Acequia Crossings

Acequia Crossings. . , Design: Juanita Lavadie , Concept and Installation: The Paseo Project, In the fall of 2020, The Paseo Project collaborated with Juanita Lavadie to explore the possible ways that the historical networks of the Acequia Madre del Río Pueblo could be represented on the paved surfaces of downtown Taos. Conceived as 'Acequia Crossings', Lavadie created a series of stencil designs to educate and remind locals and visitors of the disappearing acequias., Acequias are centuries old community-operated water channels used for agricultural irrigation. It is a word that conveys both the physical irrigation ditch and the community that shares and maintains the water that runs through it. Pronounced 'As-SAY-kee-ah, The word derives from the Arabic term, As-Saquiya, it's root "saqa" meaning to irrigate. The approach to the design was to connect to the liquid feeling of water and of water currents. To represent acequias, there are three key elements: water, human interaction with water, and agriculture., Water: , The idea of the design was to depict the flow of water. The water stencil imitates the random course of water flow within the confines of the land banks that flank the acequia., Shovel: , This is how the farmer and acequia parciante manages the water, with the shovel. It is as basic and simple as it gets. With all the complexities of knowing the land, the seasons, the water -the acequia parciante needs and flow and with cooperative work with the community shares the water to prosper and thrive., Seeds: , The three stages are depicted together in a row. They represent the most time-consuming and laborious aspect of being acequia parciantes. The garden, the field of crops, the livestock, and the family members who depend on the harvest are all reliant on the work with land, water, and seed. Once the seeds sprout, the constant care and work is needed with thriving plants all the days, weeks, and months into cosecha (harvest)., Learn more about acequias and acequia culture: www.taosacequias.org