Ajuchitlán Del Progreso, Gro., July 15. On 30 hectares where poppies were previously planted – from which opium gum is obtained, the base substance for the production of heroin – some 500 women from 10 ejidos (communal lands) in the Sierra Madre del Sur, a region devastated by criminal violence , planted thousands of pine trees over two days , in an attempt to curb the effects of climate change, conserve wildlife and recharge aquifers.
The community reforestation campaign, "Women Protecting the Tecuani Mountains ," is part of an initiative promoted by the Mesoamerican Territorial Fund (FTM), with a donation of $30,000. The goal is to restore the region's forests with plants grown by local residents.
The work took place in the towns of Fresnos, El Balcón, Cuatro Cruces, El Moreno, Coronillas, La Trinidad, Cordón Grande, Bajos del Balsamar, San Antonio de las Texas and Tierras Blancas, belonging to the municipalities of Ajuchitlán del Progreso, San Miguel Totolapan, Coyuca de Catalán, Tecpan and Atoyac de Álvarez.
At the beginning of this task, on the Puerto de los Pineda hillside in the community of El Balcón, in the municipality of Ajuchitlán del Progreso, smiling residents, some accompanied by their husbands, were seen clearing the hill amidst the rain and fog. "Today, we're going to plant about 4,800 trees here alone," said Guadalupe.
In an interview, he commented: "I'm from here; the Sembrando Vida program came to us, and it's given us a garden and a place to live. We're asking President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum to help us and raise our salaries, because we can't afford it."
"I'm a widow, I'm alone. It's been two and a half years since we women organized. Every year we plant trees, and children participate; there are more than 100 of us," she explained.
