In drought-prone Oaxaca, indigenous women are reviving ancient techniques to preserve water

As water scarcity threatens their livelihoods, indigenous women in Mexico are relearning how to grow their ancestral foods.

When Agustina Ortiz, 45, returned to her hometown in Oaxaca, Mexico, in 2010 after spending a decade in the US, she was well aware of the type of life that awaited her: a lack of drinking water and a life sustained solely through agriculture.

Like many other Oaxacans, Ortiz and her husband went to the US in search of better opportunities so they could send money back home. "You can't have a life unless someone sends money from abroad," Ortiz says.

The mountains of Oaxaca are harsh and unforgiving. The Zapotec indigenous community of Xixovo, in Santa Maria Velato, is located around 2,000m (6,500ft) above sea level and a two hour drive away from the state's capital. Dry, dusty slopes and yellowed crops decorate the landscape. The scattered fields of agave are a reminder that even in the most challenging conditions, life still finds a way.

When Ortiz returned home in 2010, it was a shock to see that the big trees she had grown up with had died and medicinal plants like chicalote – Mexican prickly poppies – were nowhere to be found.

The first few years back home in Xixovo were a nightmare for Ortiz. She had to hike to the river two or three times a day carrying buckets of water with only the help of her donkey, even while she was pregnant.

Ortiz felt that each year, heatwaves and drought dominated the season and says that she feels the rain period has become shorter and more unpredictable. Maps from the National Water Commission of Mexico show that a growing number of areas in the region are experiencing severe drought.

Oaxaca suffered one of the most severe droughts in its modern history in 2015 with almost 80% of the state's territory experiencing water-stress. This lack of rain significantly impacted agricultural production, making it difficult for communities like Ortiz's to grow crops, access fresh food, and breed their animals. It's an ongoing issue not just for the region but the entire country. Mexico is currently battling its worst drought in more than a decade, and its residents are experiencing "critical" water shortages.  

In 2019, along with other mothers from the parent's committee, Ortiz started a vegetable patch at her children's school, the Porfirio Diaz Elementary School, to ensure they were eating nutritious food. The women grow native crops, such as coriander and green beans, as well as onions, garlic and radishes, which require little water. They sell any leftover produce at the market and use the money to make school improvements.

Despite their success, the women knew this project was vulnerable to climate impacts. They were right; when the drought came in 2019, their crops began to fail.

That same year they started working with the non-profit Group to Promote Education and Sustainable Development (Grupedsac), which was founded 30 years ago in Mexico City. The non-profit aims to teach women how to manage water and their land using ancestral ways of irrigation and growing endemic medicinal plants that are drought-resilient.

When Grupedsac began working with Ortiz's community there were two main challenges: increasing droughts were making growing crops difficult and working exclusively with women in a traditionally male-dominated culture.

"We learned very quickly that women were the ones using these technologies but weren't the decision makers of their households. Our mission became to teach them their value in their communities," says Joaquin Carrillo, director of Grupedsac's centre in Oaxaca.

Grupedsac started by building a 20,000 litre (5,283 gallon) ferro-cement tank, an inexpensive water tank made from cement that needs little maintenance, at the school. The entire community helped build the water tank – an indigenous practice known as tequios, where every person has a civic duty to assist their community.

"We meet them halfway by providing all the materials; but we asked the community to provide the workforce. That's also a way for them to learn and get engaged," says Carrillo.

The water tank collects rain that would usually drain away, which can be reused for cleaning, cooking and, in this case, irrigating the school's crops. Carrillo explains that they aim to prioritise vegetables that are endemic to the region, and are high in iron and protein. Due to high levels of poverty in the region, children's diets are often lacking in nutrition.

The tank has a built-in filter that purifies the water to remove bacteria, pathogens and other harmful particles. This prevents gastrointestinal diseases and damage to teeth caused by excessive fluorine which is usually found in higher concentrations in the mountains.

When Carillo saw the mothers' commitment to growing their own crops, he decided to invite them to Grupedsac's training groups. In 2020, Ortiz and five other women from Xixovo started attending the workshops. To date more than 1,500 women have been part of the programme, with around 280 women from 13 communities currently enrolled.

The women were offered a similar water tank to the one built at the school to have at their homes. But they would have to commit to a four-year programme at Grupsedac's training centre in Ejutla de Crespo, located about an hour from Santa Maria Velato. The workshops equip and train the women how to make the best use of the available water, but also teach them how to build composting waterless toilets and use biofilters to treat water. The women have just finished their training, and Ortiz already has her own 20,000-litre (5,283 gallons) tank installed on her land.

Ortiz relies heavily on the water tank and says it has greatly improved her farming livelihood and the health of her family. "It literally changed my life," she says, while gesturing towards a huge white structure connected to hoses. During the rainy season it helps her collect rainwater through tubes strategically positioned on the metal roof of her house and it also stores water which she pumps from the river.

The tank also stores greywater, from washing the dishes or taking a shower. This water goes through a second natural filtration system which is made of stone, gravel and sand.

Now Ortiz grows her own vegetables including bananas, corn and alfalfa to feed her livestock, which are sustained with the greywater once it has passed through the filtration system.

"I can shower at home now; I used to go to my neighbour's house, and it was very uncomfortable," she says. "I can also water my plants constantly and make some money with what I sell."

Families who own land spanning more than 2.5 acres (1 hectare) can also install infiltration drains that help refill the deep wells which run dry every year due to the lack of rain.

Tzinnia Carranza, general coordinator of Espacio de Encuentro de las Culturas Originarias (Meeting Space for Traditional Cultures), a local non-profit in Oaxaca that works with indigenous communities and recently won the Local Adaptation Champions Awards at COP28, says that water scarcity in the region is also the result of excessive use of agrochemicals that have polluted the few water sources available. "Most rivers are contaminated," says Carranza.

Sanitation systems in Oaxaca are both ineffective and costly to maintain, she says. Local action, such as focusing on treating sewage at the source using technologies like biodigesters (systems that break down organic material such as human waste and food) and bio-filters, or avoiding the use of water with composting toilets, offer "practical solutions with affordable materials", she says.

When it comes to climate change, Oaxaca is the most vulnerable state in Mexico, with the agricultural sectors facing significant threats from drought. The annual rain average in Oaxaca is 1,550mm (61in), according to government data. Carrillo says that the region surrounding Santa Maria Velato receives just 350mm (13.8in) of rainfall per year.

In 2023, which was one of the hottest years on record for Oaxaca, the drought destroyed 90% of the crops in the region. Only 100mm (3.9in) of rain was recorded that year, 50mm (1.9in) less than the amount Death Valley in the United States receives in a year.

Ortiz tried growing tomatoes but was unable to due to the water shortage. The only crops that would grow were medicinal plants and flowers, which she ended up selling. "I could make maybe 1,000 pesos ($60/£43) for three months of work," she says. By early 2024, the minimum wage for this region in Oaxaca was 3,800 pesos ($224/£165) a month. For reference, 10,000 litres (2,199 gallons) of water can cost up to 1,200 pesos ($68.3/£52) in Oaxaca.

Permaculture training, which has taught the community to farm in a sustainable and self-sufficient way, has been a game changer, says single mother Feliciana Arango, another Grupsedac graduate.

As head of her family, Arango needs to provide for her child and her elderly mother. Aside from growing crops, she also raises chickens in a coop she built with materials provided by the Grupsedac programme. "We eat the meat we raise, the eggs we collect and now I can afford cheese costing 25 pesos ($1.50/£1.20) if I sell some of the vegetables I grow," she says. Self-sufficiency is one of Grupdesac's main goals for this group of women, who have traditionally had to rely on men.

The programme also aims to address root causes of gender disparity in these indigenous communities. When they enrol in the programme, the women are encouraged to set up an annual savings fund.

"We need to empower these women, but we also need to understand that the word empowerment means different things in our societies," Carrillo says.

Having access to water to grow crops plays a key role in building gender equality, he says. Enabling women's participation in farming activities makes them financially active and resilient to climate change, he says. The realisation of these benefits depends on addressing norms and structural inequalities through training, he adds.

"Water is very precious," says Aurora Perez, who is still completing the training, alongside her mother. They are always eager to attend the training sessions, she says. "Breeding animals makes me independent and has helped me survive."

A study in Oaxaca between 2016 and 2022 found that the gender gap exacerbates women's vulnerability to climate change. Limited education, high illiteracy rates and restricted access to resources hinders their adaptation to extreme weather. Societal expectations, burdening women with childcare and domestic duties, further constrain their mobility and ability to respond to disasters, the researchers concluded.

Traditionally, when women earn money, by selling vegetables or animals at the market, they give it to their husbands, Carrillo explains. "In a respectful and understanding way, we are teaching them that they can also have a say in the use of that money," he says.

Women who have gone through Grupedsac's programme are now questioning if that's beneficial for them and their families, says Carrillo, adding that the knowledge they receive gives them some leverage to change family responsibilities.

The training has taught Perez that men and women are equal – a lesson which she has shared with her children. "I now know my boys need to learn to cook, and help in the house," she says.

Many of the women in the community have suffered violence; physical, sexual and psychological. Grupsedac facilitates group therapy, which is helping women talk about their problems, providing the women with a safe space and a support network, Carrillo explains.

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In one nearby village, when one participant first arrived for her training, she had bruises and a black eye – she had been beaten by a male family member. Grupedsac provided her with funding to help her build a mud brick house to live in with her children. Living away from her wider family allowed her to escape daily violence and turn her life around. The non-profit has also given her animals which provides her with a stable income. "If I didn't have my chickens and cows our story would've been different," she says.

The woman's children have now had a good education, a point of considerable pride. "I told my daughter she can't get pushed over. She needs to study, and learn as much as she can, and work," she says.

Although the programme has transformed the women's lives in a social context, challenges remain – primarily around water security. Oaxaca is facing continued, exacerbated drought. By 2039, annual rainfall will fall by 6% according to the Oaxaca State Climate Change Programme.

But Carrillo remains positive. "The seed has been planted through these women," he says, adding the Zapotec women will be better equipped than many for what's coming.

"I miss the big trees from my childhood and the shadows the provided," says Ortiz. "I know we don't have enough rain to make them grow again, but at least we are now conscious of the plants we'll need to survive."

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