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Articles by Esperanza Project
Arts to Breathe: A Continental Act of Dignity – The Esperanza Project
This Saturday, Nov. 29, voices from across Abya Yala—Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Cuba—will weave together music, theater, community media, poetry, and ancestral memory in the Sixth Festival for the Dignity of the Peoples: Arts to Breathe 2025. Streaming live on social media, the festival is more than a cultural event.
“It’s not grass, it’s a milpa”: Defending Life on Avenida Federalismo – The Esperanza Project
At the corner of Avenida Federalismo and Francisco Zarco, a small plot of earth has become a symbol of agroecological resistance. Known as Coamil Federalismo, this community agroecological space transforms one of Guadalajara’s busiest avenues into an oasis of food, medicine, and memory. It’s not just a garden — it’s a living classroom, a sanctuary for biodiversity, and a statement of sovereignty. But on Oct. 2, this oasis was struck again.
When Peace Needs a Party: Meet the Musical Activist Building Bridges in War Zones – The Esperanza Project
I recently sat down with Gabriel Meyer Halevy in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, where the mountains meet the Caribbean Sea in northern Colombia. As we spoke, I was reminded once again of how much Latin America has to teach us about weaving together spirituality and resistance.
A Mexican Entrepreneur With a Painful Past Is Finding New Purpose With a Recycling Startup
Eleno Ulloa endured ridicule, rejection, drug and alcohol addiction, and two deportations from the United States. Today, he is his family’s breadwinner and, with his recycling business, a sign of hope for many in Nayarit. PASO DE LAS PALMAS, MEXICO — Eleno Ulloa inherited his interest in recycling from his maternal grandmother. Together, they would rummage through the garbage dumps in his hometown of Paso de las Palmas, Nayarit.
Cosmology & Pandemic: Legacy of the Andes
The Esperanza Project, together with the support of the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting and The One Foundation, presents the long-awaited transmedia project, Legacy of the Andes. This epic journey through six ancestral cultures, beginning at the height of the recent pandemic and continuing to the present day, is Part II of The Esperanza Project’s Cosmology & Pandemic series, featuring high-quality documentary films and in-depth journalism.
I Don’t Want to be a Well-Adjusted Corpse
This summer I binged on disaster in my free time. I pored over videos of fierce floods sweeping through streets in Beijing. Of fires ripping through the Northwest Territories, Siberia, my own province of Nova Scotia and reducing Lahaina to ash. Of mudslides in Brazil, Italy and California. I know, not the kind of thing most people binge watch. Some might even say it is “disaster porn” and ill-advised. But I’ve never been “most people”.
Towards an Indigenous economics
With a profound sustainability crisis facing humanity, it may be useful to try and glimpse what a sustainable relationship between people and planet might actually look like. This essay explores how cultures and their host environments mesh together in pre-industrial societies.
Native ‘hempsters’ follow global cooperative example
PINE RIDGE, S.D.- A global enterprise based in Spain may seem an unlikely role model for a fledging American Indian initiative. But inspired by its success, Winona’s Hemp and Heritage Farm in Anishinaabeg territory is sowing the start of an intertribal cooperative consortium. The new endeavor, called the Indigenous Hemp and Cannabis Farmers Cooperative, is laying the groundwork for the envisioned network.
A Global Maui Moment
From the earliest kingdoms to late last night, history has been the story not just of the rise of great powers but of their decline and fall. So, normally, there would be nothing particularly out of the ordinary about the aging America of Joe Biden and Donald Trump, a classic imperial power distinctly in decline and threatening to split into pieces.
The Earth System has passed six of nine planetary boundaries
Dwindling resilience brings the planet ever closer to catastrophic tipping points The Planetary Boundaries framework, first published in 2009, has been fully updated and mapped for the first time. The results show that six of the nine global environmental boundaries have definitely been passed, and one, ocean acidification, is very close to its boundary. Only ozone depletion and atmospheric aerosols are clearly in the safe operating space. The 2023 update to the Planetary Boundaries framework.
Preaching to the converted: or, my week in the science wars
I’m not the most enthusiastic of public speakers – I prefer public writing, which I find a better medium for crafting what I want to convey. When I have spoken in public, I’ve opted mostly to address sympathetic audiences likely to be receptive to my words. Sometimes, this has invited the accusation that I’m preaching to the converted. It’s a strange metaphor, really.
Beyond Growth 2023: critical reflections on a “historic conference” with blind spots.
After the excitement of an intense three-days Beyond Growth Conference 2023 (BGC), attended by 7,000 participants (on-site and online), the time is ripe to distil critical reflections. The conference was celebrated as a historic moment by the degrowth movement, with many arguing that the mere fact that post-growth could be discussed at the European Parliament was proof enough that this paradigm is gaining ground.
Tough Lessons from a Tar Pit
When I was in Los Angeles last month, I visited La Brea Tar Pits (yes, which translates to The Tar Tar Pits). As the tour guide described, the tar pits were neither filled with tar nor pits. The goop that came out—and which was still all over the park (in some places covered unceremoniously by a lone orange traffic cone)—was actually asphalt and formed thin puddles, just deep enough for animals to get stuck in, like an ancient form of fly paper.
Oaxaca Mural Documents Struggle to Defend Native Corn
In a noisy entrance to one of the oldest markets in Oaxaca City, not far from one of the sites where corn culture originated 9,000 years ago, muralist Mariel García stood on a scaffold in the hot sun for three weeks and painted her heart out. The mural she was creating, more than a year in the planning and execution, is a tribute to Mexico’s long struggle to protect the country’s more than 1,000 native maize varieties from contamination by genetically modified corn.
The United States Refuses to Play by the World’s Rules
In 1963, the summer I turned 11, my mother had a gig evaluating Peace Corps programs in Egypt and Ethiopia. My younger brother and I spent most of that summer in France. We were first in Paris with my mother before she left for North Africa, then with my father and his girlfriend in a tiny town on the Mediterranean.
A Reading Journey
I intend to resume semi-regular postings in the near term, and am sitting on a couple dozen post ideas in various stages of development. In puzzling out what order I should put them in, I decided to start with something of a meta-post that lays some groundwork for a number of the future entries. What I have in mind is to recapture my own journey over the last couple of years, which has resulted in an unexpected shift in my emphasis and awareness.
A Legacy of Autonomy & the Kurdish Freedom Movement
Throughout human history there has been a clash between two societal paradigms. The dominant one is heteronomy – a condition in which society does not recognize that it itself is the source of the laws that govern it. Instead, in such societies, power is concentrated in the hands of only a tiny fraction of the population, which justifies its authority over the great majority by appealing to higher, extra-social forces such as gods, historic determinism, and natural laws etc.
Guardian of Temaca: “I had to see with my own eyes”
TEMACAPULÍN, Jalisco, Mexico — The fight was clearly worth it, was the feeling of the residents of this colonial town, who showed up punctually to observe the destruction of part of the curtain of the El Zapotillo Dam, a megaproject that threatened to flood the town along with two of its neighboring villages, Acasico and Palmarejo. The residents waged a 16-year-long battle to stop the project that, from the beginning, was done behind their backs.
Tribes and water protectors ward off new Black Hills gold rush
Above Photo: Water and treaty rights advocates crafted an effigy of a sacred white buffalo on a parade float to raise awareness of Native stakes in protecting the Black Hills from a “modern gold rush.” (Karen Ellison for Black Hills Clean Water Alliance). Treaty rights advocates denounce mining exploration permits in ‘The Heart of All That Is’.
The Blackfoot Wisdom that Inspired Maslow's Hierarchy
Ed. note: This piece was originally posted on the gather.for medium blog here. Some months ago, I was telling my friend and GatherFor Board Member Roberto Carlos Rivera that I had come across unpublished papers by Abraham Maslow suggesting changes to his famous Hierarchy of Needs.
Four Reasons Civilization Won’t Decline: It Will Collapse
As modern civilization’s shelf life expires, more scholars have turned their attention to the decline and fall of civilizations past. Their studies have generated rival explanations of why societies collapse and civilizations die. Meanwhile, a lucrative market has emerged for post-apocalyptic novels, movies, TV shows, and video games for those who enjoy the vicarious thrill of dark, futuristic disaster and mayhem from the comfort of their cozy couch.
How an Environmental Justice Documentary Is Building Solidarity in the Midst of the Racial and Health Crisis
<p>Kimmons, who prefers to go by the name Queen, said what her neighborhood doesn't lack is pollution.
Inner Ecology Video & Invitation: Saturday June 13
UPDATE: María Ros’ Inner Ecology Master Class was an intimate look at an innovative, earth-based approach to self care. We share the video below, and invite you to join us for our weekly series. The next class is Saturday, June 13, at 11 am PDT/1 pm CDT/2pm EDT.
The Yupaichani Network: Regenerative Practices in Action
“Ok, we have the set-up established to support reforestation with water-retention landscaping. Now we can plant the trees on your land,” I said. “But now I’m broke,” was the landowner’s reply. Our response was to raise some money with a theatrical art auction and dance party. The Yupaichani Network was born! In the Quechua language, Yupaichani means “Thank you, Pachamama”. Pachamama includes the Earth, the Sky, the Cosmos and all of time. Planting trees on El Mirador, above the village of Vilcabamba.
The Woman Who Stopped a Dam
“Temaca, you are not alone:” Guadalupe Lara’s village was demolished to make way for a megadam; still, she continues the fight on behalf of other villages, like Temacapulín, upstream from the dam she and other dam opponents managed to force into cancellation. (Tracy L. Barnett photo) All but forgotten, Guadalupe Lara celebrated her seventieth birthday in solitude, in a small apartment on the outskirts of Guadalajara, far from the canyon and the village she fought to save.
10 Stories You Loved In 2019
Venus de Milo stands amid the ashes of the massive wildfire that destroyed much of Santa Rosa, Calif. in October 2017. Read Santa Rosa evacuee Dianne Monroe’s story, Field Notes from the Santa Rosa Fire, here. As I write this, I am waiting to board a plane to Matamoros, Mexico, one of the world’s most dangerous places, where thousands of asylum seekers — men, women, and children — await their fate.
Heathy Children, Healthy Future in Ecuador
Under the “Healthy Children, Healthy Future” program, Kañari children are learning to appreciate their traditional foods, from farm to kitchen to fork. QUILLOAC, Cañar, Ecuador — The mountain valleys are greener now than they were in the hacienda days. The people walk, drive, ride, and dance with more hope and joy. Crops come in, businesses grow, and new construction is everywhere. The community is connected electronically to every part of the world.
A Different Kind of COP25 in Santiago de Chile
Protest in Santiago de Chile, Oct.
Lyla June on the Forest as Farm
Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest. (CC Public Domain) This is the second part of a series on indigenous food systems with Diné artist, activist and scholar Lyla June. In Part One: Kelp Gardens, Piñon Forests, she shares some of her personal journey with food and agriculture and what inspired her to focus the next stage of her life on traditional food systems and language.
Native Flower Rebellion in Argentina
“They sowed Terricide; they harvested rebellion.” Moira Millan and Nely Curia, two of the “self-convoked Indigenous women” of Argentina who have occupied the Ministry of the Interior for nine days. Photo: Movement of Indigenous Women for Good Living As the Extinction Rebellion shut down the system in the North, Indigenous women in Argentina staged an uprising of their own.
‘Coyote’ Alberto Ruz on the Rights of Nature
Fifty years dedicated to studying, writing, creating, promoting and serving as an international networker have made Coyote Alberto Ruz a first-line pioneer, a veteran and an historian of the intentional communities, ecovillage and bioregionalist movements. In the last seven years he has dedicated most of his time to organizing global, local and national campaigns for an Earth Jurisprudence, recognizing Mother Earth as a living being with rights of her own.
Funding, Fossil Fuels and Femicide
Photo by Jake Parrish/For the Wild Today in honor of Climate Week we share a powerful interview by Ayana Young, founder of the innovative For the Wild podcast. As Standing Rockand the ongoing Water Protectors movement across the continent have made clear, the devastating impacts of the fossil fuel industry fall disproportionately on Native people. And as indigenous leaders Rachel Heaton and Roxanne White explain in “Funding, Fossil Fuels and Femicide,” indigenous women are paying with their lives.
A town of women in resistance
TEMACAPULIN, Jalisco, Mexico — Amid the green of Los Altos de Jalisco, hiding at the bottom of a valley, lies a village in resistance. In Temaca, as it’s affectionately known, a band of women have vowed to fight to the end to preserve their territory and their dignity.
We’re Not Going Anywhere
It’s been 14 years since the people of Temacapulín have gotten a good night’s sleep — 14 years of fighting the ten-story megadam that poses an existential threat to their precolonial heritage. A generation has nearly grown up as their elders have staked their lives and their livelihoods on this struggle.
Dismantling the Patrix with EcoSocial Design
Andrew Langford has been practising the art of hands-on learning since his early days in manufacturing, and then in his first solo enterprise as a shoemaker. He came to formal university education a bit late, and perhaps that’s why he was able to look at it more objectively than his younger counterparts.
Running for Temaca | The Esperanza Project
We came from all over the republic and beyond to show our support and to run this historic “Carrera con Causa” – Race with a Cause – to enjoy the charms of a threatened yet defiant pueblo and to bask in its famous hot springs. Here are a few images from the 11th annual Carrera de Los Remedios in Temacapulín, Jalisco, which has been fighting inundation from a hydroelectric dam for more than a decade.
The Last Straw
For some, it was the baby albatross whose autopsy revealed a belly full of bottle caps and other plastic debris. For others, it was the video of the sea turtle with the plastic straw stuck in its nostril, a team of marine biologists trying to remove it with a pair of pliers as it struggled in anguish. It’s hard to say what finally catapulted the global plastics crisis, generations in the making, into the mainstream.
Esperanza Project at a Crossroads
This year The Esperanza Project will celebrate nine years of life – nine years of bringing inspiration and hope to the work of environmental and indigenous rights journalism. We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished, and poised to take our work to the next level. Please read on to see our highlights, our exciting plans for 2018, and how you can help. In 2017, we gave voice to so many sources of inspiration.
8 ways you can help build hope in 2018
Feeling a little hopeless about the state of the world today? It’s understandable. Most of the news you see these days doesn’t inspire a lot of optimism. But there are a lot of positive trends and uplifting initiatives that are putting us on the path to a better world. How can we nurture and grow those seeds? By putting our love, attention and care into them. Here are 8 ways you can help us build hope in the world in 2018.
Call of the Water
Left: Cayuco Maya, the venue for the XV Vision Council, “Call of the Water,” was held on the shores of Bacalar Lagoon. Foreground: The Rainbow Peace Caravan’s Circus Tent has been a trademark gathering space for two decades in Vision Councils from Peru to Mexico.
Fighting adobicide in post-earthquake Mexico
By Tracy L. Barnett Editor’s note: After the earthquakes of Sept. 7 and Sept. 19 in southern and central Mexico, scores of architects, builders, engineers, designers and other experts stepped forward to help.
Rebuilding Tradition in Hueyápan, Morelos
By Tracy L. Barnett Editor’s note: This article is part of a series on bioconstruction, or natural building initiatives, in post-earthquake Mexico. When the earthquake struck the adobe-rich town of Hueyápan in the foothills of Volcano Popocatepetl, a circle of mourners surrounded their dearly departed in the colonial-era Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzmán.
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