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

In drought-prone Oaxaca, indigenous women are reviving ancient techniques to preserve water Stephania Corpi Arnaud Sofia Aguilar, 63, enters her daughter’s composting bathroom, constructed with adobe walls, in the Xixovo community on 5 December 2023 As water scarcity threatens their livelihoods, indigenous women in Mexico are relearning how to grow their ancestral foods. Stephania Corpi Arnaud Sofia Aguilar, 63, cultivates alfalfa to feed her cattle, made possible by her ferrocement tank and vermicomposting filter in the Xixovo community Learning water resiliency Grupedsac started by building a 20,000 litre ferro-cement tank, an inexpensive water tank made from cement that needs little maintenance, at the school. Stephania Corpi Arnaud Joaquin Carrillo showcases a medicinal plant at Grupedsac to teachers from a nearby school on 7 December 2023 Tzinnia Carranza, general coordinator of Espacio de Encuentro de las Culturas Originarias, 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. Local action, such as focusing on treating sewage at the source using technologies like biodigesters and bio-filters, or avoiding the use of water with composting toilets, offer "practical solutions with affordable materials", she says.