|
|
|
Springs on the Colorado Plateau
An update on the
Sipaulovi Springs and Orchard Project, Fall 2003
Renewed grants from the Ford and Compton
foundations have enabled CSE’s culturally significant spring and
orchard restoration projects to continue flourishing at Hopi. The
Center began one of its latest projects by assessing needs brought up
by the Hopi-Tewa Sand clan at First Mesa. The group had old terraces,
aqueducts, and orchards just below a slow but steadily running spring
on one of the interior mesas, and they requested CSE’s assistance in
planning and rebuilding the area according to patterns established by
generations of continued use.
Many work visits to the site produced plans and interested parties,
and clearing and planting began immediately. Corn and beans went in
the ground near a crumbling cistern that CSE will help reconstruct.
During one afternoon work party, 25 peach, apricot, and plum trees
were planted in two associated orchard terraces. Work continues in
this area and at two other springs with orchards composed of a few to
a few dozen existing trees. These sites will become demonstration
areas for cultural spring restoration ecology, community food
production, and spring and orchard maintenance.
Some of the fruit trees near important springs have become stressed or
extinct due to lack of moisture and attention. The Hopi Cultural
Preservation Office indicated a need in this area, and issued a permit
to CSE for cuttings to be taken from existing trees and grafted onto
rootstock in greenhouses at Hopi. CSE is directing the tree
preservation effort by making the grafting and growing services
available to any resident in the Hopi area interested in preserving
trees and learning about their care. Through the project CSE has
purchased plant materials, formed a mutual-use tool library, and
conducted workshops on planting and local waterway and range
restoration ecology. In spring of 2005, we will conduct workshops on
pruning, grafting and fruit tree care at several sites throughout the
Hopi reservation.
Integrating Food, Policy, and Health
CSE’s partnership with Andy Lewis and The Natwani Coalition has
resulted in a foundation for community-directed food system work at
Hopi and beyond. Work in this area meshes with Hopi work on local
agriculture, and centers on changes in policy, food ways, health and
nutrition education, and the availability of fresh, healthy food
locally at Hopi. A recent grant from the U.S.D.A. will empower local
residents to re-design and manage their own food system, with
community needs and desires foremost in mind in the face of escalating
health problems on both the Navajo and Hopi reservations.
The latest dimension of our food, tree, and orchard projects has taken
shape at the Hotevilla-Bacavi elementary school. CSE has formed a
partnership with the school in order to repair and utilize an existing
greenhouse on school grounds, to grow some of the fruit trees from
grafted cuttings and from seed. As part of the school’s Greenhouse
Steering Committee, CSE will jumpstart the project with structure
repair, and then continue with consultation on how to best utilize the
greenhouse for the school’s curricular and cultural requirements.
In another project, our work with people, springs, and orchards in
communities led to a request for consulting help on a small,
ceremonially vital spring near Second Mesa. The spring’s source lies
at the bottom of a cluster of sharp inclines and soft soil. This
geography leaves the low-volume spring vulnerable to cave-in and
siltation, especially with today’s pressures of water pumping for coal
mining and a forecast long-term drought. CSE initiated and facilitated
meetings between Hopi Water Resources and the Hopi leaders of a nearby
village who are responsible for the spring’s ceremonial use and
health. Efforts have led to collaborative earth-shaping plans for the
area, to redirect water flow and strengthen spring recharge.
Helping People
Learn What to do With the Pits from Their Favorite Fruit Trees
During our other restoration work, it became known to us in
conversation and collaboration that many people had been preserving
pits for years, but were uncertain what to do with them--they just
knew they liked the fruit, and that the trees were very significant to
Hopi history and cultural practices. After a little research, we
discovered an efficient and effective way to build raised-bed planters
for the pits to grow out. We installed three of these planters in the
fall of 2004: one at a community leader's house, one at Hotevilla
elementary school, and another at the Bacavi Community Center. Each of
these efforts included workshops for adults and kids that linked food
production, cultural practices, and self-sufficiency, and each place
now stands as a demonstration site for collaboration and the
restoration of important trees.
David Seibert,
CSE Program Coordinator
|
