Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["Tradingpost" <tradingpost@lobo.net>]

   This article holds special meaning for us, not because we grow the kind of 
chile they do - we wouldn't dare  - but because we lived in Chimayo a short 
time ten years ago. There's a unique culture that resists being lost in the 
mainstream, and it's preserved a landrace chile for four hundred years.

paul tradingpost@lobo.net
------------------------------------------

Farming Chimayó Chile: Cultivating Faith
Edible Santa Fe Fall 2009
http://www.ediblecommunities.com/santafe/fall-2009/edible-southwest-nation.htm
story and photos by Gigi Ragland

Two types of pilgrims travel along the winding and scenic “High Road” into 
the picturesque Chimayó. Both are in search of the divine. They seek what one 
might call a “religious experience,” however the motivation driving each 
traveler’s pilgrimage is quite different, a sacred versus secular calling 
leading to the charming Chimayo.

For over a century, pious believers trekked to El Santuario de Chimayo 
seeking holy healing and mercy from health problems. Their journey ended when 
they reached the original “morada,” (family house of worship) where, since 
its founding in the early 1800s, pilgrims have lightly tread with fervor 
across the Santuario’s “El Posito” (sacred sand pit) dirt floor believing it 
was a conduit of God’s divine powers. Touching the dirt, grazing their 
fingertips across the fine soil, was a sacred, and, hopefully, curative act 
for these pilgrims in search of healing. It has been called the “Lourdes of 
America.” Today, one can still see visitors at El Santuario making their way 
to the “El Posito,” and, with perhaps a few pious pilgrims in their midst.

The other type of pilgrim is motivated by an entirely different calling. 
Getting to the historic shrine is not their mission, but it’s close enough to 
their goal, close by way of proximity and connection with the soil. Small 
fields of the legendary Chimayo chile dot the rugged mountain landscape 
throughout the historic village like a leprechaun’s pot-of-gold where one 
only needs to reach the ends of the rainbow to find the riches. Connoisseurs 
in search of the legendary green, red and “Christmas” Chimayo Chile are 
delighted when their pilgrimage concludes with a bag of Chimayo chiles, worth 
a pot-of-gold to those that make the trek to find it.

Faith and farming are intertwined in Chimayo. First settled in the 17th 
century and colonized like many of the villages in Northern New Mexico, 
Chimayo reflects the roots of its Spanish ancestry in its food, religion, art 
and architecture. Most clearly, it can be seen through the community’s strong 
Catholic history with its connection to El Santuario.

Faith and the majesty of God’s miracles go hand-in-hand when planting chile. 
Juan Ramón Trujillo, born in 1927, grew up farming the native chile. He 
explains that typically a farmer plants three seeds in each hole. “One for 
the birds, one for God and one for them.” And further explains the more 
comprehensive Chimayo Chile farmer way of planting fiveseeds. “One is for 
God, one for the sick, one for old people, one for the lazy and the last seed 
is for the farmer.” While it might be a stretch to say the chiles are 
divinely inspired, the chile has historically been tended by pious farmers of 
great faith, which are grown in the same soil said to have healing 
properties. However it is noteworthy to remember, as Father Casimiro Rocha, 
who has attended his flock at El Santuario since 1954, has said many times, 
“God heals, not the dirt!”

That being said, why are chile aficionados so enthralled with Chimayo chile? 
It basically comes down to flavor. As one local resident vouches, “you can’t 
beat the flavor; if I bite into another chile, it is like biting into a 
weed.” The pure native strain has a medium heat with a robust, smooth, full 
flavor with chocolate-tinged base notes. Chile lovers taste more intense 
flavor than they sense heat on the palate. Many home cooks prefer the 
spirited zest that Chimayo Red adds to their made-from-scratch sauces and 
stews. Chimayo chile powder can be identified by its pottery, red-orange 
color. Once tasted, there is no mistaking the flavor of the true native 
strain of Chimayo Red Chile. “It is like a good wine versus a flat wine,” 
declares Victoria Martinez, who, with her husband, Alfonso, farms Chimayo 
Chile. In the fall, tourists can see drapes of vibrant red Chimayo chile 
strings dangling from the eaves of many houses and garages, air-drying in the 
mountain sunshine, including the Martinez house.

The piquant chile is considered a pure native strain. The species is very 
unique; there is none like it genetically. As a native plant the chile has 
adapted to its environment over hundreds of years, which makes it more 
durable in a sense than commodity chiles. As a natural, native strain, 
Chimayo Chiles have a higher tolerance to blight, drought, and diseases than 
hybrid crops. As a specialty crop it does not produce a high yield and has 
been farmed locally in Chimayo since the 17th century. It’s reputation as a 
fine premium chile has circulated throughout New Mexico for at least 100 
years.

Some local families have been farming chile for generations. They remember 
their great-great-grandparents who passed on the coveted seed to the next in 
line, securing the chile plant as a local crop. Older farmers, now in their 
70s and 80s, have their own recollections of trading and selling chile at 
market and beyond the village. Ross Martinez, who is a descendant of the man 
who built El Santuario, remembers at age nine or ten, his mother sending him 
out to sit in front of El Santuario to sell Chimayo chile to tourists at 
twenty-five cents a bucket. As a young boy, Chimayo chile farmer Jose Abelino 
Martinez remembers traveling the dirt roads by horsedrawn wagon for months at 
a time selling chile with his family.

In recent years, with many aging farmers having difficulty tending their 
fields, the beloved Chimayo chile crop diminished rapidly, becoming in danger 
of extinction. And to the dismay of the community, the name “Chimayo” was 
attributed in marketing chiles that were not grown in the local area or from 
the native seed – diluting the legendary status of the uniquely flavored 
pure-strain chile. These two factors jeopardized not only the true 
authenticity of the crop but also whether or not the chile would survive into 
the next generation of farmers.

Fortunately for the community of Chimayo, in 2005, Native Hispanic Institute 
president, Marie Campos became involved in the need to preserve the native 
strain chile. At that time period only five farmers were identified still 
growing the chile. Campos says, “I was drawn to the beauty of this native 
chile’s ‘pure-nature’ and its cultural history, which inspired me to pursue 
its preservation.” Based in Santa Fe, the Institute’s mission is to represent 
and advocate legitimate interests of Native Hispanic peoples in ways that are 
integral to the preservation, development, advancement and continuance of 
indigenous living traditions in the Americas.

In 2005, Campos, along with other preservationists, farmers and government 
officials started the “Chimayo Chile Project.” The group’s first priority was 
to trademark the chile and to harvest as much chile seed as possible. Campos’ 
dedication paid off; she is happy to report that certification of “Chimayo” 
was registered with the USPTO. “This helps protect both consumers and Chimayo 
chile farmers against those who try to falsely market other types of chile 
products under that name,” informs Campos. She believes that the resulting 
certification will have a positive effect on the farmers by increasing the 
value of their product as authentic Capsicum annuum cv. ‘Chimayo,’ grown in 
the geographical area Chimayo, New Mexico. Now, as stated in a memorial 
confirmed by the New Mexico State Legislature, “the name ‘Chimayo’ for chile 
shall continue to be the name that identifies the native strains of chile 
that were inherited from the traditional families who founded and named the 
village of Chimayo in New Mexico.”

The next step in the Project is now underway. Enough seed has been harvested 
for older farmers to mentor and show the process to the next generation of 
Chimayo Chile farmers. The NHI partnered with Santa Fe County to grow chile 
on seven acres of public land behind El Santuario de Chimayo where educating 
young farmers continues. 56 farmers are now enrolled in the Project to 
preserve and harvest the native strain of chile in Chimayo. The Project 
provides seed to farmers who meet the criteria of continuing the tradition of 
growing the specialty crop who live in the village.

Born and raised by his grandparents in Chimayo, Barney Trujillo is a 29- year 
old younger generation farmer. He inherited his grandfather’s land, which has 
been in the family for 100 years. He remembers his grandfather growing chile 
and other crops on the one and a half acre field surrounded by Cottonwoods 
and Aspens. “My grandfather died when I was 16 and the field remained vacant 
for 10 years afterwards,” says Trujillo. Seed was difficult to get because it 
was normally passed on within families. “In some cases, grandparents have 
died and younger farmers do not have access to the seed, which was in my 
case,” adds Trujillo. Through the efforts of Marie Campos and NIH, Trujillo 
was able to acquire free seed within the Project. He also credits his 
neighbors, who used to farm the chile, as instrumental in the whole farming 
process.

Everybody chips in at the Trujillo household. “Grandma watches the baby and 
my mother, wife and oldest daughter help out in the field.” It’s a lot of 
work confides Trujillo. He emphasizes that the hardest part of the farming 
process is controlling the weeds. “Seems the weeds grow faster than the 
chiles,” he laughs. No chemicals are used at all in the farming of the chile. 
“Just the seeds, soil, acequia water (irrigation canal) and a hoe are used to 
farm our chile,” states Trujillo, who yields about 300 bushels of chile per 
acre.

Trujillo feels blessed to be able to farm his land. He credits his religion 
and faith as instrumental components for his success and fortitude. Trujillo 
says, “I learned it takes patience to do this type of work. Learning patience 
and having faith are the most important things, to believe everything is 
going to work out for a good purpose.” Being raised near El Santuario de 
Chimayo, within the arms of the religious Catholic community, inspired 
Trujillo to believe that all will work out in the end. Trujillo explains 
having a family at a young age made him more responsible and brought him out 
to the field. He believes, “As we get older it is our job to teach kids how 
to be responsible and that just means taking care of what you have. I think 
that will lead to the chile.”

Now, whenever Trujillo travels outside of the village and people find out he 
is from Chimayo, the first question they ask is, “Where is the chile?” 
Proudly, now he can reply, “how many bags do you want, I am a Chimayo chile 
farmer.” That is, if he has any left.