As water scarcity threatens their livelihoods, indigenous women in Mexico are relearning how to grow their ancestral foods.
When Agustina Ortiz, 45, returned to her hometown in Oaxaca, Mexico, in 2010 after spending a decade in the US, she was well aware of the type of life that awaited her: a lack of drinking water and a life sustained solely through agriculture.
Like many other Oaxacans, Ortiz and her husband went to the US in search of better opportunities so they could send money back home. “You can’t have a life unless someone sends money from abroad,” Ortiz says.
The mountains of Oaxaca are harsh and unforgiving. The Zapotec indigenous community of Xixovo, in Santa Maria Velato, is located around 2,000m (6,500ft) above sea level and a two hour drive away from the state’s capital. Dry, dusty slopes and yellowed crops decorate the landscape. The scattered fields of agave are a reminder that even in the most challenging conditions, life still finds a way.
When Ortiz returned home in 2010, it was a shock to see that the big trees she had grown up with had died and medicinal plants like chicalote – Mexican prickly poppies – were nowhere to be found.
Ortiz felt that each year, heatwaves and drought dominated the season and says that she feels the rain period has become shorter and more unpredictable.
Maps from the National Water Commission of Mexico show that a growing number of areas in the region are experiencing severe drought.
Oaxaca suffered one of the most severe droughts in its modern history in 2015 with almost 80% of the state’s territory experiencing water-stress.
This lack of rain significantly impacted agricultural production, making it difficult for communities like Ortiz’s to grow crops, access fresh food, and breed their animals. It’s an ongoing issue not just for the region but the entire country.
Mexico is currently battling its worst drought in more than a decade, and its residents are experiencing “critical” water shortages.
Becoming self-sufficient
In 2019, along with other mothers from the parent’s committee, Ortiz started a vegetable patch at her children’s school, the Porfirio Diaz Elementary School, to ensure they were eating nutritious food. The women grow native crops, such as coriander and green beans, as well as onions, garlic and radishes, which require little water. They sell any leftover produce at the market and use the money to make school improvements.
