Stories from the Ground
by Nathan Senge
These three stories arise from three different phases of the journey of the Manglito fishing community in La Paz, Mexico, en route to restoring its fishery for Callo de Hacha penshell clams and Catarina scallops in the Ensenada de la Paz bay: challenges in getting started (When Windshields are Shattered), setbacks that arise along the way (The Reclamation of Herubey Avilés), and a sculpture installation that crystallized the vision of the community (A Lamp Lights the Way).
When Windshields are Shattered
A Community Elects Dialogue over Revenge
On the night of May 19th, 2011, someone picked up a baseball-sized rock and whipped it through the windshield of one of the Citizen Observatory (CO) pick-up trucks.
The Reclamation of Herubey Avilés
One Manglito Fisherman’s Fight with Need Versus Vision
It is the middle of the day and I am tired. The sun hangs limpidly above in the mid-summer burn of El Piojo and the wind has stalled.
A Lamp Lights the Way
The Sculpture of Benito Ortega
Benito Ortega sits cross-legged in front of his new sculpture, his hands clasped, his eyes kind but worried. The piece has just been placed in the center of the NOS campus in La Paz, Baja California Sur, and he is hoping that it sends a bit of hope into the neighboring Manglito community while it struggles to grow out of poverty and crime.