Springtime in Baja

Spring is in full swing and lots is moving and shaking with Living Roots.

If you're in the San Javier region this week, come join the Living Roots team for a festival of sierra culture, as well as a regional market of sierra-made craft, artisanal foods, and seasonal produce. The market will be open daily, April 16 - 24 from 10 AM to 6 PM, with artist demonstrations happening the 21st - 24th. For a complete schedule of events, visit our website or Facebook page.

Local olive oil production is also in full swing! You can even get a taste of how the local's produce this culinary staple at this week's festival (link to demonstration schedule above). Sierra-made olive oil is made by hand with olives picked from the very first olive trees brought to the Americas almost 300 years ago. Local artisans have been experimenting with different production techniques, and now offer unique, delicious, and highly sought after blends for customers.

In other Living Roots news, we have a new organization system in place utilizing local community representatives. We now have ten Living Roots representatives - one from each ranch cluster, or Rancheria. These representatives (eight women and two men) coordinate local communication and distribution of sierra products, utilizing existing transportation infrastructure such as vehicles already being used to pick up children from boarding school on Fridays. Bios and photos of these representatives will be up on our website soon.

It is amazing to see our team continuing to grow new roots and shoots. In addition to our community representatives, we have gained the support of students studying Alternative Tourism at the University of Loreto. A group of 21 student volunteers have been divided into small groups to help us research government regulations and permits for various products, and also help with promotion and translation of our website into Spanish.

It is also a great honor to have Rafael Roustan, Phd. at the University of Arizona and a Fulbright Scholar, join us in San Javier this Friday to walk through the huerta (orchard) and talk to San Javier students about her research on the historical and biological significance of the oasis communities through Baja California Sur.

More exciting events and activities are on the books this spring and summer, so stay tuned; as always, thanks for your support and staying up to date!