Ethnobotanical experiences of Semillatón in the Sierra Tarahumara, Chihuahua, Mexico

Given the exceptional drought that wreaked social and economic disaster upon northern Mexico between 2010 and 2012, the Tarahumara community faced famine and the loss of planting seed stock for their traditional agricultural (mewachi).  Collaboration among indigenous ŕarámuri representatives, Mexican academic researchers (UNAM), Mexico's gastronomic community and local NGOs, and the country's governmental agencies (CONANP for natural protected areas, INIFAP for agricultural research, and national affiliates of the international FAO) established the project: “Semillatón, acompañando a la Sierra Tarahumara.”  Under controlled conditions, the initial phase augmented maize seed stock for five (of 12) races of maize (sunú) for distribution in the 2013 and 2014 agricultural seasons to 591 strategic indigenous producers impacting 2,234 local end users. Follow up activities include capacity building workshops, participative plant improvement, community seed banks, capture and management of rain water for domestic use (including irrigation), as well as technical adaptations that improve their traditional maize-bean-squash-quelite (edible greens) cultivation system.