Ixtlán de Juárez is a pioneer among 38 communities that have got together to form a tree-farming association in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca.
The 4,000 Zapotec community members have used their award-winning forest enterprise as an incubator, turning the proceeds into employment opportunities scarcely imaginable a generation ago.
The money has also helped put in place street lights, a water supply, sewerage, a bus service and electric power lines, as well as a grocery store, schools and a town hall for the municipality of Ixtlán.
For the full story: Mexican forest communities seek business benefit from climate laws
TEXT BY TALLI NAUMAN, PHOTOS BY MARCIA PERSKIE
