Green Transition in Action: A History of Connections
Information provided by Enaj L'Hommedieu and Rebecca Lane
It was the French Connection that seeded the recent green transition in Lake Chapala. First, Olivier Hertzel stopped off in Ajijic from his world-spanning explorations. Enaj L'Hommedieu offered him a room for a few days. The few days turned into a bit more after Olivier had an accident and broke his neck. (He's fine now!) That gave him lots of time to talk with Enaj and her friends about green issues around the world and especially his abiding interest in alternative currencies, which promote localism and self-reliance. (The Totnes Pound has lately become the best known of a myriad of these economic experiments.)
There was a chance conversation at LCS with a mysterious "Jeanne," (pronounced "Zhen," the French way) that invoked the magic words "Transition Town." Jeanne lived in such a place in California, and a quick Internet search opened up a whole world of green possibilities for Enaj, Rebecca Lane, Louraisha Shaw, Joshanna Bush, Julie Hicks, Marya Fischel, Mónica Flóres Dueñas, Carol Kindschi, and Jeanne, who began to meet regularly in September of 2009. In December, Marcia McGee joined the group. They were to learn from the Green Transition Movement and its many projects around the world and to make a commitment to action, not just talk, on green issues in our own community.
Along the way the group became Green Transition in Action (GTiA), and had great fun with projects like making your own solar oven from cardboard and foil, or a simple stove from a pop can, and, more seriously, teaching the preparation of a personal emergency kit for earthquakes, floods, and social disruptions that might lie ahead. These projects continue through the monthly Potlucks with a Purpose, as do field trips to organic farms and other green sites. Conversations with Greg Ochs of the Lake Chapala Green Group led to the very sensible conclusion that all should work together, and GTiA is now under the umbrella of LCGG, with MarCia McGee as liaison.
However, it was the Mexican Connection that launched what is now GTiA's major green project. It happened like this: Julie and Joshanna were impatient to get the organic foods they considered essential for good health. On a Friday they voiced those concerns, Carol said she knew a farmer who might be able to help, and by Tuesday, March 2, 2010, the first Organic Tianguis appeared in Julie and Joshanna's garden!
The farmer was Paye Esperidión Fúentes and his wife Marie de Jesus Bernardo. He brought with him Ana Lúz Zepeda, Rafael Hernandez, José Luís Gutiérrez Miranda and his wife Maria de los Angeles Perez Cervantes. Thus began the organic abundancia: Sunflowers, organic vegetables like beets, carrots, lettuces Swiss chard, green beans, as well as aids to growing your own garden, like Ana Luz's prized worm-casting tea, along with prepared foods, (nearly always organic, save an occasional "natural," pesticide-free ingredient when supplies are scarce). The natural preparations from José Luís and Marie include breads and sweet baked goods, soy-based dips and spreads, and even soybeans for your own home recipes.
Like all things green in this lovely Lake Chapala region, the Organic Tianguis grew and grew, by as much as a new vendor each week, so that by July of 2010 the tables were overflowing the space. The word went out, and Pancho Montes, owner of Superlake market, and his uncle Leopoldo Paz (La Paz Liquors), offered the use—completamente libre—of the expansive space under the Hole in One Restaurant on the Carretera in Riberas. There, since its July 20, 2010 opening, the market has flourished, involving at this date 26 people and 18 stalls, with more to come. The offerings have expanded beyond my space to describe them here, but I will mention several. Benjamin Medina Cervantes's and Delia' Michel Vidrios's five colorful varieties of heirloom tomatoes (grown in an impressive greenhouse complex across the lake in San Cristobál) are delicious beyond belief. Luis Fernando Garcia's handmade cheeses are fresh and savory. Pancho's organic chickens are a welcome addition. All that and fresh coffee too. How can a shopper go wrong!
Connections. We've made joking reference to connections here, but they are truly central to this story. There's a party in the works for GTiA and all its vendors and spouses to celebrate their working together, a testimony to the fact that connections across language, culture, gender, and mode of work are what has made this effort so rewarding. Each person involved has brought care, passion, and integrity to the mission of making a healthy and sustainable Lake Chapala. In observing this occasion, all will be celebrating together a vital connection to the Earth.
Bob Craft
Update, March 8, 2011. Much has happened since this "History" was first written. Now officially named the "Eco Mercado Organico," the market has celebrated its one-year anniversary(!) and has moved to a new location: Centro Laguna Mall, at the intersection of the Carretera and the Libramiento. Open each Tuesday, from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM, the market has continued to grow, now with 36 vendors and counting.
All along, both volunteers and vendors have worked to make the market and the Green Transition group a model for cross-cultural cooperation. One example: A "group of ten," made up of five non-Mexican volunteers and five Mexicans chosen by all the vendors for their experience in and knowledge of organic and natural production, evaluate vendors regarding organic growing practices and selection of natural ingredients for products. This, of course, is critical to assuring that products are, as advertised, organic and natural. Interviews of vendors (a four-page questionnaire!) and, at times, visits to farms are part of the procedure.
The Mexican members of the "group of ten" are Ana Lúz Zepeda, Jaime Navarro, Antonio Pujals, Victor Martínez Vélez, and Ivonne Ayala. All bring excellent credentials to the task, but perhaps special notice should be taken of Ivonne, who is a representative of both RASA and Círculo de Producción. RASA and Círculo help govern organic, natural and social (indigenous crafts) products in Mexico. The five others in the group are expats Enaj, Carol, Joshanna, Louraisha, and Rebecca—you see them each week doing the hard work of setting up and taking down the market. On market days, Adriana Paez is the "Coffee Lady" and Barbara Schermer is her Assistant.
In the two moves the Market has made, volunteers and vendors examined and approved the new quarters. Thanks go out to Pancho Montes for allowing free use of Hole-in-One as the market's second venue. The increase in patronage there made for parking and traffic problems over time, however, and the new Centro Laguna Mall location offered a solution. The group of ten worked out the details with Mall Manager Roberto Yeme, and the market relocated, without skipping a beat, on February 15, 2011. New vendors will soon be invited to apply.
Though it has been nearly all consuming for the past year, the Eco Mercado Organico is not the only activity of GTiA. On the second Monday of each month (since November 8, 2010), the group has shown movies on environmental and sustainable living topics (11:30 to 1:00, in the Sala of the Lake Chapala Society). Recently, a new Conscious Community Formation group of GTiA has begun to meet and is working toward a Transition Town concept for Ajijic, with a focus on the following topics:
- Alternative Economy: A Complementary Currency System
- Home and Community Gardens
- Healing Center and Healers Group
- End of Life Transition Group
The Conscious Community Formation group will be speakers for the upcoming Lake Chapala Green Group Meeting on April 8, 2011, discussing the above topics. See Announcements for details. This website, of course, supports GTiA and reports on its activities and accomplishments. I'm sure we'll be hearing more about GTiA and the Conscious Community group on this site.
Bob Craft
