Housing for the Tarahumara‏

Housing for the Tarahumara, Chihuahua

Since 2005, Broetje Orchards and Vista Hermosa Foundation have partnered with the Frente Democractico Campesino (FDC) in Chihuahua. Our partnership has focused on 100 small apple farmers in five municipalities of Bachniva, Namiquipa, Riva Palacio, Guerrero, and Cuauhtemoc, west of Chihuhua City.

Our goal has been to increase household incomes for these farmers, to raise them above the poverty line so that they are no longer at risk of losing their land or family members to urban migration. We have assisted with revolving loans, access to cold storage facilities, and marketing strategies. We have also offered up our staff to provide technical expertise to farmers to help improve the quality of their produce.

The results have been encouraging: incomes have improved, family members have returned to the farms, and the FDC is now building their own cold storage facility for apples. But what is even more exciting is that the FDC has also made a commitment to give back -- to reach out to impovershed Tarahumara communities in their area, many of whom work as migrant laborers on area farms.

The Tarahumara people reside in the Copper Canyon of the Sierra Madres. They typically live in caves and small wood or stone cabins. They are a quiet people and best known as expert farmers and runners. In recent years, the tourist and logging industries have encroached on their land. Recurring drought has further pushed them into famine and poverty. Many have been forced to migrate to cities in search of work.

The FDC has come alongside the Tarahumara people, to defend their land rights in court, to implement food security projects like greenhouses, goat and chicken projects, and to improve housing conditions. After a group from Broetje Orchards visited the Repechique community with the FDC last August, we committed to raising half the funds needed to re-roof 30 homes there.

I am pleased to report that 17 homes are now complete; and the other 13 will be done by May 24. In addition, the FDC levaged for the state housing fund to match our grant dollar for dollar! So 15 brand new homes are also being built for single moms, newlyweds, and others to alleviate pressure on the one-room structures.
The community residents themselves provided a lot of the manual labor involved in getting the roofing materials to the building sites. They had to descend into the canyon six times to get all the materials in, and then climb part-way back up again to reach each home.