Join Villa Esperanza for “Water: Thirsty Fields and the Elixir of Life,” the first lecture of our 2009-2010 Lecture Series!

Water is man’s only weapon against aridity. It slacks the thirst of humans, provides the foundation for all crop production, and must be in place for a viable agrarian community to exist in dry regions.

While the availability of water affects all humans, lack of access to water and to viable irrigation systems has a particularly devastating impact on disadvantaged communities.

Charles Porter’s presentation focuses on the need for successful irrigation systems designed to create a “living or on-going total system” approach. His talk references ineffective infrastructure projects in northern Mexico and south Texas where thousands of hectares of fields surrounded by concrete channels ready to deliver the elixir of life to thirsty fields have laid fallow for years, and addresses the consequences this has had on poor, agrarian communities. His talk will conclude with ideas about how we could assist governments and/or local farm communities in developing a “living system” approach that could make the expensive infrastructure already in place useful in the successful development of more independent and sustainable communities.

St. Edward’s University
Doyle Hall 132
Wednesday, October 7th
7:00 p.m.