El Carrizo Project

The Center for Sustainable Technologies (CETECSU) has started this project in El Carrizo, or Mesa Las Azucenas (near Zapotitan del Hidalgo), with the objective of creating interest in changing the annual crops for trees that are more appropriate for the conditions on the local mountain slopes.

    Map 1. Jocotepec Municipality                          Map 2. Reforestación Zone "El Carrizo"

In this area, the farmers and general public will be able to appreciate that it is possible to coexist with nature without contaminating it by using composting toilets and "eco-technologies", taking advantage of solar and wind energy, rainwater capture, efficient wood stoves, use of medicinal plants, forest species, fruit trees and finally creating an experimental field of a native sweet potato (camote del cerro, Remotiflora Dioscorea) that produces highly nutritious tubers and has not been previously studied.

Map 3. Location of CETECSU in El Carrizo

The proposal is to buy the following species:

Bamboo	50
Christmas Pine	150
Walnut	100
Peach	100
Avocado	100

The strategy is to plant saplings of more than one meter in height, to create an immediate incentive to take care of the new plantings; using an alternative method with material provided by SEMARNAT or SEDER for large scale reforestation of native species which will be transplanted in bags which with proper care will create a nursery of trees of suffucient size to be planted the following cycle or year.

To this end, it is proposed that resources be provided to buy trees and construction materials for a 10m by 10m viewing terrace from which Lake Chapala can be seen, and which will also serve as a lookout shelter for the security of the zone.

Figure 1. Rainwater capture system

Figure 2. Panoramic view of Jocotepec and Lake Chapala from CETECSU

Thank you in advance for your help in realizing this project.

Engineer José Antonio Machuca Núñez
Project Director.