CSE's International Projects:

Seri Indian Projects in Conservation and Health
Blending time-honored indigenous knowledge with
modern sciences for a sustainable future.

For nearly a decade, the Seri Indians have been involved in a CSE-sponsored para-ecologist training program to connect conservation with human health.

The Seri (Comcáac) Indians are among the earliest inhabitants of the coastal desert and islands of the Sea of Cortés (Gulf of California) in Sonora, Mexico. The Seri homeland hosts a spectacular diversity of life, from tropical mangrove forests, to ancient forests of mesquite and ironwood and giant cacti.

Seri subsistence economy culture has traditionally revolved around harvesting food and other natural products from the desert and sea. Two featured "fair trade" products being distributed for them by CSE are wild oregano and mesquite flour.

The Seri Indians are recognized for their skills in surviving and thriving in the harsh conditions of the desert. Their persistence is partly due to their sustainable use of the natural resources of their environment.
 
 
Traditional Ecology Training Project

Young tribal members have received training in conservation ecology and sustainable harvesting that integrates Seri traditional ecological knowledge and practices. They have become leaders in conserving, restoring, and managing the biodiversity of their marine and coastal environment. (more info on this project here)
  
 
Native Foods and Herbs of the Seri Indians

The following products are sustainably harvested and produced by the Seri Indians in ways that protect the health of their land and marine environments:

• Mesquite flour

• Cactus fruit syrup

• Mexican oregano

• Sea grass flour

• Herbal cosmetics

• Desert Botanical medicines
   

The harvests of products from Seri communities are being monitored to ensure their sustainability by teams of Seri para-ecologists and NAU scientists.
 
 
Eco-Health

The ecosystem approach to human health cuts across disciplinary boundaries to integrate environmental and life sciences with a holistic understanding of human health. Eco-health takes into account the cultural, ecological, and economic factors inherent in a given ecosystem.

 
 
For further reading, see G.P. Nabhan's Singing the Turtles to Sea (University of California Press, 2003) or L.S. Monti PhD dissertation (University of Arizona, 2002).