Synopsis:

Mexico is the country of origin of Gossypium hirsutum, the species of cotton used in 95% of global production. One of 11 sites in the country where cotton developed is found on the Oaxaca-Guerrero coast. This talk introduces the Ñu’u Ndito farmer collective which grows native, colored cotton in their traditional family corn, beans and squash plots (milpas) using agroecological practices. The cotton is sold to Oaxacan artisan groups who hand spin and weave it. The presentation introduces the Participatory Guarantee System that these farmers have established to promote agro-ecological production and transparency in all their operations, and their work to purify their native seeds from GMO contamination

Presenter:

Margaret MacSems, originally from the US West Coast, has found her niche at the intersection of small-scale farming and hand-crafted textiles. After field work for her Master’s in international Agricultural Development from UC Davis which was based in Oaxaca in 2006, she moved here in 2008 to work with Mixtec subsistence farmers on the coast of Oaxaca, with a focus on milpa (traditional corn, bean and squash plots) soil conservation, and later on native, colored cotton. She co-founded Katyi Ya’a, an indigenous spinning and weaving collective in San Juan Colorado. From 2017-2024 she worked to develop another textile collective, the Khadi Oaxaca, in the Sierra Sur de Miahuatlan. She co-founded the native cotton collective Ñu’u Ndito and is currently guiding the development of their producer’s cooperative, co-managing their GMO-free native cotton program and advising on the advancement of regenerative agriculture in the Pinotepa Nacional region. and community farmers

https://www.gofundme.com/f/conserve-native-colored-cotton-seeds-in-oaxaca