Since our inception, NMAA has worked to support our communities in their work to protect water and land, grow healthy foods for our families, save and share seeds, and uplift agriculture as a respected and dignified livelihood and way of life.
Over the years, we are proud to have developed and expanded a set of programs to meet the needs of longtime acequia farmers and ranchers, while also cultivating the next generation of young people who will take on the responsibility of working the land in their families and villages.
Los Sembradores Farmer Training
The Los Sembradores Farming Training Project was established in 2016 to help cultivate a new generation of farmers with deep roots in acequia customs and traditions.
Apprentices take part in a nine-month apprenticeship at our demonstration farm site, Chicoyole Farm in Chamisal, and are supported to work their own farm plots in their different home communities. They gain skills and experience as acequia farmers, including traditional irrigation techniques and ancestral farming methods, as well as modern farming techniques that incorporate season extension, nutrient management, soil health, farm business planning, and regenerative agriculture. As of 2023, the project has graduated seven cohorts with a total of 22 young farmers.
Learn more about Los Sembradores HERE!
Farmer to Farmer Education
NMAA’s Farmer to Farmer education program organizes opportunities for exchange of wisdom and skills amongst acequia farmers and ranchers via seasonal field visits, farm tours and other workshops. By sharing our knowledge with each other, we can strengthen our farms and ranches in the face of a changing climate, and ensure our land based wisdom continues.
Visit our Upcoming Events page for announcements about Summer 2024 workshops!
New Mexico Food & Seed Sovereignty Alliance
The New Mexico Food and Sovereignty Alliance was formed in 2006 by the New Mexico Acequia Association, Traditional Native American Farmers Association, Honor Our Pueblo Existence and Tewa Women United, and has since welcomed new partners from Flowering Tree Permaculture Institute, Breath of My Heart Birthplace, and Sol Feliz Farm.
Our work began with the release of the NM Food and Seed Sovereignty Declaration, which declares our intention to defend ancestral seeds from genetic contamination and exploitation, and has become a foundational document in shaping seed policy in New Mexico and around the world. Each year, we gather together as Indigenous and acequia farmers for the Owingeh Tah Pueblos y Semillas Seed Exchange.
Semillas pa la Gente
‘Semillas pa la Gente’ was founded in 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic, in an effort to get locally adapted and heirloom seeds into the hands of more acequia farmers and ranchers. This growing program is now working with acequia farmers at a regional level to grow strong seed stocks of traditional and culturally important seed, assess the health of our local seed systems , and help more community members develop their practical skills as seed savers.
USDA Technical Assistance
For many years, NMAA has worked with the US Department of Agriculture to ensure that their programs are benefitting acequia farmers and ranchers, who have been historically underserved and excluded from federal farm funding. To overcome these barriers, our USDA Technical Assistance Program helps guide our community through the process of applying for and accessing USDA funding to make on-farm improvements such as constructing hoop houses, building soil health, and improving acequia infrastructure.
Learn more about our USDA supported programs, including technical assistance to farmers here.
Farm & Food Policy
With a myriad of partners and coalitions, NMAA works to shape and respond to federal, state and local policy issues impacting acequia farmers and ranchers