In his talk, part of the Southern Methodist University-in-Taos/University of New Mexico-Taos Lecture Series, Santistevan will explore survival strategies modeled by the rich agricultural traditions of Northern New Mexico's tribal and acequia communities in light of today's environmental, social and economic crises.
Santistevan is a doctoral candidate in biology at UNM with research interests in the traditional acequia-irrigated and dry-land agricultural systems of the Upper RÃo Grande and Sangre de Cristo mountains. He is certified in Permaculture and Zero Emissions Research Initiative (ZERI) Design and has been a high school science teacher, director of agricultural programs for youth, and public radio show producer.
He has also spent the better part of the last two decades collecting the staple crop seeds traditionally grown in the Upper RÃo Grande region, and absorbing the wisdom of elders, farmers and the land. His dogged determination, incisive curiosity, intellectual ability and love for his home have earned him the respect of farmers and scholars alike.
"I'm not trying to figure out something grandiose (to take us) into the future - what I call building a space shuttle to walk across the street," Santistevan said in his characteristically blunt manner. "I'm trying to see what's the best of what people have already done, and how do we apply that in the 21st century climate change context."
Santistevan says he is convinced that the traditional agricultural techniques developed by people in the Upper RÃo Grande to address the Southwest's wildly fluctuating temperatures and precipitation patterns have important lessons for today and the future. He said he believes that the solutions to global climate change have already been worked out here at home, and that they are both practical and easy to implement. Read the full report here.
Source: by Ariana Kramer, Taos News.
