De La tierra a la Cosecha, Taos, New Mexico
The coronavirus pandemic and the associated sudden economic slowdown and supply chain disruptions exposed many frailties in western communities. In the Taos Valley of New Mexico, a community with centuries of rich agricultural heritage and a commitment to a robust local food system, many people were dismayed when regular staples ran low on grocery store shelves.
“The pandemic really laid bare how disconnected we are from our food supply. Not having stuff on the shelf that we’re used to picking up without a thought was alarming to a lot of folks,” says Darien Fernandez, executive director of Taos Land Trust.
“We realized that we needed to work together better so we could build the resilience of our whole community, from the watersheds and forests to our dinner plates,” says Gillian Joyce, executive director of Alianza Agri-Cultura de Taos.
That realization led to a rekindling of a long-dormant collaborative, called De la Tierra a la Cosecha Coalition, literally, “from the earth to the harvest,” that includes Alianza Agri-Cultura de Taos, Taos County Economic Development Corporation (TCEDC), Taos Valley Acequia Association and Taos Land Trust. These organizations, Fernandez says, have different missions but were all working on similar things. In the context of the post-pandemic economic recovery programs, and subsequent federal legislation like the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, it made far more sense to collaborate on grant applications than to compete.
Coalition coordinator Flor Serna notes that the coalition is a space where all the people working in the Taos food system, from land preservation to soil health to harvest to market and table, can come together. “We all build and maintain authentic relationships with each other and with our fellow community members,” she says. “By functioning as a collaborative, each partner brings its own strengths and communities to the table that make up the spectrum of the local food system of Taos, and no partner has to carry more weight than another.”
“We were all approaching the same problem from different angles with our respective organizations, and subsequently going after the same pot of money, competing with one another. By getting the coalition back together, we’re writing stronger grant proposals and getting more funding.“
Darien Fernandez
“We were all approaching the same problem from different angles with our respective organizations, and subsequently going after the same pot of money, competing with one another,” says Fernandez. “By getting the coalition back together, we’re writing stronger grant proposals and getting more funding.” Those grant proposals included a winning one for investment in a local meat processing facility. That project, led by TCEDC, will address a major crack in the local food system that the pandemic revealed: the meat local ranchers are raising on conserved open space was all being shipped out of state for slaughter and processing.
“What makes it special is our commitment to working together, supporting each other’s initiatives and putting the community’s needs above individual interests,” says Judy Torres, Taos Valley Acequia Association executive director. “It’s truly exhilarating to witness the tangible impact that De La Tierra a La Cosecha is making in the community.” Ultimately, the impact of collaboration and connection goes beyond just new processing plants or well-attended workshops. It’s about re-weaving a social and cultural fabric that was fraying.
“It’s about how do we reconnect with the history of this community,” says Fernandez, “and protect what we love most for future generations in a way that also feeds us.”
Featured Image: (top)
A public lands grazing workshop put on by De La Tierra a la Cosecha brought together nonprofits, agencies, and ranchers to talk about collaboration for better outcomes for both ecosystems and livestock operations. Photo by: Gillian Joyce/Alianza Agri-Cultura de Taos
