Short-term teams visited in August from Solana Beach and Mt. Soledad Presbyterian Churches. A field chaplain is working to encourage cooperation and outreach among local churches. Earthquake A couple of years ago, when Floresta first began introducing living barriers of vetiver and napier grass into the hillside farms of the Mixteca Alta, most farmers were not impressed. The ragged brown straw almost looked dead. A year later, they began recognizing the value of the funny lines of grass, although they still didn't look like much.
Feelings are different today.
In September and October, heavy rains caused devastating landslides and flooding throughout Oaxaca and several neighboring states, killing dozens. But the people in the Municipality of Santo Domingo Nuxaa, who have been working with Floresta, have had no serious erosion problem or mudslides. Floresta nursery volunteer checks pine seedlings in Oaxaca. As if the flooding were not difficult enough, on September 30th a strong earthquake struck Oaxaca, causing major damage in the city. However, Santo Domingo Nuxaa and neighboring, Nuxi o, where Floresta is also working, were left unscathed.