I swelter
in the sun of southern Arizona summers, and I bask in
the brisk winters to farm, by and large, all year
round. As I work with youth in the rows of vegetables
and other crops, I often think about what these kids'
future will be. They know little about nature and the
essence and satisfaction of hard work, the rhythm of
the body and mind in sync, focus and purpose. Here at
the O'odham Oidak Farm, or "the people's
field" in the Pima language, we grow primarily
the traditional, native, drought-tolerant crops. We
are learning from the past, working with some ideas
that come to us from over time, distance, experience,
and personal observation of nature. Sometimes I work
in the field all alone as the sun sets. Sometimes I
wonder who cares about what's going on with nature,
food production and the spirit of the land out here
one can feel isolated from the rest of the advocacy
community. As for me, I work and touch the earth, and
that makes doing this work worth the effort.
I am consumed with working the field and
rehabilitating soil, to be in a position to grow food
that is good for the soul and the body. While working
the Farm ( Gila River Indian Community Juvenile
Detention and Rehabilitation Center, O'odham Oidak
Farm) the process, of course, is to rehabilitate
juveniles; up to 80 females and males at any given
time are in the detention center. Though working with
youth is challenging, it certainly can be rewarding.
I believe our modest program can make a huge
difference in these young people's lives.
Here we are on 20 acres of land which, for over last
half-century, had been abused, then left neglected.
To bring productivity to this land again we have had
to invest in some inputs. We initially had the fields
leveled and we put in a cement ditch to make better
use of the water. While doing this, we designed an
aquaculture pond at the top of the fields that would
allow us to run fresh water to the ponds and, then,
as the ponds got full, they would overflow to the
ditch and to the fields with nutrient rich water.
The pond became more than just a place to grow fish
and fertilizer. We started to see other life come
around: bugs above and in the water, frogs and toads,
some water fowl, and much more. As a part of this
design, we also have fresh-water prawns that eat the
leftovers from the fish, and of course everything is
eating algae, bugs, and other life. Economically, the
prawns (or shrimp, as they are often called) provide
the marketing tool, or the niche, that any farmer
could adopt to diversify the family's income and make
the small farm a more viable operation.
Although ours is certainly not the ultimate system,
it is a model by which southern farmers could work
with, with the given that each farmer has specific
and locally-based circumstances to deal with. While
we have produced over 1,000 pounds of fish and
perhaps 200 pounds of prawns (tomorrow is prawn
harvest day), we are continually working on farming
techniques that will carry us forward sustainably
into an ever-changing, and, sadly, rapidly degrading
world.
Ed Mendoza
assists in the teaching of a two-week indigenous
permaculture course in New Mexico. He lives and works
in southern Arizona. tnafa-az@casagrande.com
