High up on the western ridge of the Napuchi valley I sit, admiring the thick green pastures spread out below as roosters cry out to each other across the awakening valley floor. Lupe is chopping wood next to their small cabin on the southern end of the valley where smoke meanders from the galvanized tin chimney flue. The smell of fresh earth saturated with last night’s heavy rains mingles with the calming scent of burning pine in the wood stoves below. The stream cutting through the valley glistens like a polished silver chain as the sunlight drips into the flowing water.

The corn is growing tall and Jaime says that there has been much more rain this season. The corn will be ready for harvest in a few weeks as will the abundance of beans in the fields. All of the pastures are bright green and thick with life; it will be a great harvest this year.

The peels of thunder and lightning that rumble and echo through the valley are melodious parts of nature’s symphony. Everyone looks up and smiles when the lightning bursts through the gray mass overhead. The people living here in the Sierra are entirely dependent on the rain. There are no sophisticated irrigation systems to aid them through dry seasons. Jaime and Lupe catch the water from their old tin roof in fifty-five gallon drums and buckets and use it for bathing, drinking and cooking throughout the year.

This past month we (Amigos) were able to help buy a mare for Jaime and his farm. The plan is to use the mare and her future foals to help maintain the fields next season, easing the blistering burden of hand-farming. Juan helped Jaime begin the process of breaking a wild and untrained mare that had been roaming freely in the valley. Jaime named her Lucero, which means ‘bright morning star’. After a few days of training, Jaime was riding Lucero bareback.

It is a great honor to share life with our Tarahumaran brothers and sisters, to be welcomed into their community, to dream alongside them on their beautiful land. Together we are developing more sustainable and efficient farming methods, establishing effective ways to conserve water for their dry season, and creating micro businesses and education options for their children.

These are the moments that kindle hope, reminding me that Mexico has much more substance and life than the venomous persona the media portrays.