MISSION: Southwest Research and Information Center is a multi-cultural organization working to promote the health of people and communities, protect natural resources, ensure citizen participation, and secure environmental and social justice now and for future generations

Ganados del Valle Today

Arlene Valdez,
Executive Director

In its 18th year, Ganados del Valle continues to work in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado helping indigenous people protect their land, waters and culture. Our approach is to assist rural communities to develop sustainable economies which protect the environment. I came to work at Ganados in 1996 because the organization was an inspiration to me. Here was a non-profit which had revitalized the once abandoned village center of Los Ojos, had invested nearly $1.5 million (today, almost $2 million over 18 years) into developing sustainable rural enterprises and increased income to over 200 farm families and artisans in the region. And women held 95% of the key positions in the organization. In 1999 I became executive director of Ganados and this is what it looks like today.

Tierra Wools spun off from Ganados in 1996 and is flourishing as a worker owned company with more than $500,000 in annual revenues and a workforce of over 20 people. It recently expanded its operations by leasing wool washing equipment from Rio Arriba Wool Washing (incubated by Ganados in the 1980's). Tierra Wools has the only full service wool processing facility in the region.

Pastores Lamb will evolve into Pastores Natural Meats as we develop a plan for a custom meat processing facility. The goal is to assist cattle and sheep growers to supply an organic, natural, excellent tasting product processed in a high quality facility to regional and possibly national (through the internet) markets. Growers will be able to purchase shares in the facility to eventually share its profits. Attached to the meat processing facility will be a commercial kitchen. Here, not only will meat products such as sausages and smoked meat be designed and marketed, but the facility will also be available to local entrepreneurs wanting to set up food businesses to supply both local and regional markets. Meanwhile, a member family of Ganados took their experience of marketing through Pastores Lamb and created a successful family enterprise (Shepherd's Lamb) which supplies Churro and commercial lamb to farmer's markets, home customers, and restaurants in north central New Mexico.

Pastores General Store is a test marketplace primarily for rural artisans from villages and native nations in the Four Corners region and beyond. Store staff assists artisans to get their work to regional markets and eventually to European markets.

Otra Vuelta was started by Ganados as an experiment to see if reclaiming discarded tires from landfills, backyards, arroyos and automotive businesses could be turned into a successful business. Today the family-owned business supplies recycled tire mats for porches, livestock trailers, restaurant kitchens, golf carts and a myriad of other uses.

Pastores Collections in the isolated village of Canjilon, has expanded from handcrafting wool-filled bedding to providing specialty sewing services for textile designers. It anticipated spinning off in 2003 as a worker owned company.

The endurance of these enterprises is not only because of the commitment of those involved, but also because Ganados' success in raising grant money to subsidize research and development needs such as product development, packaging, promotion, market testing and on-the-job training. Rural enterprise development will never be successful unless these research and development needs are subsidized. Low-income families cannot support these expensive, yet essential, steps to start up businesses.

Ganados' success lies in its ability to stay focused on replacing centuries-old colonial economy that grows, harvests and ships out for others to gain wealth by adding value. In place of this unjust economy, we hope to build one where we capture the added value in our communities, thus keeping people on the land, benefiting low and moderate income families, growing the capacity of local people to manage and market their work, and providing a future for our children. But to succeed, we need to develop alliances with other rural communities also wanting to create self-sustaining economies. For example in 1994, Madera Forest Products Association (MFPA), an organization of loggers and artisans in the Vallecitos area of the Carson National Forest, came to Ganados to ask for assistance in organizational development, product design, and marketing. Eight years later, this small non-profit is thinning small-diameter trees in dangerously thick timber stands where there is critical fire danger not only to Vallecitos, but also to other surrounding villages. The harvested timber is dried in a solar kiln and treated with non-toxic borates. MFPA is the only commercial supplier of treated non-toxic wood in the region. The leaders of Madera believe that a healthy forest is not possible without a healthy economy.

People have visited Ganados from other rural areas in the United States, Canada and Mexico, as well as Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe. They may come to learn from us, but we have gained so much from them. We've learned that we are not alone.

The problem is the same all over the world: how can rural cultures stay on the land, modernize their economies, benefit the poor and invigorate their cultures for future generations?

Our culture and communities depend on the land and water. If we cannot work to make these lands and waters sustainably support family and culture...then our children will not stay. This is our bottom line.

For more information about Ganados del Valle you can contact us by phone at (505) 588-7896, email: ganados@cvn.com, or log onto our website at www.ganados.org.