Planting Water

S.W.M.S. is an indigenous society that works with physical sponsors.

According to census.gov at least 15,000,000 in the Southwest are already experiencing water scarcity. That number is quickly growing.

The way we have been cultured to interact with the land, as well as a lack of relationship to it, has led to a heavy decrease in land management that considers and enacts longevity and proliferation of abundance as a baseline of management. Water planting is made accessible through our educational programs. We can all learn how to effectively plant water and restore our relationship to the land as well as our water tables, instead of only depleting them. 

Planting Water is an ancient indigenous practice shared by many tribal communities of the Southwest. Planting water is achieved by communicating with the earth; strategically slowing down, spreading out and catching runoff from the top of the watershed to the bottom; after snow melts and monsoon rains. We use a series of different planting methods like berms, swales, terracing, check dams and Hugel catchments. We work with what's local and abundant using simple hand tools and organic materials. The various structures are built using dirt, rocks, local native plants like mosses, cacti, native grasses; and or plant fibers like dead wood and sagebrush already available in the vicinity.

This issue affects every indigenous community in the rio grande valley and across the southwest. We are a multi tribal indigenous led society reviving ancient land management practices throughout New Mexico and across the southwest. We have been partnering with many Native and non native communities and organizations to share water planting. Planting water replenishes water tables wherever it is done allowing vegetation to return and an exponential increase in water retention of the earth benefiting all life.

Our Team is made up of and lead by Apache, Pueblo, Dinè, Kiowa, Comanche and Cheyenne tribal members. Who are deeply rooted in the communities, lands, and traditions of the Southwest. Our Team formed organically During 2017 Standing Rock NO DAPL Movement when all indigenous communities came together for solutions for the Water.

All of our work is guided and based in, the still existing examples left to us by our ancestors. We each take the lead on different projects based on our skillsets and connections to the areas we work in.

We currently have 10 active projects and 8 finished planting water projects across Northern NM. We have trained and educated hundreds of people of all backgrounds and work with seven different organizations; as well as a group of 25 Mennonite Disaster Service members from Colorado who are a climate response team from their community that reached out to us and trained with us this past summer.

Collectively we have started restoration work on hundreds of acres of private, public and Tribal lands and put millions of gallons of run-off water back into the thirsty Ground. We have made hundreds of catchments already and have the person power to scale up. 

All Indigenous Communities face Financial,Technical, Legal, Cultural and marketing barriers .

We hope SOLVE can help us over come our Technical and legal barriers through cultural solutions. There is no institutional knowledge of planting water, no documentation or date in the present or historically.

With Financial and technical support and a partner ship with SOLVE we hope to collect the evidence and data of ancient planting water and make it available to institutions and universities to help lift planting water to the eyes and ears of the federal government to be implemented into future public land management plans.

Dustin is a Descendent of the original Families of Taos and Indigenous Slavery recognized in the State of NM as "Genizaro ', Mixed Mexican Apache Comanche pueblo and Anglo ancestries. since 2007 Dustin has served Taos and greater indigenous communities through activism, community building, land management and as a manager of the Taos mens shelter. 

Planting water comes from ancient knowledge. This solution addresses the needs of the earth before our own. When the earth is sated, she takes care of us. It costs very little, just energy, time and simple tools. Restoring this relationship is a part of every teach we do. Seeing first hand how this idea changes peoples' relationship with the earth and shifting it to a less extractive one is something we all must do. 

If the problem is a loss of ground and surface water and desertification of the land, then putting water back into the land to replenish our groundwater, support our surface waters, and return the green to the desert, this is the greatest way to impact the problem. Here in the Sangria de Cristo, watershed of the rio grande, we have many ancient examples of planting water where lakes spring from the desert floor that are the living proof of how planting water is still impacting our environment from work done at least 100s of years ago. currently there is no data, but that is a goal we hope to achieve.

Our goal is to bring water back to the rio Grande watershed, Colorado river watershed, and every catchment we make is a step forward from drying watersheds to reaching that goal. We measure our goals by collecting data on the number of catchments we make, an estimate of how much water we are putting in the ground, the amount of private land partnerships gained and the number of projects performed on public lands. We also take general stock of the wildlife and vegetation that catchments revive around them.

We have rather a core relationship of reciprocation to Mother Earth, and an understanding of how the water moves and works than a core technology.

New Mexico, in the Rio Grande watershed

We have nine consistent society members working on this project.

We have been working on this solution for four years.

We find alternative solutions to people of different abilities who want to plant water on their land, where monetary barriers to entry starkly decrease diversity; we raise funds to cover costs of transportation and only use tools readily available in the natural environment, or share whatever tools we have at our disposal to accomplish our goals together. As a highly inclusive society, we have encountered a wide variety of skills, all of which have been appreciated and have helped us accomplish our goals. We are and indigenous society whose values and principles are based in nature, a healthy forest is a diverse forest and we reflect that in our community and organization. 

We are not a business. This solution is circular. 

Planting water happens with or without funding. It was a widely adopted cultural practice across tribal lines throughout this land. When we teach people how to plant water, they see very quickly how valuable it is and take it home to share with others. We have already committed time without monetary compensation to teach and practice water planting. It will spread one way or another, but we would like to make that happen more quickly before it's too late.