CO2
emissions and the greater the benefit to the local economy and to food security.
These days, it is not unusual for patrons to expect menus to feature at least some
dishes made with locally sourced products. People increasingly want to know
where their food comes from and how it was grown. Many restaurants, particularly
independents, now source locally, both as a marketing angle and as a way to support
regional businesses. Some, like Farm & Table, located in Albuquerque’s North
Valley, Los Poblanos Historic Inn & Organic Farm, Nob Hill’s Yanni’s and the
salad bistro Vinaigrette each operate their own urban farm. Even national grocers
such as Whole Foods now offer local produce and products.
There are now 18 farmers’ markets operating in the Albuquerque area, including
one of the newest, at the city’s historic Rail Yards. There are also more small-scale
urban growers and larger-scale urban farmers. With a unique distribution system,
New Mexico’s largest CSA (community-supported agriculture), Albuquerquebased Skarsgard Farms, services more than 1,600 members weekly, delivering as
far north as Santa Fe and as far south as El Paso. The operation extends its growing
season in greenhouses and is trying out hydroponic farming.
10
Green Fire Times • November 2014
Organic farmers, ranchers, market gardeners and researchers will gather at the
Albuquerque Marriott Pyramid Feb. 20–21, 2015 for the New Mexico Organic
Farming Conference. Thirty-six breakout sessions will take up production issues
ranging from soil building to pest management to water harvesting, pollinators,
understanding the biology and ecology of common New Mexico weeds and farming
for the wild. On the 21st, participants will feast on local, organic food at a luncheon
recognizing the New Mexico Organic Farmer of the Year. Farm to Table, the N.M.
Department of Agriculture and N.M. State University Cooperative Extension
Service are organizing the conference. La Montañita Co-op, Santa Fe Farmers’
Market Institute, Skarsgard Farms, N.M. Farm and Livestock Bureau, Rocky
Mountain Farmer’s Union and the Silver City Food Co-op are the main sponsors.
The Rodale Institute was founded in 1947 by organic pioneer J.I. Rodale to study
the link between healthy soil, healthy food and healthy people. “Coach” Mark
Smallwood, executive director of the institute, will deliver the conference’s keynote
address: “From America’s Oldest Organic Research Farm: Intriguing Questions &
Lessons Learned.” Coach is a long-time organic farmer and biodynamic gardener
who raises chickens, goats, sheep and pigs and drives his own team of oxen.
He began the Agriculture Supported Communities (ASC) program at Rodale
Institute. The program brings fresh, high-quality organic food to underserved
communities and provides an intensive training program for farmers. Coach hosts
a one-year organic farming certification program designed for military veterans.
In addition, he has brought heritage livestock back to the institute’s 333-acre
farm, created a Honeybee Conservancy to train and steward backyard beekeepers
and launched “Your 2 Cents,” a national campaign to support and promote a new
generation of organic farmers.
Conference registration, which includes Saturday’s luncheon, is $100 and will be
available Dec. 1 online at www.farmtotablenm.org. For questions, call 505.473.1004
x10 (Santa Fe) or 505.841.9047 (Albuquerque). Special room rates are available if
reserved by Jan. 1.
www.GreenFireTimes.com
Coalition Pokes Holes in Chile Certification
“why do i have to register to be able
to call my chile what it is?”
In August 2014, the New Mexico Chile Association (NMCA) launched a program,
which the group had the New Mexico Legislature approve, to certify New Mexico’s
chile. Some of the state’s growers aren’t happy about it. They say it’s not fair to
generations of traditional chile growers.
© Seth Roffman
Isaura Andaluz, of the Save
New Mexico Seeds Coalition,
says that if you want real New
Mexico chile, you need to
go somewhere like a local
farmers’ market or roadside
stand. That’s where you’re
likely to find chile grown from
authentic seeds, from chile
that has been grown in New
Mexico for over 400 years.
Many of the growers here farm on a small scale and are not registered with the state’s
Department of Agriculture (NMDA). Because they have not put up the $500 fee,
they are not part of the new certified chile program, and, with the new regulation,
they can’t technically call their peppers “New Mexico chile.” The legislative bill—
approved through a questionable procedure—criminalizes any grower who uses the
name of any place or geographic location in the state unless the grower is registered.
“This is an attempt to take control of our local identity and our chile by blurring
and commodifying a staple food crop,” said Paul Romero, a farmer from Velarde.
“This law threatens local autonomy of seed and food sovereignty.”
“Why do I have to register to be able to call my chile what it is?” Andaluz said. “It
infringes on our basic freedom to farm.” The coalition sees other problems with the
new certification program, too, such as a weakening of the brand. The law defines
New Mexico chile as capsicum annuum. “Now, any pepper grown in the state is
called New Mexico chile,” Andaluz said. “It applies to every single type of pepper,
whether it’s a jalapeño, Italian sweet pepper, yellow hot, etc., and does not require
a 100 percent guarantee on a product labeled ‘New Mexico chile.’ So, if you are
making salsa and it says New Mexico chile on it, it just has to be 95 percent New
Mexico-grown; the other 5 percent can be from China, India, Perú or who knows
where? And also, they can add chile resin.”
The new certification also allows for registered chile growers in any part of the state
to call the green chile they grow “Hatch” chile. “The NMCA, which largely comprises
chile industry processors and businesses—some who also have operations in Texas,
Arizona and México—would love for you to believe that there really is a Hatch chile,
but a native Hatch chile does not exist,” Andaluz says. “New Mexico State University
(NMSU) developed modern chile varieties for the industry, primarily bred to be grown
and processed in the southern part of the state.Those seeds are not saved, unlike landrace
chiles, sometimes called chile nativo.” Save NM Seeds says that the new certification
program was established for the benefit of NMCA and NMSU and, also, that the
NMDA should not be functioning as an enforcement arm of the NMCA.The coalition
wants New Mexico lawmakers to address these problems.
The Agri-Cultura Network in
Albuquerque’s South Valley
The American Friends Ser vice
Committee (AFSC), established
in 1976 in New Mexico, provides
hands-on year-round farmer-tofarmer training to beginning organic
farmers. In 2009, in Albuquerque’s
South Valley, AFSC, community
partners and three beginning farmers
created the Agri-Cultura Network
(ACN), a farmer-run association.
AFSC incubated the network and
encouraged farmers the group trained Natalie Romero (r) and friend wash salad greens
to collaborate, jointly market their food and sell to the Albuquerque Public Schools
(APS). By 2012, the farmers were able to run the program independently. ACN
has grown to 12 farms and has sold to APS for the past four years. The network
has created an innovative Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program
that works to ensure local organic food is accessible to low-income families. In
its first year, 20 families were part of the CSA. It has now grown to 250 families,
half of whom are low-income and receive a bag of produce every week for only $5.
www.GreenFireTimes.com
Green Fire Times • November 2014
11
The Local Voice
Growing Local Food Businesses
by Leaps and Pounds
Vicki Pozzebon
An entrepreneurial
network for
food-based businesses
Since then, various nonprofits have
carved out their niche in this work and
identified what they do best to move the
needle on the local food system in New
Mexico: farm to school and restaurant,
active and lively farmers’ markets,
successful food co-ops, community
gardens, just to name a few. Without
a doubt, the local food movement in
New Mexico is alive and well. What
was missing, we discovered, was a focus
on the value-added sector, that is, the
great artisan products often found only
at farmers’ markets or at specialty food
shops and quaint cafés, or in limited
supply in a few grocery stores.
Making Food Creates Jobs
According to a Bioneers’ Dreaming New
Mexico study on local food, New Mexico
households spend about $4.2 billion on
food every year: $2.6 billion in stores,
and $1.6 billion eating out. In addition,
New Mexico exports about 97 percent
of the food that is grown in this state.
This presents an enormous opportunity
to help create wealth locally, through
numerous jobs in various food-industry
sectors. Dreaming New Mexico further
reported that:
Sixteen percent of all jobs are farmrelated, which translates into over
147,000 jobs. (About 32,000 are
farm operators and 84,000 work in
agricultural processing. The remainder
are in food services industries and
USDA Grants Awarded to Support
New Mexico Farmers and Ranchers
Seven New Mexico organizations will share $538,000 in USDA Farmers Marketing
and Local Food Promotion Program funding to help family farmers and ranchers
develop new markets for their products, support rural communities and increase
access to fresh, healthy food.
• D
elicious New Mexico will receive $100,000 to provide outreach, marketing,
training and technical assistance to improve and expand the Española Food Hub
into an incubation hub for northern New Mexico food businesses.
• Santa Fe Community Foundation will receive $100,000 to expand a local, healthy
food-procurement program to low-income and low-access communities that
will improve the capacity of Pueblo agricultural producers through farm-tomarket training.
• The Pueblo of Pojoaque will receive $44, 616 for promotional activities, expanded
services and vendor recruitment to grow the Pojoaque Farmers’ Market.
• The Santa Fe Farmers’ Market Institute will receive $91,604 to establish an
advertising campaign to promote the market, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program (SNAP) redemption at the Southside Market, and to provide technical
assistance and professional training to vendors.
• The Piñón Foundation will receive $100,000 to produce and implement Spanish
language multimedia campaigns promoting farmers’ markets nationwide.
• The New Mexico Farmers Marketing Association will receive $77,059 to promote
SNAP redemption at farmers’ markets in four counties and train vendors to use
Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT).
12
Green Fire Times • November 2014
government-related jobs.) If 25
percent of the food produced in
New Mexico was consumed in
New Mexico, then 10,000 new
jobs would be created—about
15 percent more in the agrifood sector; 17 percent in forage
and crop farms; 18 percent
from livestock, game and fish;
and 65 percent from food
manufacturing, distribution,
retail and restaurants.
I n A l b u q u e rq u e ’s
agriculturally and traditionally
rich South Valley, a local-food
movement started in earnest
in 2006 at the South Valley
Economic Development
Center’s (SVEDC) Mixing
Bowl commercial kitchen. Top: Santa Fe-based Kinna’s Laos chile paste is a
The kitchen has been home traditional example of a go-to condiment and dining
to over 100 small food staple found in Southeast Asia. Middle: Authentic
producers who have tested biscochitos from Celina’s Biscochitos are a comforting
their products and received sign of the changing seasons. Below: Gene Tauer of
Intergalactic Bread Company with his Intergalactic
help to establish themselves in
Space Sauce
local markets. With over
60 of those businesses
“graduating” out of the
kitchen incubator, the
Río Grande Community
D e v e l o p m e n t
Corporation (SVEDC’s
parent organization)
identified the need to
support these businesses’
continued growth.
Locally owned businesses
generally contribute
Delicious New Mexico:
more to the “economic multiplier” than
Growing Local Businesses
nonlocal businesses—more income,
As an entrepreneurial network for foodwealth, jobs and tax payments—because
based businesses, DNM provides access
they spend more money locally. When
to specific resources. One of the most
just one dollar is spent with a locally
valuable ways to support local businesses
owned food business, 42 cents of it
is to give them the opportunity to share
stays in our communities, multiplying
and learn from each other. Providing
repeatedly into our local economy.
networking opportunities in workshops
With an eye on the dramatic numbers
and at events, DNM gets its members
to be reached in keeping locally
together to talk about marketing, label
grown and processed food local and
design, merchandising, co-packing and
creating more food jobs, Delicious New
other industry-specific topics. Case
Mexico (DNM) was born in 2012. The
studies on challenges and successes
organization has grown to be one of the
in the industry have helped many
largest and fastest growing models for
businesses identify their own needs for
supporting local food businesses.
growth and success.
www.GreenFireTimes.com
© Melanie West (2)
any years ago, over a locally
sourced meal, a group of food
activists and nonprofit leaders came
together in my kitchen to discuss how
we might further move our food system
in New Mexico to self-sustainability. At
the time, in 2008, less than 3 percent
of the food New Mexico produced
stayed in the state. We wondered how
we might increase that number to keep
more money in our own backyards. We
laughed at our own struggles and our
many stops and starts to make things
happen. We also saluted the successes of
our local farmers’ markets. But we were
looking for solutions on how to make
it easier to localize our food system to
help more farmers grow more food for
our schools, institutions, restaurants and
retail outlets. It was a lofty goal, to be
sure, and one that would require more
talks, more food to nourish our ideas and
more partners to collaborate.
© Seth Roffman
M
© Melanie West
© Seth Roffman
New Mexico food products for sale at the Santa Fe School of Cooking
Frank Najar and son look on as Emma Dean, matriarch of Albuquerque based Tío
Frank’s, prepares chile samples for eager customers
DNM seeks to raise the bar for all
food businesses across the state, which
in turn helps provide the state with a
sustainable and meaningful form of
economic development that stays true to
our state’s agricultural roots. Members
that will help small businesses in rural
communities by activating underutilized
kitchens, often in county-owned
facilities or community centers. Using
the Mixing Bowl’s successful model to
support start-up food businesses, the
kitchens will become hubs of activity.
DNM will serve as the marketing arm
for these products and provide technical
assistance for growing into grocery stores
and wholesale distribution throughout
the state. The kitchens will have three
types of users:
in the organization pledge to source as
locally as possible for their ingredients
and, if they can’t, then DNM finds out
what the barriers are—seasonality, lack
of available products, prices or other—
and works with the New Mexico
Department of Agriculture (NMDA),
the USDA, and other partners to
identify areas for opportunities. In
addition, members receive support
through statewide marketing efforts,
branding and technical ser vices.
Offering workshops, connections to
capital, access to distributors and buyers,
DNM is quickly becoming the state
brand for local food.
The largest need for DNM’s members is
in the second stage of their development.
Barriers to growth include lack of
suitable facilities to grow their business
once they graduate from commercial
kitchens. In partnership with the Río
Grande Development Corporation,
the Mixing Bowl and many community
partners, DNM is now working on
growing a statewide kitchen network
Flagship Food Group in Albuquerque
The California-based Flagship Food Group is an international firm that makes
processed foods such as salsa, burritos and tamales, which it sells to national retailers
under several names. The company’s new U.S. manufacturing and distribution
headquarters is in a former Albuquerque Tortilla Company site, a 78,400-sq.- ft.,
industrial food-processing facility in Albuquerque’s Renaissance corridor. On Oct.
7, CEO Rob Holland announced that Flagship would hire 125 people immediately
and 300 in the next five years. The company expects annual sales to go from about
$40 million to $100 million.
¡Sostenga! Commercial Kitchen
to Reopen through Partnership
The ¡Sostenga! Commercial Kitchen on Northern New Mexico College’s Española
campus, closed in 2012 due to limited financial resources, will once again serve the
community, thanks to a partnership between the college, Río Arriba County and the
Río Grande Development Corporation’s Siete del Norte.
The goal of the commercial kitchen is to act as a business incubator, supporting the
creation of new food businesses across northern New Mexico. It is designed to support
regional farmers and ranchers interested in creating their own businesses by providing
a facility to get them started. The kitchen will be FDA-licensed and outfitted with
commercial-grade cooking and filling equipment. Clients will also have access to
training and mentorship through the project and its partners.
“We are excited to be working with Northern as a trusted community leader and
advocate that embraces cultural sustainability and quality student learning,” Siete del
Norte President Todd López said. “We are hopeful that our partnership will create
www.GreenFireTimes.com
tart-up businesses: those that are
• S
testing recipes and looking to get
started.
• E
stablished businesses looking for a
commercial kitchen: In many cases,
these businesses are working from
restaurant kitchens after hours or in
shared spaces that are less than ideal.
A sustainable and
meaningful form of
economic development
that stays true to our
state’s agricultural roots
• C
o-packing: These are businesses
that are looking to grow a product
but aren’t interested in being in the
kitchen themselves. DNM will help
by providing a staff that will test,
process and package products for wide
distribution.
continued on page 28
opportunities for Northern students and emerging entrepreneurs in the community.”
“The support of this partnership gives new life to the possibility of sustaining the
commercial kitchen in a way the college was unable to do on its own,” Northern
President Nancy Barceló said. Other partners include Delicious New Mexico and
Los de Mora Local Growers’ Cooperative.
Food Manufacturing Entrepreneurship
Project in southwest New Mexico
In July, USDA Rural Development State Director Terry Brunner presented Río
Grande Community Development Corporation a certificate of obligation to begin
the funding for the establishment of a food-manufacturing entrepreneurship project
in southwest New Mexico. Brunner said, “This project offers an exciting opportunity
to build a food network of locally grown products, which will provide our families and
children with a healthier food supply. In the long run, this project will also create new
income opportunities and help stimulate the economy in our rural communities.”
The $152,492 grant provided by the Rural Community Development Initiative
program will be used to develop incubator kitchens, food-processing training, the
development of distribution networks and regional marketing planning for small
food-manufacturing businesses in Catron, Grant, Hidalgo and Luna counties.
The presentation was made in conjunction with the USDA’s Food and Nutrition
Service summer food-demonstration project in Anthony, New Mexico. The
demonstration was held to show the public the various programs offered by the
agencies within the USDA and how they are being utilized in high poverty areas
targeted by USDA’s StrikeForce Initiative.
Green Fire Times • November 2014
13
Feathered Friends of Santa Fe
Wild & Exotic Bird Seed & Supplies
1089 St. Francis Dr.
Santa Fe, N.M. 87505
505-988-5154
[email protected]
www.featheredfriendsofsantafe.com
Advertise in GFT
Support a more sustainable world.
Call Skip Whitson at 505.471.5177 or
Anna Hansen at 505.982.0155
14
Green Fire Times • November 2014
www.GreenFireTimes.com
Taos County Economic Development Corporation Week:
Thanksgiving for the Harvest • November 10–16
Taos Food Center Expansion Supports Entrepreneurship
© Anna C. Hansen
Seth Roffman
aos County Economic
Development Corporation’s
mission is to support the unique
agricultural lifestyle of northern
New Mexico. The Taos Food Center,
a 5,000-sq.-ft., USDA-certified,
commercial-grade food kitchen is at
the heart of the TCEDC’s programs.
Sixteen restaurants and about 100 foodbased businesses have been launched
from the center. Over 600 people have
trained there in product development,
FDA regulations and food safety, along
with the history and food culture of the
region. “The free training we provide
with our food-production classes fully
prepares people to start food businesses
and streamlines their ability to hit the
ground running with little capital but
with lots of support,” said Pati Martinson,
who, with Terrie Bad Hand, founded and
has directed and developed the TECDC
Business Park campus for the past 28
years. The campus is also home to the
Taos School for Integrated Arts.
A “national model for
community food service
regeneration”
Many local businesses currently
operate from the food center, making
everything from fresh traditional salsas
to organic scones. The center recently
received $100,000 in Local Economic
Development Act (LEDA) funds from
the New Mexico Economic
Development Department for
needed repairs and upgrades.
A n o t h e r o f T C E D C ’s
initiatives, created in response
to the closure of local facilities,
is the Mobile Matanza, a
semi truck fully equipped as
a humane, USDA-certified
livestock-slaughter unit, the
second one in the nation.
The initiative has helped feed
families and helped outlying
ranchers hold onto their land
and traditional lifeways.
Calling TCEDC a “national
model for community food
service regeneration,” on
Sept. 9, 2014, town of Taos
Mayor Dan Barrone signed a
proclamation designating the
second week of November,
in perpetuity, as TCEDC
Week. The first annual
www.GreenFireTimes.com
TCEDC Week Celebration
and Thanksgiving for the
Harvest, celebrating the food,
land, water and cultures of
northern New Mexico, will
take place from Nov. 10-16 at
the TCEDC campus at Bertha
and Salazar streets. Friends of
TCEDC are sponsoring free
tours, films, talks and classes.
Some of the highlights: Saturday, Nov.
15, a free, Gala Expo and Food Fest will
be held at Bataan Hall on Civic Center
Drive in downtown Taos from 10 a.m.
to 4 p.m. TCEDC’s value-added food
producers, along with Taos Farmers’
Market vendors, will provide tastes,
samples and products for sale. Local
food advocates will demonstrate foodpreservation and seed-saving techniques.
Many locally produced items will be raffled
off. Saturday’s keynote speaker is author
and Native rights/environmental activist
Winona LaDuke (Ojibwe), founder
and director of the White Earth Land
Recovery Project in Minnesota. Other
featured speakers include permaculturist/
heritage seed advocate Louis Hena, from
Tesuque Pueblo; Marko Schmitt, 2014
Taos Farmers’ Market manager; and
Embudo historian/mayordomo/author
Juan Estévan Arellano.
© Seth Roffman
T
L-R: Pati Martinson and Terrie Bad Hand
On Sunday,Nov.16 at 6 p.m.,a fundraising
dinner prepared by Native celebrity chef
Loretta Barret Oden (Potawatomi) will
take place at the TCEDC campus. Oden
ran the Corn Dance Café in Santa Fe in
the 1990s and starred in the PBS series
Seasoned with Spirit, five shows that
combined Native American history and
culture with healthy recipes inspired by
indigenous foods. i
Reservations for the dinner and a more
detailed schedule can be obtained by
visiting the website: friendsoftcedc.com
or by email: [email protected]
Green Fire Times • November 2014
15
Contemporary Vigas, Lumber,
and Timbers. Custom Milling
Furniture Grade Lumber: 5/4, 8/4,12/4, 16/4
Shop Air Dried — Wide Panels
Call Dennis Durán at 505-690-3135
Gray Weathered Lumber, Vigas and Timbers
16
Green Fire Times • November 2014
www.GreenFireTimes.com
Santa Fe Motor Sports
2594 Camino Entrada
505-438-1888
www.SantaFeMotorSports.com
Financing available
www.GreenFireTimes.com
Green Fire Times • November 2014
17
Traditional Native American Farmers Association
Healing Mother Earth through Traditional Knowledge and Wisdom
Malín Alegría
F
ormed in 1991, the Traditional
N a t i v e A m e r i c a n Fa r m e r s
Association’s mission is to “revitalize
traditional agriculture for spiritual and
human need.” The idea is that if we
revitalize traditional Native agriculture
we will contribute to stabilizing Native
communities in three ways: offering
economic opportunities for selfsufficiency through sustainable, natural
and cultural resource development;
rebuilding a means for cultural
transmission while reclaiming damaged
eco- and social systems; and creating
a healthy organic food supply while
restoring plant and animal biodiversity
to Native lands.
relationships also exist in nature and can
be found in the Iroquois agricultural
method of ‘intercropping’ known as the
‘Three Sisters Garden.’”
“Farming seemed to be the foundation
of those social frameworks,” Clayton
recalled. “When I was young, the
community was experiencing a loss of
a lot of land. A hydroelectric project
was taking the best farmland. There are
pictures of ladies in the early 1950s lying
down in front of bulldozers, trying to
prevent homes and farms from being
flattened. The loss of lands was but
another blow in the disintegration of our
community’s social fabric. That vision
always stayed with me and interested
me. How do we reclaim and rebuild
a sustainable community utilizing
traditional knowledge and culture?
Whenever the older people talked, they
described this picture about how people
supported and cared and needed each
other. Everyone in the community—
young, old, men, women—shared
responsibilities. And though I could see
it crumbling around me, it was my idea
that I wanted this for myself and for my
children and grandchildren.”
“Revitalizing
traditional agriculture
for spiritual and
human need.”
“At the beginning, we were trying
to rebuild as cultural survivors,” says
Clayton Brascoupe, TNAFA’s director,
from his cool adobe home/office on
the plaza of Tesuque Pueblo, near
Santa Fe, New Mexico. “I teach by
telling stories because that’s how I
learned. I’m Mohawk, but I wasn’t
raised in the Mohawk community. I
was raised in my grandmother’s home
in upstate New York. She was born on
an Iroquois Reserve in Ontario but
moved to her husband’s reservation.
Iroquois communities have been divided
by an international border since the
Revolutionary War.
18
other parts of Central America to collect
stories and traditional agricultural and
living practices. These stories opened
their eyes, and they integrated them into
their own family.
Now, 20 years later, the annual 13-day
training Clayton and Margaret offer in
Indigenous Sustainable Communities
Design is a continuation of their journey.
The course is a testament to Clayton and
Margaret’s vision, love and dedication to
heal and rebuild harmonious communities.
Guided by a variety of knowledgeable
teachers, the course allows students
to experience and relearn a traditional
social framework of being. It is designed
to demonstrate how various disciplines
should be integrated into a living system.
It builds the capacity of the participants
to design and implement sustainable
projects and to rebuild farm or restoration
programs in Native communities, both
rural and urban.
The design course provides intensive
training in ecological design, natural
farming, seed saving, traditional food
and nutrition, indigenous women in
agriculture, alternative energies, passive
solar design, earth building, earth
restoration, natural healing and restoring
community through midwifery. Using a
permaculture approach, the course works
with nature’s model of sustainability and
diversity. It starts with farm and garden
designs, composting and soils. This leads
into seeds, seed saving, growing for seed
and, then, traditional foods and nutrition.
© Seth Roffman
“My grandmother had all kinds of
stories. She told me stories about her
life, her community and everyday things.
Sometimes, she would tell stories about
how those communities used to function
and how they would support and care for
one another. I started to notice remnants
of community social networks around
me. But it was all fractured because of
wars, disease, loss of lands and outside
religious influences. My grandmother
talked about how they would organize
and assist one another in agriculture
and other things. Traditional Iroquois
people, within those communities,
still function somewhat within those
social frameworks. Mutually beneficial
When Clayton and his wife, Margaret,
first star ted their famil y, they
intentionally sought out traditional
elders, farmers and groups to learn
how to rebuild healthy, sustainable
families and communities. This calling
sent them all over the United States,
Canada, México, and to Guatemala and
Clayton Brascoupe discusses irrigation techniques with TNAFA students
Clayton Brascoupe demonstrates seed
cleaning
Green Fire Times • November 2014
As cultural survivors, this desire to heal
and rebuild resonates with indigenous
people from all corners of the Earth.
Individuals have traveled by air from
Brazil, Belize, Canada, Colombia,
Venezuela, El Salvador, and Guatemala
and on foot and bus from Copper
Canyon, México, the U.S. Southwest,
and other states in search of the Earth
knowledge offered by this intensive
training. Many students have gone on to
create jobs, environmental-restoration
projects, community agricultural
projects (urban and rural), seed-saving
programs, seed storage (“libraries”) and
women’s health nutrition projects.
Everyone who participates in this twoweek course is forever changed.
“Each day I feel closer to the whole
group, and I’m not wanting to leave!
It’s really throwing me off to be here.
It’s making me question what I’m doing
back home. What can I do better? What
do I still have to learn? How can I be
a better resource to my people? How
can I do more? …It’s awesome to see
that we’re all here for similar reasons:
to relearn our traditions, to serve our
Creator, to retake our place as stewards
of the land. There’s a deeper learning
that’s taking place here than just that
of the book or specific knowledge of
permaculture design and techniques.”
– Arlo Star
For more information, visit www.
tnafanm.org or contact Clayton
Brascoupe at [email protected].
TNAFA is an Affiliate Program of
the Seventh Generation Fund for
Indigenous Peoples.
Malín Alegría is a writer, educator, Aztec
dancer and wannabe farmer.
www.GreenFireTimes.com
Giving Love and Thanks in
Times of Contradictions
Kathy Sanchez
P
redawn Tewa prayers sing of the
wonder of spiritfulness and joy
in life. In the beginnings of new light,
one sees with the eyes of the heart.
Such joy is found in the songs of the
birds. It is found in the sounds of wind
in the trees. We give love and thanks
© Seth Roffman (3)
Gathering for Mother Earth, Sept. 2014
Healing Mother Earth Relay Run
for these things and for the predawn dew, one
of water’s many forms. We give thanks for
the healing herbs growing on the mountain
slopes and the plateaus. Such joy it is to see
and smell the beauty of nature undisturbed.
We continue to honor our relationship with
Mother Earth, mother for all, who expresses
herself in eco-sustaining lifeways.
We a l s o w a n t t o ac k n ow l e d ge o u r
connectedness to all brothers and sisters of earthly kinship. We give love and
thanks for humans whose hearts still listen to the wisdom of time immemorial.
Putting it all into perspective, as reflected in the new friendships
created and in learning the true meaning of sustainable
reciprocity, it is clear that the Gathering for Mother Earth was
a tremendous success.
Kathy Sanchez (Wan Povi) is a founding member and former executive
director of Tewa Women United, based in Española, N.M. The group works
with indigenous women to create stronger communities. 505.747.3259,
[email protected], www.tewawomenunited.org
www.GreenFireTimes.com
© Anna C. Hansen
How can we acknowledge the gratitude we experienced at the 25th annual
Gathering for Mother Earth at the Pojoaque Gathering Grounds, where we
renewed our commitment to Turtle Island? Many creative people made the
gathering of peoples possible. There was generous support from afar and from
those who came to share so generously in mind, heart and spirit. We particularly
want to thank our sheroe, Betty Tsosie, of Tewa Tees, Paula Tsosie, who designed
the beautiful turtle on those shirts, and Sean Hughes, who designed the 25th
celebration logo. The gathering would not have been possible without the
contributions from local farmers and from Cid’s Market in Taos, La Montañita
Co-op in Santa Fe, Whole Foods, Local Collective 18 and others who donated
food for the meals.
Green Fire Times • November 2014
19
Page 20 (Top, l-r): Navajo Nation Poet Laureate Luci Tapahonso; artist/Pre-Contact Diet advocate Roxanne Swentzell (Santa Clara
Pueblo); Chef Naphi Craig (White Mountain Apache); Chef Freddie Bitsoie (Diné); Embudo, NM farmer Eremita Campos at her
booth; prickly pear cactus fruit; Santa Domingo Pueblo grandmother Josephine Humetewa with Nadia Toya and family cooks; books
on Native plants and foods; Felipe Ortega (Ollero band of Jicarilla Apache) discusses mica utility ware as authors/chefs Katherine
Kagel (Café Pascual’s) and Deborah Madison listen; Above: Tomás Antonio, botanist/science coordinator at the Institute of American
Indian Arts; James Beard award-winning author Cheryl Alters Jamison; Center: varieties of Native beans, corn, chile seed and tea
20
Green Fire Times • November 2014
www.GreenFireTimes.com
FUZE.SW 2014
Food & Folklore Festival
Museum Hill, Santa Fe
Article and photos by Seth Roffman
F
rom Sept. 12-14, at the second annual FUZE.SW Festival, award-winning
chefs and food journalists from across the United States, as well as leading
historians, archaeologists, farmers, artists and folklorists, gathered to discuss and
demonstrate Native American
culinary traditions and techniques.
Two hundred people attended the
event at the Museum of Indian
Arts and Culture (MIAC) and the
Museum of International Folk Art
(MOIFA) in Santa Fe.
MIAC Director Della Warrior, the museum’s curators and Carnell Chosa from the
Santa Fe Indian School facilitated the focus on Native foodways. Also providing
guidance and insight were chefs/presenters Nephi Craig (White Mountain
Apache), Lois Ellen Frank (Kiowa), Walter Whitewater (Diné) and culinary
authors Deborah Madison and Cheryl Alters Jamison. MOIFA Director Marsha
Bol, Marketing Director Shelly Thompson and Steve Cantrell from the New
Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs were key to the event’s creation.
Traditional Native practices can inform
modern agricultural and culinary techniques.
Presentations started with a focus on traditional Native American farming practices
such as non-irrigated (dryland) farming. There were discussions about how Native
Americans influenced New Mexico with their food before the Spanish arrived
and the fusion between Native American and Mexican/Spanish foods.
A keynote speech opened each day. The first was “Native American Food Traditions
and Identity,” given by Lois Ellen Frank. Author Betty Fussell presented “Our
Appetite for Change—and Its Consequences.” Nephi Craig discussed the concepts
of “Food as Empowerment and Conduit for the Messages Embodied in Plants,
Land, Animals and Water.” The keynotes were followed by three or four 15-minute
“fastalks” including “The Pre-Contact Diet” by Roxanne Swentzell; “Indigenous
Biotechnology” by Tomás Antonio, Ph.D.; and “It’s Not All Rats on a Stick,” by
MIAC researcher/curator Dody Fugate, who reviewed colonial stereotypes about
Native foods from an archaeological perspective.
In the morning and afternoon, attendees could choose to attend one of several
concurrent panels with experts who discussed topics such as “Farming Smart in
the High Desert”; “Corn: The Grain That Sustains Body and Soul”; “The Bean’s
Rise from Humble Legume to Southwest Culinary Classic”; “Indigenous Cooking
Utensils”; “Micaceous Pottery: How to Cook with and Care for It”; “The Good,
the Bad and the Ugly: Fried Dough,” and “Contemporary Native American Food.”
There were cooking demos and tastings with local chefs. The attendees broke
bread—buwa yaweh, a delicate, paper-thin, rolled, flat blue-corn bread—with
Wenona Nutima of Tesuque Pueblo, ate prickly pear cactus fruit and tasted other
Native delicacies. Meals ranged from a traditional “grandmother’s lunch,” prepared
by Pueblo mothers and grandmothers, to a vegan, hominy corn harvest stew to
modern Southwest cuisine—a buffalo dinner with produce from the Santa Fe
Farmers’ Market. All of the foods served were sourced locally.
FUZE.SW’s third day was free to the public. It featured New Mexico-grown and
prepared foods to taste and buy, cooking demos, cookbook signings, horno bread
baking and Pueblo dancers.
For information about next year’s FUZE.SW, which will take a different look at
the deep and rich influences that make up New Mexican cuisine, email fuze.sw@
gmail.com or visit fuzesw.museumofnewmexico.org
www.GreenFireTimes.com
Page 21 (top-bottom): Culinary journalist/author Betty Fussell; Buffalo Dancers from the
Pueblo of Pojoaque; Panel discussion on “Seeds: The Connection through Generations”
with (l-r): professor Richard Ford; Native seed advocate Louis Hena (Tesuque Pueblo);
Lynda Prim of Native Seeds Search; Scott Canning of the Santa Fe Botanic Garden;
and botanist/IAIA professor Thomas Antonio. Bottom: event participants on a break
Green Fire Times • November 2014
21
22
Green Fire Times • November 2014
www.GreenFireTimes.com
A Small Sample of Who We Are
Maceo Carrillo Martinet
W
e all have a relative, friend, work associate, or even a bit of ourselves that is
pessimistic about the future of humanity. We are told that a gloomy future is
our destiny, that everything we touch we eventually destroy. Even the cinematic aliens
that visit our planet, like the character named Prat in the movie K-Pax, proclaim that
“it’s hard to imagine how we’ve made it this far.” Pessimism toward humanity seems
to have more to do with our level of education, or lack thereof, rather than the many
threats we face.
Although there is rampant deforestation going on today, for most of humanity’s history,
in many cases, we have actually been amazing forest stewards. For more than 11,000
years, the indigenous communities of Thailand, Vietnam, Borneo and other countries
throughout Southeast Asia cultivated an array of fruit, nuts, vegetables and meats from
the tropical rain forests.1 The ingenious idea of planting a “food forest,” a concept in
today’s permaculture lexicon, is nothing new. Thousands of years before people learned
how to grow rice in that region, communities were cultivating and harvesting all sorts
of food from the forests.
In some of the world’s largest populated
communities, humans actually helped
improve the soil and forests.
For millennia, people have harvested fruit, nuts, wood and many other things from
the forest without destroying it. Some argue that the human-caused destruction in the
region was small because the population was small, but recent research has revealed
some of the largest populated communities in the world, at the time, lived in those
forests. Amazingly, researchers are finding that humans actually helped improve the
forest. Archaeological excavations reveal that the Maya in Central America created a
more nutritious tropical soil, which helped nourish the people. Think of it as a massive,
community-based, soil-engineering project.The Mayan people developed an ingenious
method, which today is commonly called biochar, to retain nutrients and minerals in
tropical soils that are continuously being leached by drenching rains. The Maya are just
one example demonstrating that a human community can live for thousands of years
while contributing to the long-term health of the soil and the forest.3
In 2011, a fascinating study came out in Science magazine in which researchers
documented both the health of the forest and the people in 84 land-based communities
across six countries in East Africa and South Asia. The researchers found that when
forest management, i.e., rulemaking, zoning, and land-use planning, was still controlled
by a community-based process with traditional roots still intact, the forest biodiversity
and resiliency to climate change actually increased.4
In fact, more countries around the world are starting to realize that transferring
forest management back to local communities can benefit both the economy and the
environment. Over the past 20 years, a forested area larger than Alaska—about 494
million acres—has been putting out-of-state or federal land-use decision-making back
into local indigenous community-based management.5 Many argue, rightfully so, that
an essential tool to fight climate change—and poverty—is to protect local community
control of forests and return forest management to indigenous communities.6 Today,
locally based communities manage 19 percent of the world’s forests. It’s a complete
180-degree reversal of the policies espoused by the World Trade Organization, the
World Bank, and other authoritative institutions that proclaimed over many decades
that local and indigenous people didn’t know how to properly manage forests.
www.GreenFireTimes.com
© Anna C. Hansen
The Amazon rain forest, just like the southeastern Asian forests on the other side
of the planet, is often portrayed as an untouched wilderness with dangerous forms
of life. Researchers digging through the forest floor are now corroborating what the
local indigenous communities have always said: The forests are part of ancient gardens
cultivated by the people.2 The mix of tropical vegetation you see today throughout the
Amazon is, to a great extent, the result of human management and stewardship. Over
hundreds of generations, the natives planted various types of trees. Today these “food
forests” still feed the local people and wildlife.
Los Brazos, NM
The acequia system, part of a rich cultural tapestry of water management throughout
the U.S. Southwest, is an amazing example of stewardship. Through an engineered
system of gently sloping ditches running along the edges of the valley, water revered
as the “blood of Christ” is delivered to each village. The slow seepage of acequia water
infiltrates the entire river valley floor, recharging the aquifer, spreading water across
the valley further than the river would do naturally and actually improving the water
quality for downstream communities. For over 400 years, the act of sharing water has
helped the verdant valley stay lush, allowing the people to grow a variety of chile, corn,
beans and many other nutritious drought-tolerant crops.7
Our ancient history of taking care of the common land and the common people is proof
that humanity is not simply “solitary, poor, nasty and brutish,” as Thomas Hobbes, one of
the philosophical godfathers of today’s capitalist economy, would like you to think. The
survival of humanity has never been about the “survival of the fittest.” It has been the
“survival of the collective.” Humanity’s instinctual ability to help each other and work
together is indeed our defining trademark. One might not know what “sustainability”
means, but the idea and principle of this word is in our DNA, as is the urge to treat
each other with dignity, respect and justice. These traits are just a small sampling of
who we really are. i
Maceo Carrillo Martinet, Ph.D., is a New Mexico-based ecologist/educator working on ecological
restoration and community-based environmental education. [email protected]
1
Hunt and Rabett. 2013. Holocene landscape intervention and plant food production strategies in island
and mainland Southeast Asia. Journal of Archaeological Science DOI: 10.1016/j.jas.2013.12.011.
2
Ross, N.J. 2011. Modern tree species composition reflects ancient Maya “forest gardens” in northwest Belize. Ecological Applications 21: 75–84.
3
Mann, C. 2006. 1491: New Revelations of the Americas before Columbus. Vintage Books, New York.
4
Persha et al. 2011. Social and ecological synergy: local rulemaking, forest livelihoods, and biodiversity conservation. Science 331: 1606–1608.
5
Agrawal. A. 2012. Local institutions and the governance of forest commons. In Comparative environmental
politics: theory, practice, and prospects. P.F. Steinberg and S.D. VanDeveer, eds. MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.
6
Stevens et al. 2014. Securing rights, combating climate change: how strengthening community forest rights mitigates climate change. World Resources Institute. Washington, DC. Accessible at www.wri.org/securing-rights
7
Juan Estevan Arellano. 2014. Enduring Acequias: Wisdom of the Land, Knowledge of the Water. University of
New Mexico Press, New Mexico
Green Fire Times • November 2014
23
On the Land: Together with the Earth
A New Film Documentary
I
n northern New Mexico, those seeking wisdom and inspiration don’t have to
look far, and looking to the past need not mean being stuck in the past. This is
evident in a new documentary film, On the Land: Together with the Earth, which
takes a dramatic look at the relevance of the region’s traditions, connecting old
and new ways of sustainable living.
The film’s seven personal stories
reflect experiences and humor
gleaned f rom Pueblo, Hispano
and Anglo cultures and show how,
in some ways, they are united by
conscious efforts to respect the land
and each other. The stories include
growing up at Taos Pueblo in the
1950s, healing a troubled, violent
life by returning to the land and
grandparents’ teachings, and using
traditional age-old building methods
along with innovative green-building
techniques and solar energy. There is
also practical advice about how to make a ranch or home self-sustaining using
indigenous materials.
© Painting by Jonathan Warm Day Coming
Somewhere in northern New Mexico, people are
building with old and new technologies, living off
the grid and embracing traditional teachings.
“When you turn on the evening news, you see a world that is mostly steeped in
chaos and rampant disrespect for the natural world and each other,” said filmmaker
Cindy Pickard, founder of the nonprofit Rites of Passage. “On the Land shines a
hopeful lens on humanity and the earth by showing the land’s power to heal and
bring people together.”
Imagica Pictures and Rites of Passage collaborated to produce the film. It was filmed
and edited by Andy Pickard. A compelling soundtrack features
local New Mexico Hispanic musicians and Native American music
selected by Grammy-winning producer Tom Bee, founder of the
Albuquerque-based Sound of America Records.
© Seth Roffman (2)
The film premiered in Taos last month, where it was introduced by
some of the featured participants. Prior to the screening, there were
performances by 10-year-old Taos Pueblo drummer/singer Cruz
Lujan, Taoseño flamenco guitarist Ricardo Anglada (his first public
performance since recovering from a stroke in October 2013), and
professional guitarists and a percussionist from Taos led by Vito
Trujillo, Sr. and Allen Vigil.
Screenings are being arranged for Albuquerque, Santa Fe and
beyond. DVDs are also available. More information on the film
can be found at www.the8thfire.org. To view the film’s trailer, visit
http://vimeo.com/33124684
© Anna C. Hansen (2)
Quotes from the film
Painter Jonathan Warm Day Coming, from Taos Pueblo:
“In my work, I hope to preserve a record of the traditional life
of our people…increased knowledge and understanding will
help all of us to live better with one another and the natural
world.”
Ed Cárdenas, social worker, teacher and author: “The
messages of our ancestors are always around if we only open our
hearts to listen.”
Victor García, rancher, farmer and building craftsman: “You can’t eat money.”
Mark Myers, solar designer: “The new technology is here.
It just needs to be implemented.”
Other Nuevo Mexicanos interviewed include Jody Armijo,
Top: Filmmaker Cindy Pickard with some of the people profiled in the film. L-R: Ed Cárdenas, Willy Groffman and George Martínez and innovative solar homebuilder Willy
Jonathan Warm Day Coming; Right: Cruz Lujan and emcee Julia Pratt; Bottom: Musicians led by Vito Trujillo, Sr.
Groffman. i
and Allen Vigil; Right: flamenco guitarist Ricardo Anglada
24
Green Fire Times • November 2014
www.GreenFireTimes.com
Small Agricultural Lands
Conservation Initiative
I
owners who volunteer to place some
or all of their land into permanent
conservation with a land trust. Under
these agreements, farmers continue to
own and work their land and can leave it
to their children, sell it, or arrange other
Nearly half of New Mexico’s farms are
small properties of one-to-nine acres,
representing a long tradition of familyowned lands. But many of these family
farms are in trouble. Farming alone
doesn’t pay the bills—most farmers have
second jobs—and farmers generally are
aging, with the majority in their 50s
and 60s. For many, their family’s land
is their primary asset, and they can’t
retire without selling it to developers.
Farmland is often the most attractive
land to developers because it’s beautiful
and green, has water, and already has
roads and utilities. All of this adds up to
For many, their family’s
land is their primary
asset, and they can’t
retire without selling
it to developers.
© Anna C. Hansen (2)
f you enjoy locally grown organic
fruit, vegetables, meats and dairy or
shop at one of New Mexico’s 50-some
farmers’ markets, you’re an important
part of our state’s farming community
and economy.
Velarde, NM farmland
New Mexico losing about 4 percent of
its already-scarce farmland per year, and
the rate at which farmland is converted
to housing and other development is
accelerating.
The Santa Fe Conservation Trust
(SFCT), in collaboration with other
organizations and drawing on state
financial incentives, can help. New
Mexico offers financial incentives in
the form of tax credits to farmland
options. The landowners can use the tax
credits to reduce their taxes or convert
the incentives into cash. Through these
agreements, precious small farms are
protected from development, thereby
benefiting all of us who appreciate New
Mexico’s agricultural lands and the
goods they produce.
Unfortunately, there are significant
barriers to participation in the state’s
conservation incentive program
for small farmers. For example,
the up-front costs of placing land
into conservation with a land trust
are considerable. Fortunately, with
the help of the Santa Fe Farmers’
Market Institute and others, SFCT
formed a statewide coalition of
farming, legal, financial and landtrust organizations called the Small
Agricultural Lands Conservation
Initiative (SALCI) to address issues that
prevent small farmers from benefiting
from the state’s incentive program.
Through SALCI, SFCT is developing a
revolving fund to help cover the up-front
costs. If you or another small farmer
would like to discuss the possibility of
taking advantage of these opportunities,
contact SFCT at 505.989.7019 or email
[email protected] i
Grass, Soil, Hope:
Journey through
A
Carbon Country
By Courtney White.
Foreword by Michael Pollan
Chelsea Green Publishing, 272 pages.
ISBN: 9781603585453
W
ith a masterful blend of storytelling and science, this book tackles an
increasingly crucial question: What can we do about the seemingly
intractable challenges confronting all of humanity today, including climate
change, global hunger, water scarcity, environmental stress and economic
instability?
Increasing soil carbon
levels creates a host
of benefits.
Many people know that effective
agricultural practices improve land
health, but fewer understand that
increasing soil carbon levels creates a host of benefits. No one is immune to the
carbon cycle, author Courtney White reminds us. We might as well understand
it and use it to our advantage. Soil is a huge natural sink for carbon dioxide
(CO2). If we can draw increasing amounts of CO2 out of the atmosphere and
store it safely in the soil, we can significantly address all the multiple challenges
that now appear so intractable. Soil scientists maintain that a mere 2 percent
increase in the carbon content of the planet’s soils could offset 100 percent of
all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions going into the atmosphere.
But how can this be accomplished? What would it cost? Is it even possible?
Yes, says White. It is not only possible but essential for the long-term health
and sustainability of our environment and our economy. Right now, the only
possibility of large-scale removal of GHGs from the atmosphere is through
plant photosynthesis and related land-based carbon-sequestration activities.
These include a range of low-tech proven practices: composting, no-till
farming, climate-friendly livestock practices, conserving natural habitat,
restoring degraded watersheds and rangelands, increasing biodiversity and
producing local food. In Grass, Soil, Hope, White shows how all of these
practical strategies can together reduce atmospheric CO2 while producing
substantial co-benefits for all living things.
A former archaeologist, White co-founded the Quivira Coalition, a nonprofit
dedicated to building bridges between ranchers, conservationists, public-land
managers, scientists and others concerned with land health. Today, his work
with Quivira concentrates on building economic and ecological resilience on
working landscapes, with a special emphasis on carbon ranching and the new
agrarian movement. White lives in Santa Fe with his family and a backyard
full of chickens.
2014 Quivira Conference: “Back to the Future” • November 12–14 in Albuquerque
The 2014 Quivira Conference will focus on concepts and practices that are old and yet new. “Back to the Future” is part of the burgeoning,
regenerative agriculture movement, whose aim is to restore soil, land, ourselves and our communities to health and happiness via naturally
renewing processes. In some cases, this means reviving or expanding time-tested practices; in others, it means adopting new technologies and
ideas appropriate for regenerative goals.
The conference reflects the larger global celebration of the International Year of Family Farming and Ranching. Its goal is to help raise the
profile of family farmers and ranchers and the significant role they play in alleviating hunger and poverty, providing food security and nutrition,
improving livelihoods, managing natural resources and protecting the environment. The conference’s speakers represent the diversity of the
regenerative agriculture movement around the globe.
The two workshops on the first day, Wetlands Restoration in Working Landscapes and How to Build Soil through Planned Grazing, will be Avery Anderson, Quivira Coalition
followed by a Conversation about Carbon, Climate and Cattle. Six esteemed speakers will present diverse topics on each of the following two executive director with founder
Courtney White
days. The event concludes with an awards banquet. For details, call 505.820.2544 x 2 or visit quiviracoalition.org/2014_Quivira_Conference
www.GreenFireTimes.com
Green Fire Times • November 2014
25
SERVICES
26
Green Fire Times • November 2014
www.GreenFireTimes.com
Renewable Energy Development
on New Mexico State Trust Land
“N
ew Mexico has the potential to lead the nation in new energy jobs and
the production of clean renewable energy,” says State Land Commissioner
Ray Powell. The New Mexico State Land Office, under the direction of Powell,
has been working with local communities and the private sector in support of
that goal. “Through successful private-public partnerships, we are working hard
to seize the opportunities,” Powell said.
Harnessing the state’s vast solar and wind resources not only advances clean energy
and creates jobs, it also earns money. The Land Office offers a flexible land-lease
structure that works well with the renewable-energy industry’s business processes.
The leases are expected to generate about $500 million over the next 40 years.
About 94 percent of that goes to support public schools statewide. It also supports
universities and hospitals.
The plant was built by the world’s largest solar developer, First Solar, and created
about 300 construction jobs. First Solar recently sold the plant to Southern
Company and Turner Renewable Energy (owned by Ted Turner). However, First
Solar will continue to operate and maintain the facility. This project will provide
power to El Paso Electric customers in New Mexico and Texas through a 25year power-purchase agreement. Payments over the 40-year term of the lease are
estimated to generate about $10 million for the state’s public schools.
In September 2014, the State Land Office
earned more than $78 million for schools,
hospitals and other beneficiaries.
There are currently five utility-scale wind projects under lease and three utility-scale
solar projects on State Trust Land. The largest distributive solar system, where the
commercial user of the electricity also owns the generating facility, is located on
a former landfill site at Emcore in Albuquerque. Dozens of new applications are
in progress, including a proposed 150-megawatt (MW) solar array to be located
on 2,770 acres in Otero County. The auction for that development lease will take
place on Jan. 5, 2015.
Luna County – Macho Springs Solar Project
The Macho Springs Solar Project, near Deming, began operations in May 2014.
The plant is currently the largest solar project in New Mexico, generating about
50 MW on about 600 acres of Trust Land. The solar array will generate enough
to power more than 18,000 homes without air emissions and realize significant
water savings over gas-fired or coal-fired generating plants. The project will
displace more than 40,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2), the equivalent of
removing 7,500 cars from
the road. Similar amounts
of electricity generated
with coal-fired plants
use about 340,000 metric
tons of water, or 332 acrefeet annually.
Torrance County – El Cabo Wind Farm
The proposed El Cabo wind farm will be the largest wind-energy project in the
state. Pacific Wind Development, LLC (Iberdrola Renewables) was the winning
bidder for the Trust Land lease. The project will be located on about 40,000 acres
of private land and 39,400 acres of Trust Land in Torrance County. The wind farm
ultimately will generate about 1,000 MW, enough to supply about 400,000 homes.
It will generate about $38 million over the life of the lease for public schools and
Carrie Tingley Hospital.
When completed, the wind farm will reduce CO2 emissions by 2.6 million tons,
equivalent to taking 154,688 cars off the road, and save more than 1.1 billion
gallons of water annually, or 3,428 acre-feet, when compared to coal-generated
electricity. Most likely, the project will be built in several phases over the next
10 years. The start of the project is currently pending while issues with the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission are being resolved and power-purchase
agreements negotiated.
Union County – Gallegos/Triangle Wind Farm
The Land Office recently auctioned a
lease for about 19,000 acres of Trust Land
in Union County. Triangle Gallegos LP
won the bid and agreed to make lease
payments that are estimated to generate
about $47 million over the 45-year life of
the project. These payments will support
public schools, the University of New
Mexico, New Mexico State University,
New Mexico Military Institute and New Mexico Behavioral Health Institute.
It is anticipated that this wind project will generate a total of 500 MW from 285
wind turbines—enough energy to supply up to 200,000 homes. When compared
with coal-fired generation, the project would displace CO2 emissions by 1.3 million
tons, equivalent to removing more than 77,000 cars from the road, and saving
more than 550 million gallons of water annually, or 1,714 acre-feet. The project is
scheduled to be built in two phases, with construction starting in 2015. It will create
about 400 construction jobs and about 20 new, well-paying, permanent jobs.i
www.GreenFireTimes.com
Green Fire Times • November 2014
27
Local Food Businesses
© Melanie West
The first model is in the testing phase
in northern New Mexico in cooperation
with a new food hub. DNM, as the
marketing arm, will broker deals with
restaurants and wholesale buyers for
the hub and its own kitchen clients and
network members. With a commercial
kitchen serving the needs for processing
raw goods and a hub ready to distribute
products, it’s a win-win situation and
partnership.
Several kitchens are poised to open
their doors to food businesses. The goal
for the statewide network is to help
over 120 new food businesses, which
will create nearly 300 jobs. In rural
communities so often desperate for jobs,
these are not insignificant numbers.
Creating a Trusted
Local Brand
DNM’s success is partly due to its
already recognizable brand for local
quality products. Growing markets for
continued from page 13
value-added, locally made products in
a local food system requires building
demand, and that means building a
consumer-awareness campaign. Eaters
are a part of the system, and they
play a valuable role within it. DNM
helps eaters understand that products
they find at local farmers’ markets,
like organic raspberry red chile jams,
artisan breads, lavender chocolate bark
or apricot scones, are in limited supply
because the makers of those products
need a support system to help them
grow into larger markets. The makers of
your favorite mustard can’t possibly be
at every farmers’ market or grocery store
doing one-off sampling every weekend,
unless they have a stock of cash to pay
employees to do that for them. What
they need is a support system that helps
them get beyond farmers’ markets, into
grocery stores that stock their shelves
full of their products and reorder from
distributors who deliver consistent
products by the pallet. DNM also helps
eaters understand that, when they ask
for local products that are using more
locally sourced ingredients, they are
helping grow the market themselves.
They are creating demand, voting with
their voice and their dollars for their
favorite products.
The local food movement has grown
by leaps and pounds (pun intended) in
the last five years, with more food hubs
coming online every year. We must be
willing to test ideas quickly and move on
fast if they fail and, by contrast, celebrate
the small victories when we create models
that work. Connecting farmers, ranchers
and growers to food processors and
consumers is key in keeping the system
well fed (pun also intended.)
Delicious New Mexico was designed to be
a support system for businesses that grow
the economy from the ground up.Growing
homegrown businesses that share in pride of
place by celebrating the flavors of our great
state is a benefit to all. i
This article first appeared in Green Money
Journal (www.greenmoney.com).
Vicki Pozzebon, a BALLE Fellow, is the owner
of Prospera Partners, a consulting company,
and Chief Foodie at Delicious New Mexico
(www.deliciousnm.com). She is the author of
the forthcoming book For the Love of Local:
Confessions from the
Heart of Community.
Read her blog The
Local Voice at www.
prosperapar tners.
org and follow
her on Twitter: @
vickipozzebon
Farm-to-Table
Vending Machine
Comida de Campos, an Embudo,
New Mexico-based family farm operation, has launched its Farm-toTable vending machine. It is only
the second company in the nation
to place farm-fresh food in refrigerated vending machines. Their salads, fruit cups and other locally produced foods are now in the Manuel
Luján Building in Santa Fe and will
soon be in Holy Cross Hospital in
Taos. The products are monitored
on a daily basis via the Internet and
restocked at least twice a week. The
family has been invited to place the
machines in other state and city
buildings and are setting up an Indiegogo crowdfunding account
to try to raise the money to begin
placing the machines in schools.
© Seth Roffman (2)
The Campos family has sold at
local farmers’ markets and to restaurants for years. The family also
hosts folks from around the world at
their cooking school. 505.852.0017,
[email protected], www.
comidadecampos.com
28
Green Fire Times • November 2014
www.GreenFireTimes.com
www.GreenFireTimes.com
Green Fire Times • November 2014
29
Former Commissioner Sues New Mexico
Interstate Stream Commission
© Robert Boherz
The former director of the New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission has been
granted a temporary restraining order, halting the commission’s deliberations over
the future of the Gila River. Norm Gaume, an engineer, filed suit against his former
agency, alleging that the commission violated the state Open Meetings Act because
of closed-door discussions. The commission must decide by Dec. 31 whether to
accept up to $62 million in federal funding to help dam the river to create a water
diversion and reservoir system. Guame and his many supporters think that the
project would devastate the river environment and would likely cost hundreds of
millions of dollars beyond the initial
federal funding. The Gila River, in
southwestern New Mexico, is the last
free-flowing river in the state.
The Gila River
In the suit, Gaume says that the
agency secretly met without public
notice and took a series of actions
including a subcommittee decision
to spend $700,000 on a consulting
contract. Amy Haas, an attorney for
the commission, said in a written
statement that “Gila Committee” does
not constitute a quorum and therefore
its meetings are not public and do not
require notice. Brian Egolf, Gaume’s
attorney, said if it is doing substantive
work, the subcommittee must abide
by the law, provide notice and hold its
meetings in public. At press time, the
District Court was to decide whether
to lift the restraining order, extend it
or issue another injunction.
Water-Wise Training for
Professional Landscapers
From Nov. 10–14, the city of Santa Fe Water Conservation Office will be hosting
an EPA-approved Qualified Water Efficient Landscaper (QWEL) training to area
landscape/irrigation professionals, local nonprofits, governmental agencies, water
utilities/service providers and educational institutions. The training is offered at
$75. QWEL provides 32 hours of education based on principles of proper plant
selection for the local climate, irrigation-system design and maintenance and
irrigation-system programming and operation. “Having certified professionals extends the city’s ability to provide expert water efficiency
evaluations and irrigation check-ups to encourage customers to put every drop of water
to work by ensuring their irrigation system operates at peak efficiency to minimize
overwatering, evaporation and runoff,” said Water Conservation Manager Laurie
Trevizo. To register, call 505.955.4220 or go to www.savesantafewater.com/2014/10/fall
-2014qwel-training
Santa Fe Median Wins EPA Award
for Stormwater Management
The city of Santa Fe has received a national honor for a 640-foot street median
that makes better use of storm runoff. The demonstration project at St. Michaels
Drive and Calle Lorca received the U.S. E.P.A. People’s Choice Award for Green
Infrastructure and Low-Impact Development. The award honors small-scale
effective uses of green infrastructure.
The city’s Water Conservation Office is using the median to show how small,
low-cost design changes can significantly improve stormwater flow and make it
possible to retain rainwater for use as irrigation on public-owned medians. The
median was re-designed using recycled materials for infiltration galleries, curb
cuts to access runoff and planted with native species to filter rainfall, recharge
groundwater and reduce maintenance. Construction took 86 man-hours and cost
$280 in materials. The design, removal and installation time was less than a week. “The city wants to lead by example and provide incentives for both other city infrastructure
improvements and for our customers who want to take water-conservation efforts to
the next level,” said Laurie Trevizo, Water Conservation manager.
For more information about water conservation in Santa Fe, including the Drought
Water Management Plan, residential and commercial rebate programs and
outdoor/indoor water use requirements, visit www.savewatersantafe.com
30
Green Fire Times • November 2014
www.GreenFireTimes.com
Planning Santa Fe’s Food Future
Querencia ­— A story of food, farming and friends
Seth Roffman
T
he 13-member Santa
Fe Food Policy Council
(SFFPC), which includes
city and county staff, was
established by a joint resolution
f rom the city and county
of Santa Fe. The council’s
recently unveiled Food Plan
presents current food, farm
and health data to help area
residents get, grow and learn
about healthy food. It is also
intended to facilitate the
creation and maintenance of a regional food system that
will ensure the availability of food supplies, including for low-income people, in
coming decades. Accomplishing that goal will require increasing the Santa Fe
area’s capacity for self-reliance.
step will be to educate residents about the recommendations and establish new
ordinances that help preserve farmland and support urban farming. The SFFPC
sees this collaborative effort as the foundation from which a just, sustainable and
regenerative community food system can be built. The group expects that full
implementation of the plan’s recommendations will occur over three years.
Our food cannot be separated from how we
work the land and water our crops.
The culmination of several years of extensive community-level research, Planning
for Santa Fe’s Food Future shows how food issues tie into health, economic
development, education, transportation and land-use policies that affect agriculture,
land and water conservation. The plan bridges local, state and national issues
pertaining to food. Intended as a tool for discussion and ongoing modification as
goals are prioritized, it suggests a variety of policy actions to promote food security.
Its recommendations are aligned with the Santa Fe County Health Action Plan,
the Santa Fe County Sustainable Growth Management Plan and the Sustainable
Santa Fe Plan.
Late last month, the SFFPC asked the City Council and the County Commission
to adopt the plan as the guiding document for city and county officials, food and
farm organizations and a variety of community groups. Once adopted, the next
Planting demonstration at Gaia Gardens in the city of Santa Fe
The Food Plan is divided into three sections: “Getting Food,” “Growing Food”
and “Learning About Food.” Each section provides a list of recommendations
and identifies agencies and/or organizations that should take responsibility for
the goals’ implementation. “Getting Food” encourages the community to use all
available means to make healthful and affordable food accessible. “Growing Food”
highlights the critical role that farmers and the region’s natural resources play in
ensuring the food supply. It strongly urges city and county governments to promote
new and existing gardening, farming and ranching opportunities. “Learning About
Food” underscores the connection between the food supply and healthy living. It
calls for the widespread adoption of wellness policies, institutional practices and
educational programs such as school gardens that increase the understanding
and application of food production, cooking skills and the safe handling and
processing of food.
The SFFPC meets the fourth Thursday of every month, 9-11 a.m., except for
November and December, when it meets the third Thursday. Meetings are at the
Food Depot, 1222 Siler Rd. and are open to the public. For more information,
contact Peggy O’Mara at 505.983.6771, [email protected] or visit http://
www.santafefoodpolicy.org i
Santa Fe Food Statistics
© Seth Roffman (2)
• 1 4.9 percent, at least 21,270 Santa Fe County residents, don’t know where
their next meal is coming from. This number is equal to twice the population
of Española.
• 10 percent of low-income families live a mile or more from the nearest grocery
store.
L-R: Don Reece, Santa Fe County Health Policy and Planning commissioner, District 3;
Patricia Boies, director of Health Services Division of Santa Fe County’s Community Services
Department; Kathy Holian, Santa Fe County commissioner, District 4; Sue Perry, chair of
the Santa Fe Food Policy Council and City Wellness coordinator; Tony McCarty, Santa Fe
Food Policy Council and co-founder and executive director of Kitchen Angels; Erin Lloyd
Ortigoza, Santa Fe Food Policy Council and county community planner; Susan Odiseos,
Santa Fe Food Policy Council and president of Food for Santa Fe; Pam Roy, Santa Fe Food
Policy Council and executive director of Farm to Table; Lynn Walters, Santa Fe Food Policy
Council and founder and executive director of Cooking with Kids
www.GreenFireTimes.com
• 3 0,000 Santa Fe County residents experience the effects of obesity. That’s 20
percent of the population or 1 in 5.
• One-third of the restaurants in Santa Fe are fast-food restaurants. One in three.
• The Food Depot provided 4,827,818 pounds of food to partner agencies in 2013.
• Kitchen Angels has prepared and delivered over 725,000 meals since 1992.
• Food for Santa Fe weekly distributes 900 bags of groceries.
Green Fire Times • November 2014
31
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Green Fire Times • November 2014
www.GreenFireTimes.com
Sustainable Santa Fe Monthly Update
Announcing SSF’s Community Scorecard
Measurement is the Key to Management.
H
ow effective are Santa Fe’s sustainability programs? Are the city’s efforts
making a significant impact or spinning well-intentioned wheels? To find
out, we need to see real numbers. Without concrete data and facts, all we have
to go on are opinions.
That’s why the Sustainable Santa Fe Commission has developed a Community
Scorecard that tracks data indicators. “It’s not enough to just implement a
program and hope for the best,” notes the introduction to the Scorecard. “This
tool provides concrete feedback on the efficacy of programs and information to
guide and focus sustainability efforts where they are most needed.” In short, we
need to verify that SSF efforts are accomplishing what we intend or adjust our
strategy accordingly. What’s more, regular measurements can be used to hold
responsible departments accountable for results.
While inspired by national tracking and reporting tools, including the
Sustainability Tool for Assessment and Reporting (STAR) Communities
system, the SSF Scorecard will specifically focus on our unique regional needs
and priorities. This tool tracks more than 20 community data indicators in areas
such as water use, electric use, solar installations, and recycling and diversion
rates. Each has been chosen to guide the implementation of climate-change
mitigation or preparation initiatives. This tool will also serve as the baseline data
for Mayor Gonzales’ Climate Action Task Force.
A tool to guide implementation of climatechange mitigation or preparation initiatives
The scorecard allows us to move beyond programs that “seem like a good idea” to
results-driven initiatives. With this data, we will be able to see exactly how much
we are progressing each year and make timely adjustments to bring us toward a
measurable goal. This strategy has been dubbed the “Prius Effect” by scientists
because it has been documented that most drivers respond to the immediate,
observable feedback on the Toyota Prius’s dashboard by driving more efficiently.
The Community Scorecard will use this Prius Effect to create effective changes in
how we manage our resources. The effects of city policy, improved infrastructure,
resident education and behavior change, greener business practices and other
sustainability programs will show up as changes in these indicators over time.
For example, water use is being closely tracked with multiple indicators.
Maintaining low per-capita water use has always been a strong suit for Santa Fe;
in 2013, we averaged 101 gallons per capita per day. That is one of the lowest per
capita water-use rates in the U.S. Southwest, and it measures not only residential
use but also commercial, industrial and irrigation water. However, because
www.GreenFireTimes.com
of population grow th
and other factors, such as
wholesale water deliveries
not included in per-capita
calculations, our total
water use is still increasing
a n n u a l l y. M e a n w h i l e ,
water-efficiency incentive
programs, like rebates on
water barrels and toilet
upgrades, have been used
less every year. Carefully
tracking resource use from
multiple perspectives like
this is a valuable tool for
refining our conservation
strategy even more. With
t h i s i n f o r m a t i on , t h e
commission can recommend
initiatives to address Santa
Fe’s total water use such as
new commercial-efficiency
programs or rainwaterharvesting opportunities.
© Anna C. Hansen (2)
Ashley Zappe
Santa Fe River, summer and autumn
data indicators included in the 2013 report:
• E
nergy: City operations total electric use; city operations sources of electricity;
average residential energy use; new solar installations; vehicle fuel use; electric
and hybrid cars.
• Water: Per capita water use; total water consumption; sources of water;
water-efficiency incentives; water conserved for water bank; water education;
rainwater-harvesting permits.
• Waste: Per capita tons of solid waste; recycling participation; percent of
recycled materials in solid waste; diversion from landfill; CO2e emissions
reduced through recycling.
• Ecosystems: Tree canopy; river flow; conserved land.
• C
ommunity Design: Complete and compact community development;
walkability; public transportation use; average daily vehicle miles; developed
parkland per 1,000 residents and distribution by district.
These data sets are drawn largely from previously published reports such as the
2012 City of Santa Fe Annual Water Report used for the example above, but
the sets included in the scorecard have been selected and presented together
for sustainability evaluation. As data become available, the following data sets
will be added: CO2e emissions total from Santa Fe community; CO2e emissions
by sector; climate-change preparation; aquifer; grey-water installations; river,
arroyo and watershed restoration; bikeability; and green economy.
Data-indicator tracking is a standard procedure for many other sectors:
companies use data indicators to increase their sales; Facebook offers data
“insights” for organizations to increase their social-media reach; traffic planners
use big data analytics to optimize traffic flow; and financial traders use data to
make trading decisions. Why shouldn’t Santa Fe also harness the power of data
tracking to develop our sustainability? i
A downloadable copy of the 2013 Scorecard will be available Nov. 15 and can be
found at http://sustainablesantafe.wordpress.com
Green Fire Times • November 2014
33
r
34
Green Fire Times • November 2014
www.GreenFireTimes.com
www.GreenFireTimes.com
Green Fire Times • November 2014
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Green Fire Times • November 2014
Green Fire Times is available at
many locations in the metropolitan
Albuquerque / Río Rancho area!
For the location nearest you,
call Nick García at 505.203.4613
www.GreenFireTimes.com
NEWSBITEs
NASA Discovers Massive Methane Leak
Over the Four Corners
Last month, NASA scientists announced that “leaks” from natural-gas producers
in New Mexico’s San Juan Basin have created a 2,500-square-mile cloud of
methane hovering over the
Four Corners. The methane
cloud, exposed by satellite
data and unnoticed until
now, is three times larger
than had been measured
from ground-based readings.
Scientists had ignored it for
years because they assumed
that something that immense
and unusual had to be an
equipment malfunction.
The satellite data was from 2003-2009 and doesn’t take into account the hydraulic
fracking boom in the area in recent years. The methane emissions recorded are likely
due to potent leaks as workers pump natural gas out of coal mines. The San Juan
Basin is the most active coal-bed methane area in the United States.
The methane hot spot is not a local safety or health issue for residents, but it is 86
times more potent for trapping heat in the short term than carbon dioxide (CO2).
According to the EPA, its impact on global warming is over 20 times greater than
CO2 over a 100-year period. More than a third of the greenhouse gas that the United
States produces—some of it from cattle—is methane.
A Fracking Primer
mora’s drilling ban stays — for now
In October 2014, the Mora County (NM) Commission voted to maintain its
“community rights ordinance,” a first-in-the-country ban on oil and gas drilling
that is facing lawsuits from powerful drilling interests. The ban outlaws fracking.
The vote may change after Dec. 31, when Commissioner John Olivas leaves office
and is replaced with drilling advocate George Trujillo. In San Juan County, Chaco
Canyon, a World Heritage Site sacred to Indians of the Southwest, is surrounded
by one of the most productive oil and gas basins in the United States. Thanks to new
technology, thousands of new wells are possible.
Currently, thousands of companies across the country are in the fracking business,
and operate more than one million producing wells across the U.S. The natural-gas
boom is providing many jobs and plentiful, low-cost fuel. Today, 33 percent of gas
production and 26 percent of oil production emanate from shale resources accessed
by fracking. Industry experts estimate that 60 to 80 percent of all new and existing
wells drilled will employ fracking to remain viable.
Fracking fluids, including possible and known carcinogens such as arsenic, benzene,
formaldehyde, thallium and sulfuric acid, are forced into the ground and surrounding
environment with high pressure, breaking through porous rock formations that
hold trapped oil and gas. In drought-prone California, state regulators shut down
11 fracking injection wells last July. The state Resource Board says that nearly three
billion gallons of wastewater were illegally injected into aquifers used for drinking
and farm irrigation. The U.S. fracking fluid market was valued at $18.4 billion in
2012, grew to $26 billion in 2013 and is projected to reach about $37.3 billion in 2018.
Because of growing environmental and health concerns, the industry is seeking new
fracking fluids that offer both financial and environmentally sustainable benefits.
Environmentalists also cite common methane leakage in fracking. Methane leaks
during natural-gas production and distribution. A paper published in April 2014 in
the journal Climate Change says that up to 5 percent of the methane from fracking
probably escapes into the atmosphere. According to the Environmental Defense
Fund, a 50 percent reduction in methane emissions would be equivalent to closing
90 coal-fired power plants. Some say that lowering methane emissions can be done
with existing technology at fairly minimal cost.
Another impact of cheap, fracked shale gas is that the massive investment in pipelines
and gas-fired power plants deincentivize conversion to clean energy such as solar
and wind. Acem Steiner, director of the United Nations’ Environment Programme,
has said that the development of shale gas is “a liability” in fighting global warming
that could create a 20-to 30-year delay for low- and zero-carbon models.
www.GreenFireTimes.com
Judge Orders Water Commission
to Reschedule Hearing
In response to a petition by the Sierra Club’s Río Grande Chapter, District Court
Judge Sarah Singleton has ordered New Mexico Environment Secretary Ryan Flynn
to conduct a Water Quality Control Commission (WQCC) meeting to reschedule
a hearing on groundwater-protection rules for the dairy industry.
A statement the Río Grande Chapter released says that, “Although 57 percent of
New Mexico dairies have polluted groundwater in excess of health standards, Flynn’s
Environment Department has not been enforcing a groundwater-protection rule
the commission passed in 2011 specifically for the dairy industry. The Environment
Department and an industry group calling themselves ‘Dairy Industry Group for a
Clean Environment’ have been working together—often barring the public from
their discussions—to dismantle the rule’s most important water protections.”
The WQCC had scheduled a hearing on these rule changes to be held in Roswell,
ignoring state laws that require a public process and hearing in Santa Fe. “The
Environment Department is pandering to the industrial dairies that want the hearing
about dismantling the rule to be held in the most sympathetic locale in the state,” said
Río Grande Chapter Conservation Coordinator Dan Lorimier. “If they are able to
quietly get away with gutting the dairy safeguards and allowing the copper-mining
industry to write its own groundwater rule, what protections are the 90 percent of
New Mexicans who drink groundwater left with?”
A typical New Mexico dairy produces thousands of gallons of waste daily—as much
as a small city. But cities treat their wastewater, while dairies dump untreated,
antibiotic-laden waste into gigantic open-air lagoons. The rules agreed upon by all
stakeholders—including the dairy-industry group and the Citizens Coalition—
required synthetic liners for those lagoons, as well as other protections for drinking
water. But the Environment Department has yet to enforce that rule, and many dairies
are operating in New Mexico without permits.
Coalition Threatens Lawsuit
Over Oil and Gas Leases
In response to last month’s sale of leases on 22,000 acres of
Santa Fe National Forest lands for horizontal oil drilling
and hydraulic gas fracking, a coalition of local and national
conservation groups say it will sue the Bureau of Land
Management. The lawsuit cannot be filed until the leases
are officially issued. The minimum bid for the leases was $2
per acre. The noncontiguous parcels are in Río Arriba and
San Juan counties on the western boundary of the forest
north of Cuba, N.M., near the Continental Divide. The
federal government also has jurisdiction over mineral rights
on Bureau of Indian Affairs and private land on other lease
sales that are pending.
“The environmental assessment that the BLM put out for this refused to take a look at
any of the environmental and cultural impacts that the oil and gas development might
have,” said Kyle Tisdel, attorney and director of the Western Environmental Law
Center in Taos. In a press release, Mike Eisenfeld, New Mexico energy coordinator for
the San Juan Citizens Alliance said, “This new lease of the Santa Fe National Forest
continues a reckless, lease-everywhere mentality that destroys recreation, wildlife and
cultural resources and ignores BLM’s responsibilities to honestly analyze impacts.”
Renewed New Mexico Green
Building Credit Proposed
Sustainable building tax credits, first offered in New Mexico in 2007, have helped
create jobs and have saved homeowners and commercial building owners money
through lower energy and water costs. The tax credits, which are applied against
a homeowner’s income taxes, have provided a measurable incentive during tough
economic times. The $4 million state tax credit offered to builders of homes that are
at least 40 percent more energy-efficient has run out, although there is a backlog of
builders and homeowners who have applied for it. One million dollars is still currently
available for commercial and multifamily structures.
Sen. Peter Wirth and Rep. Carl Trujillo have been working with builders to draft
bills they can sponsor in the 2015 state Legislature that would extend the tax credit,
double the cap, increase energy-efficiency requirements for qualifying buildings
(which include some manufactured homes), and add water conservation as a feature
that qualifies for the credit.
Green Fire Times • November 2014
37
What's Going On!
Events / Announcements
Bill McDonald, Jo Robinson and others who
represent the diversity of the regenerative agriculture movement. 505.820.2544, ext. 2. http://
www.quiviracoalition.org (See ad on page 6)
ALBUQUERQUE
Nov. 3, 10 am-12 pm
NM Food & Agriculture Policy
Council Meeting
NMSU ABQ, 4501 Indian School NE
Presentation/discussion on farm and foodfocused legislative priorities among participating groups including Farm to School
program. RSVP: 505.660.8403, www.farmtotablenm.org/programs/new-mexicofood-agriculture-policy-council
Nov. 4- Dec. 30, 2-5:30 pm
LEED Certification Training
CNM Workforce Training Center
Training for initial or renewed Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)
certifications. LEED is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high-performance
green buildings. $899. 505.224.5200, www.
cnm.edu/wtc
Nov. 4, 5:30-7:30 pm
TEDxABQ Salon/Youth
ABQ Museum of Art and History
Salon geared toward youth impact, ideas,
inspiration and innovations related to the
future of NM communities. $20/$10. http://
tedxabq.com
Nov. 5, 5:30-7 pm
Green Drinks
Hotel Andaluz, 125 Second St. NW
Network with people interested in local business, clean energy and green opportunities in
our communities. Presenter: Mayling Armijo, Bernalillo County Economic Development Director. Free. centralNM@nmgreen
chamber.com, www.greendrinks.org
Nov. 6, 6 pm
Treehugger’s Bash
Grove Café & Market, 600 Central SE
Gourmet dinner, silent auction. Benefit for WildEarth Guardians. Learn
about conservation objectives to prevent further industrialization of public lands. $35. http://wg.convio.net/site/
PageS er ver?pagename=Treehug gers_
Bash_2014_Invitation_and_Tickets
Nov. 8, 10 am-6 pm; Nov. 9, 10
am-5 pm
NM Green & Healthy Living Expo
Manuel Luján Complex, NM State
Fairgrounds, 300 San Pedro NE
Educational presentations, live demonstrations, information on sustainable living,
health & wellness. Eco-friendly products
and services. Admission: $8/$5/under 12
free. 505.633.8921, [email protected],
nmexpos.com (See ad on page 9)
Nov. 12-14
Quivira Coalition Conference
Embassy Suites Hotel
“Back to the Future.” Presentations and workshops on agricultural and conservation practices that are old yet new. Speakers include Dorn
Cox, Fred Kirschenmann, Winona LaDuke,
38
Nov. 13, 8-9:30 am
NM Energy Forum
ABQ Convention Center, 401 2nd St. NW
This forum, hosted by ABQ First, will offer
energy insights from world-class experts in
energy, economics, geopolitical risk, sustainability and supply chain management. $40.
505.348.8326, tfenstermaker@bizjournals.
com, www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/
event/113391
Nov. 14, 7:30 pm
The Pragmatism of
Historic Preservation
Maxwell Museum, Hibben 105
Southwest lecture by Dr. Jeff Pappas, NM
State Historic Preservation Officer. Free.
505.277.4405, http://maxwellmuseum.unm.
edu
Nov. 15, 9 am-4 pm
NM Archeology Conference
Maxwell Museum, Hibben Center
Info: [email protected], 505.277.4405, http://
maxwellmuseum.unm.edu
Nov. 15, 9 am-4 pm
4th Annual Pueblo
Fiber Arts Show
Indian Pueblo Cultural Center
2401 12th Street
Meet traditional Pueblo fiber artists and see
live demonstrations of weaving, embroidery,
spinning, knitting and basketry and more.
Raffle. Free. Presented by the NM Pueblo
Fiber Arts Guild and IPCC. 505.363.1294,
[email protected]
Nov. 15, 10:30 am–12:30 pm
Eating for Your Health
Highland Senior Activity Center
131 Monroe NE
Community-based workshop led by Susan Clair, covering elements of a healthy
lifestyle, plant-based and animal proteins,
organic vs. conventional, antioxidants and
systemic alkalinity, herbs & spices, refined
carbs & sweeteners, healthy fats. Free or by
donation. 505.281.9888, [email protected]
Nov. 15, Doors open at 12 pm
TEDxABQ Youth 2014
Stay Curious
Bosque High School
4000 Learning Rd. NW
Share big ideas, mind-shifting stories and
creativity through local thinkers, explorers, innovators, artists and more. $40/$20.
http://tedxabq.com
Nov. 15
Navajo Rug Auction
Prairie Star Restaurant
Contemporary and historic rugs. Proceeds
benefit Navajo weavers and the Maxwell
Museum. 11 am viewing, 1 pm auction.
Nov. 16, 10 am-5 pm
Unique ABQ Craft Sale
PB&J Family Services, 209 San Pablo SE
Made in ABQ crafts such as jewelry, crocheted, knitted scarf and hats, traditionally
inspired garments and tote bags at bargain
prices. Intl. District artisans including boys
Green Fire Times • November 2014
and girls. www.womensglobalpathways.com,
www.irrva.com, www.powernm.org
Nov. 21, 6-10 pm
Spirit of Hope Gala
Sandía Resort & Casino
Benefits NM Voices for Children. $100.
http://www.nmvoices.org/spiritofhope
Nov. 22, 1:30-3 pm
Composting with Worms
Open Space Visitor Center
6500 Coors NW
Learn vermicomposting. Bernalillo County
Extension Master Composters. Registration: 505.897.8831, register@nmcom
posters.org
Nov. 22, 1-3 pm
Asian American Legacy Stories:
The NM Experience
Maxwell Museum’s Hibben Auditorium
Free oral history program. A multimedia
presentation accompanied by live readings
focused on leaders and activities of New
Mexican civic groups in NM in the late 19th
through early 20th centuries. Partially funded by the NM Humanities Council. nation
[email protected], www.aaanm.us
Dec. 3, 6-8 pm
Green Chamber Fundraiser
Hotel Andaluz, 125 Second St. NW
Network with people interested in local business, clean energy and green opportunities
in our communities. centralNM@nmgreen
chamber.com, www.greendrinks.org
Daily
Degrees of Change:
NM’s Climate Forecast
NM Museum of Natural History &
Science, 1801 Mountain Rd. NW
With a focus on NM and the SW, this exhibit
reveals current and predicted impacts on humans, landscapes and ecosystems, and takes
you back in time to discover past climates.
Tickets: $7, $6, $4. Info: 505.841.2800, www.
nmnaturalhistory.org
Wednesdays through Nov. 19,
noon-12:45 pm
Water & Energy in NM
Pearl Hall (Stanford & Central),Rm.P139
Conversations on Our Common Future
seminar/discussion series. Free. cscruggs@
unm.edu. 10/1: Water & energy use in NM
agriculture; 10/8: Implications of militarized
landscapes for groundwater
Through Dec. 20
Fall 2014 Exhibitions
UNM Art Museum
UNM Center for the Arts
David Maisel/Black Maps, American Landscape and the Apocalyptic Sublime; Luz Restirada: Latin American Photography; The
Gift, woodcuts by John Tatschi. $5 suggested
donation.
Through May 31, 2015
El Agua es Vida: Acequias in
Northern New Mexico
Maxwell Museum of Anthropology,
UNM
Groundbreaking, multidisciplinary exhibit.
Free. 505.277.4405, maxwellmuseum.unm.
edu
SANTA FE
Nov. 1 Enrollment Open
Foundations of Herbal
Medicine Program
250-hour hands-on course presented by
Milagro School of Herbal Medicine, limited
to 12 students. Online course also offered.
505.820.5321, [email protected]
Nov. 1
NM Community Foundation
Luminaria Awards
Pays tribute to outstanding individuals from throughout the state who make a
profound difference in their communities.
505.820.6860, www.nmcf.org
Nov. 1-2, 1 pm
Climate Leadership Summit
Temple Beth Shalom, 205 E. Barcelona
Workshop, visioning session and kickoff of
Change the Course, a new program from
Rainforest Action Network to create a just
transition to a post-carbon future. beaut
[email protected],
www.ran.
org/ctc_summit_santafe_nov_1_2_2014
Nov. 3, 9 am-12:30 pm
Climate Action Summit
Genoveva Chávez Center Community Room
Mayor Javier Gonzales will host this summit, which will examine the city’s efforts and
progress in water, energy efficiency, renewable energy and transportation. The mayor
will be joined by the Climate Action Task
Force. 505.795.4169, [email protected]
Nov. 3, 6 pm
Lessons of the Ancient
Hohokam
Hotel Santa Fe
SW Seminars lecture on Water Control in an
Uncontrolled Environment by geoarchaeologist, geomorphologist, former Washington State University professor Dr. Gary
Huckleberry. $12. 505.466.2775, southwest
[email protected], SouthwestSeminars.org
Nov. 4, 7:30 pm
Art2Art
Garrett’s Desert Inn, 311 Old SF Trail
Music, color and conversation with recording artist Nacha Méndez, visual artists
Linda Storm and Pablo Perea. Free. Donations benefit NM Music Commission.
505.476.0522, [email protected]
Nov. 6-8
Tony Hillerman
Writers Conference
SF Hilton, 100 Sandoval St.
10th anniversary. Hands-on workshops with
a mix of presenters and seasoned authors.
Gala opening celebration featuring film
clips from Hillerman movies. Panel presentations, interactive sessions. http://word
harvest.com/registration.php
Nov. 8, 10 am-2 pm
Arts & Crafts Flea Market
Palace of the Governors Meem
Room, 110 Washington Ave.
Find treasures while northern NM artists
recycle. SF Book Arts Group/Palace Press
annual multivendor flea market featuring
arts & crafts supplies, handmade books,
handmade and specialty papers and gifts.
505.476.5100
www.GreenFireTimes.com
Nov. 8, 4:30-8 pm
Wild & Scenic Film Festival
SF Farmers’ Market Pavilion
Award-winning short environmental and
adventure films include Tewa film The Longest Sun, silent auction, music, food and
more. $10/$12. A benefit for the NM Environmental Law Center. 505.989.9022, info@
nmelc.org, nmelc.org/filmfest
Nov. 8, 5:30 pm
Reception; 7:30 pm Films
Lunafest Film Festival
Pop Gallery, 125 Lincoln Ave; NM
History Museum, 117 Lincoln Ave.
8 short films by, for and about women. Proceeds
benefit Girls, Inc. of SF and the Breast Cancer
Fund. $35/$25. 505.988.1234, ticketssantafe.
org, at the door. 505.982.2042, events@girls
incofsantafe.org, www.Lunafest.org
Nov. 22, 10 am-12 pm
Green Writers’ Circle
Writers engaged in sustainability, ecology,
health and environmental issues meet for
training, publication and information resources and discussion. RSVP: sguyette@
nets.com for details.
Nov. 24, 6 pm
Ethnobotany of Combustible
Plants in Northern NM
Hotel Santa Fe
SW Seminars lecture by Dr. Richard I. Ford.
$12. 505.466.2775, Southwestseminar@aol.
com, Southwestseminars.org
Dec. 5 Entry Deadline
City of SF Water Conservation
Poster Contest
Nov. 9, 7 pm
Dave Grusin and Lee Ritenour
The Lensic
Benefit concert with the jazz legends for
Assistance Dogs of the West. $25/$100.
505.988.1234, tickessantafe.org
This year’s theme: How Water Connects Us.
Public, private, charter and home-schooled
students in grades 1-6 invited. The winning poster will be displayed on the back
of a city bus and on a calendar cover. Other
winners will be included in the calendar.
505.955.4225, www.savewatersantafe.com/
conservation-classroom
Nov. 12-14
Building Creative
Communities Conference
La Fonda Hotel
Dec. 13, 10 am-4 pm
Young Native Artists
Holiday Show & Sale
Washington Ave. Entrance
A training, educational and networking
event for community builders throughout
NM. Presented by NM Arts, NM MainStreet, NM Historic Preservation Division
and NM Tourism Dept. $180. www.build
ingcreativecommunities.org
Nov. 15, 6:30 pm
Ice Cream & Activism with
Ben Cohen of Ben & Jerry’s
SF Convention Center
Tickets: $12/$20. 505.988.1234, Lensic.org.
Presented by the Santa Fe Green Chamber of
Commerce. Info/sponsorship: 505.428.9123,
[email protected]
Nov. 16, 3-6 pm
Friends of Archeology
Holiday Party
Hotel Santa Fe
Silent auction and archaeology demonstrations. $20. 505.982.7799, x 5., www.nmarch
eology.org
Nov. 18-19
59th Annual New Mexico
Water Conference
La Fonda on the Plaza
“NM’s Water Future: Connecting Stakeholders Needs to Water Information” Hosted by the NM Water Resources Institute.
Wrri.nmsu.edu
Nov. 20, 7 pm
SFAI: 20 Short Talks
SF Art Institute
1600 St. Michaels Drive
Artists in residence and northern NM community members discuss ideas and projects
in 140-second presentations. Speakers include Todd López, Nicholas Mang, Lida
Nosrati, Kate Daughdrill and Mira Burack.
505.424.5050, [email protected], www.SFAI.org
Nov. 21-22
Hemp Bound
Carbon Economy Series
SF Community College
Friday night talk (7-9 pm, $10) by Doug Fine
and Saturday workshop/panel discussion (9
am-5 pm, $99) on the potential of hemp with
industry leaders. 505.819.3828,
www.carboneconomyseries.com
www.GreenFireTimes.com
NM History Museum Children and grandchildren of the Palace Portal artists. Get on
the ground floor of collecting from the next
generation of Native artists. Free admission.
Dec. 13, 4-7 pm
Kindred Spirits Animal
Sanctuary Holiday Celebration
3749A Highway 14
Kindred Spirits provides hospice care to
dogs, horses and poultry. 505.471.5366,
[email protected],
www.
kindredspiritsnm.org
Dec. 14, 4-7 pm
SF Artists Medical Fund
Art Auction
Yares Art Projects, 123 Grant Ave.
Over 175 works of art. santafeartistsfund@
gmail.com
Dec. 15, 6 pm
NM’s Cultural History
Lesson to the World
SW Seminars lecture by Dr. Tom Chávez.
$12. 505.466.2775, Southwestseminar@aol.
com, Southwestseminars.org
Through Dec. 15
Safety Training Classes
SF Community College
Certified Renovator, Certified Renovator
Refresher, OSHA Construction Standards.
505.428.1866, www.sfcc.edu/environmental
_health_and_safety_training
First Saturday of Each Month,
10 am-12 pm
SF Citizens’ Climate Lobby
Various Locations
“Creating political will for a livable world”
[email protected]
Tuesdays and Saturdays,
7 am-1 pm
Santa Fe Farmers’ Market
1607 Paseo de Peralta (& Guadalupe)
Northern NM farmers & ranchers offer
fresh greenhouse tomatoes, greens, root veggies, cheese, teas, herbs, spices, honey, baked
goods, body care products and much more.
www.santafefarmersmarket.com
Sundays, 10 am-4 pm
New Mexico Artisan Market
Farmers’ Market Pavilion
www.artmarketsantafe.com
Become a Site Steward
Santa Fe National Forest
Monitor archeological and historical sites on a
regular basis for evidence of natural deterioration or vandalism. www.sfnfsitestewards.org
Santa Fe Creative Tourism
Workshops, Classes
and Experiences
http://santafecreativetourism.org/
Santa Fe Recycling
Make 2014 the year to reduce, reuse and recycle as much as you can. City residential
curbside customers can recycle at no additional cost and drop by 1142 Siler Rd.,
Building A, to pick up free recycling bins.
At least 50 percent of curbside residential
customers recycle now. Let’s take that number to 100 percent. For more information,
visit
http://www.santafenm.gov/trash_
and_recycling or call 505.955.2200 (city);
505.992.3010 (county); 505.424.1850 (SF
Solid Waste Management Agency).
Española
Through Nov. 19, 5-8 pm
Business Development Series
Española Valley Fiber Arts Center,
325 Paseo de Oñate, Española
Six-week workshop series presented by
WESST-Santa Fe in collaboration with
EVFAC. Starting or growing an arts business? Learn: The Basics, Research, Pricing, Financing, Goals, Business Plan. $29.
505.747.3577, [email protected]
Veterans Green Jobs Academy
Northern NM College
Española, NM
Workforce training and specific degree programs to support military veterans in fully
accredited academic certificate and degree
programs in areas of environmental science
related to renewable energy, hazardous materials response, forestry, sustainable agriculture, wildland fire science, construction
trades and others. A partnership with the
NM Dept. of Veterans Services. For more
info, call Dr. Biggs at 505.747.5453 or visit
www.nnmc.edu/vetacademy.htm
TAOS
Nov. 10-16
TCEDC Week
TCEDC Campus and Bataan Hall,
UNM-Taos, NM
Supports food, land and cultures of northern
NM. Taos County Economic Development
Corporation celebration and thanksgiving
for the harvest. Classes, films talks, tours,
expo/feast, fundraising dinner. (See story on
page 14) [email protected], http://
facebook.com/tcedc.taos?fref=ts
Through Feb. 28, 2015
Art through the Loom
Weaving Guild Show
Old Martina’s Hall, Ranchos de Taos
www.artthroughtheloom.com
HERE & THERE
Nov. 8, 15, 10 am-4 pm
Chimayó Youth Visioning
Workshops
Bennie J. Chávez Community Center
Chimayó, NM
Workshops will engage youth and young
adults in an intensive 3-part planning and
design workshop to explore the future of
Chimayó. Mapping, drawing, photography
field observation and analysis. Free. Presented by Santa Fe County with UNM School of
Architecture. Community exhibit/celebration organized by participants will happen in
Feb. 2015. 505.986.6200, www.santafecounty
nm.gov/event_detail/3382
Through Nov. 9
Day of the Dead Show
Tomé Art Gallery, Hwy. 47
Los Lunas
Art show features silk, fiber, furniture, glass,
pottery, jewelry, paintings and more. Reception: Nov. 2, 12-3 pm. 505.565.0556
Nov. 15
America Recycles Day
National Celebration
Educational events around the country. Recognizes the benefits of reducing, reusing and
recycling. AmericaRecyclesDay.org
Dec. 3 Application Deadline
Western SARE Farmer/Rancher
Grants
$15,000-$25,000 grants from Sustainable
Agriculture Research & Education for projects by agri-producers with technical advisor
support. Often used to conduct on-site experiments that can improve farm operations
and the environment. www.westernsare.org/
Grants/Types-of-Grants
Dec. 6-7, 10 am-4 pm
Wool Shed Christmas Sale
Maple Winds Farm, Stanley, NM
Handmade hats, socks, yarns, fiber, wool,
alpaca, angora, wool & silk blended yarns
and more. Hot chocolate & cookies. Regular hours 10-4 on Mondays. 505.201.6127,
Victorias-Mountain-Yarns.com
Tuesday-Friday, 10 am-1 pm
and Saturday
Pajarito Environmental
Education Center
3540 Orange St., Los Alamos, NM
Nature center and outdoor education programs. Exhibits of flora and fauna of the Pajarito Plateau; herbarium, live amphibians,
butterfly and xeric gardens. Tuesday-Saturday. Free. 505.662.0460, Programs@Pajarito
EEC.org, www.pajaritoeec.org
Daily, 10 am-6 pm
Wildlife West
87 N. Frontage Rd., Edgewood
122-acre park/attraction with educational
programs dedicated to native wildlife and
ecology. $7/$6/$4/children under 5 free.
www.wildlifewest.org
Río Grande Return
Gifts from the River
Locally produced salsas, jams, honey,
chocolates, soaps, lotions, incense and
more. Supports local farmers, producers
and the conservation of the Río Grande.
505.466.1767, toll free: 866.466.1767, www.
riograndereturn,com
NM Green Chamber of Commerce
The NM Green Chamber of Commerce, with
chapters around the state, has a business directory that is a great resource for conscious
consumers looking for locally owned and
environmentally friendly businesses in their
area. Contribute to a sustainable future by
supporting businesses in your city/town that
are striving to be leaders in green business
practices. Info: 505.859.3433, info@nmgreen
chamber.com,
http://nmgreenchamber.
com/members?page=2
Green Fire Times • November 2014
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Green Fire Times • November 2014
www.GreenFireTimes.com