hasta pronto Philipp a.k.a. Don Felipe

Philipp's been doing some great fieldwork and analysis, and it was time to share his preliminary results. We thus had an informative and practical workshop with interested farmers at their resin collection center. Good stuff...stay tunned for his upcoming (MSc) thesis.

Thanks Philipp for a well prepared and participatory session. You'll surely be missed in California!

explaining what we've been up to

the (action) research questions

taking it to the field

spontaneous tree-thinning discussion

and Guarianthe orchids in bloom

non-haphazard scenes

sometimes things in the field seem purposeful

they look so deliberate and arranged

one last one for 2018

A last visit to the field before we see this 2018 go by. A fruitful week: we sampled trees in four more paddocks and mapped the northern corner of the ejido. It's evident, these neotropical mountain forests are used for ranching; they're forested rangelands in which livestock benefit from an array of grasses and forbs found throughout a diverse terrain, like green grass in the valleys, and where streams offer drinking water and trees provide shelter and shade. These are multifunctional landscapes with benefits (services, resources, contributions...) as well as conflicts, I for one have enjoyed the beauty and coolnes of riparian areas, at least the ones with well-conserved gallery forests, while also succumbed to pervasive seed ticks.

cows doing their thing
top-left: keep your distance (as I learned)

you cannot run away

El Sabinal, a new favourite

herramienta

just some tools of the (resin) trade

California 33

Hermosa celebración, con muchos invitados al básquetbol y la barbacoa, fue el 33° aniversario de la fundación del ejido California de Villaflores, Chiapas.

fueron 14 equipos

el de California (nomás faltó don Chus)

al fondo la milpa

estrenando uniformes

barbacoa —la res de 454 kg— para todos

(sin palabras)

satisfechos espectadores de colonias vecinas y lejanas...
hasta del ejido La Suiza

The Morelia 2019 workshop

Nothing short of a great workshop with amazing people, gracias!

Forefront-Reserbos workshop friends (with a few missing)

And many thanks also to our local (Morelia) organizers.

just below the summits

We hiked up the triple-peaked mountain: finally el Tres Picos!

The path up through the mountain ridges was beautiful and surreal. Simply amazing.

Big hug and thank you to all that joined this adventure, including an incredibly cooperative weather.

2,433 meters above the sea

everyone is back!, fulfilled, safe and ready to drop