BajaNomad

Helping San Javier Ranching Families Adapt and Thrive in the Modern World

RaicesVivas - 11-16-2011 at 09:27 AM

We would like to invite you to an opportunity to “Meet and Great” Living Roots’ (Raíces Vivas), a Loreto-based non-profit which has been helping ranching families in and around San Javier protect their lifestyle while increasing economic opportunity.

This is an opportunity to: learn about Living Roots, try a sampling of foods made on ranches and preview Sierra-made Holiday gift baskets.

Activities will begin at 5 pm, Saturday, November 19th in the Courtyard of the Mission Museum in Loreto. At 6, we will give a presentation on Living Roots’ programs in the mountains above Loreto.

We hope to see you there!

For more information of Living Roots or the event please contact:

McKenzie Campbell: mckenzie@livingrootsbaja.org
Fall Update: http://livingrootsbaja.wordpress.com/
Website: http://www.livingrootsbaja.org/

shari - 11-16-2011 at 03:11 PM

Welcome to Baja NOmad RaicesVivas....I just spent an hour looking through all your material and I am very proud of you and la gente de la Sierra tambien. My husand is an Arce and related to lots of rancheros en la Sierra de San Francisco and we visit remote ranches on occasion and love the life there. I always thought if there were a way to get the wonderful natural products these people make to market and market them efficiently, the sierra folks would improve their economic situation as well as keep some of the ranchers from having to move to villages. I like your methods of empowerment and education of both the young and old and reviving old traditional ways involving the whole community base.

I applaud your program and look forward to seeing/buying the products from Las Sierras throughout baja....good luck and we hope to see some updates on your projects and maybe even involve some Nomads.

Paula - 11-17-2011 at 08:54 AM

I know from experience that the food will be interesting and delicious~~

And I can't wait to see the gift baskets!

Barry A. - 11-17-2011 at 11:31 AM

RaicesViva--------What an outstanding project you have going there, and I applaud you.

I hope you get the support that you (and the Rancheros) deserve.

Barry

BajaBlanca - 11-17-2011 at 01:32 PM

wow !!! wonderful endeavor !!! please tell us where we can find the products up and down the peninsula, so we can support all of you by buying goods. again, the web site was enlightening and inspiring !!

jakecard - 11-17-2011 at 01:35 PM

Commodification disguised an beneficence.

Let's convince ranchers to sell their cultural practices to tourists so that the ranchers may recognize the value of their own cultural practices.

Not impressed.






Jake

Pescador - 11-17-2011 at 02:04 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by jakecard
Commodification disguised an beneficence.

Let's convince ranchers to sell their cultural practices to tourists so that the ranchers may recognize the value of their own cultural practices.

Not impressed.

I'm not worried about your being impressed, but I am intersted in hearing any alternatives you might enterain or have thought up.






Jake

Barry A. - 11-17-2011 at 02:10 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by jakecard
Commodification disguised an beneficence.

Let's convince ranchers to sell their cultural practices to tourists so that the ranchers may recognize the value of their own cultural practices.

Not impressed.

Jake


:?::?::?::?: Lets see now-----Rancheros are having to little by little close down their operations in the mountains due to inability to support this lifestyle in a modern world, and this project enables them to continue doing something that they love by making a profit, and that is somehow "not impressive"???

Jake, you are going to have to explain the logic behind your comment-------I don't get it??????

Barry

jakecard - 11-17-2011 at 02:19 PM

Self determination?

What do you think, Pescador?






Jake

bajafam - 11-17-2011 at 02:23 PM

As with many non-profit endeavors, you will meet naysayers that will tell you that you do not have the interests of the people and community in mind. However, I am not one of them. I was moved by your video and applaud your vision.

Encouraging communities to become self-sufficient, doing what they already do and marketing those skills and products outside of their home, to preserve a culture and ensure its longevity is the ONLY way to go. This practice can be seen worldwide - with the handicrafts and food products from countries all over our planet. I have always thought that the Mexican culture was heartbreakingly left out of this.

It's not the rancheros that need convincing, it's the future generations. With opportunities to leave their communities to learn and experience the modern world, many of the old world traditions will die. The need to preserve these traditions is greatly underrated.

DianaT - 11-17-2011 at 03:15 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by jakecard
Self determination?

What do you think, Pescador?

Jake


To me, it appears that they are promoting self-determination and engaging the locals to be in charge. It appears that they are providing information, education about marketing, etc.

Change for the ranchers has and will continue to happen and they will need to make their own choices---continue strictly in the old ways, move to an urban area for different opportunities and a different live style, or participate in something like what this project is all about.

This organization appears to just be assisting them with an option---an option the people will control and decide if it is right for them or not.

I wish them a lot of success and we will look for the products---besides, it has been a number of years since we have been to San Javier and we need to return!

bajafam - 11-17-2011 at 03:17 PM

Exploitation would imply

- Taking something off a person or a group that rightfully belongs to them
- Short-changing people in trade
- Directly or indirectly forcing somebody to work
- Using somebody against his will, or without his consent or knowledge
- Imposing an arbitrary differential treatment of people to the advantage of some and the disadvantage of others (as in ascriptive discrimination)
- Using somebody to buy/provide things for you and never paying them back

seems as though this organization is acting as a trebuchet to promote the culture rather than diminish it to dusty relics in a museum display, which is what could (and probably will) happen to these cultures if the lifestyle isn't relevant to the modern world that is slowly but surely creeping in, like it or not. Again, the key is to make it relevant and realistic for the future generations of these families, so that it isn't lost to the conveniences of modern life.

DianaT - 11-17-2011 at 03:19 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by jakecard
Barry, a few Americans have figured out how to apply the marketing strategies they learned in their MBA programs to the commodification of a certain Mexican lifestyle. We know from history that there is nothing particularly impressive, nor novel, about Americans co-opting the cultural practices of indigenous peoples. Look at museums---now the repositories for artifacts from centuries worth of misplaced beneficence toward American Indians.

Perhaps instead of "Sustaining culture through social enterprise" as the Living Roots motto suggests, we should call this project what it is: "Uprooting: Sustaining enterprise through cultural exploitation."

Just smacks of paternalism to me.


Jake


You make a very good point and I would agree with you, but I don't see how this organizational model fits with what you so dislike?

Cultural exploitation has been and is common, but I see this organization more like the people who assisted the people of Otavalo in learning the world market----and today the people of Otavalo are totally in control.

bajafam - 11-17-2011 at 03:42 PM

oh then you must be right. No business administration graduate would dare want to do good without having some exploitation agenda hidden by a non profit organization.
Guess I had better tell my mom that she (as a business administration graduate) had better start charging for her volunteer work with the Children's Burn Foundation of Florida. Dirty bastards up to no good I'm sure.