Tres Semillas - Uno para yo, uno para vos, uno para los animalitos de Dios.

Op Ed
​By Lupita Salazar

Tres Semillas - Uno para yo, uno para vos, uno para los animalitos de Dios.
Three seeds-one for me, one for you, one for God’s little animals. A dicho that expresses collaboration and symbiosis.

This week Tres Semillas Foundation, an organization whose name denotes hope, has evicted the Northern Youth Project from the land they have stewarded for 15 years. All to make the land attractive to a potential buyer.

What an ironic way to spend their anniversary. In the place of celebration, they have had to leave behind, and remove years of community and youth investment. From irrigation systems, to a graffiti and mural wall, to trees planted in the memories of youth who have passed away.
Why would Tres Semillas Foundation, an organization with such a name whose articles of incorporation state that they will “provide for economic development in the Abiquiu area” evict the Abiquiu Farmers Market, Frosty Cow, and the Northern Youth Project after they have all done just that? When a stated goal has been the “development of land for community purposes including education, arts, health, economic opportunity, and other forms of community support.”

Semillas are seeds. Are not the youth the seeds, the hope of our future?

Northern Youth Project’s goal is to “Support the Dreams of Northern New Mexico Teens.”Dreams are the seeds planted in the minds and hearts of the youth of our area.

Tres Semillas was formed to manage the land in the heart of Abiquiu for community use 17 years ago. They reached out for ideas and input. Leona Hillary and local teens including youth leaders Anastacia Maestas and Rebecca Gutierrez answered the call. In a community with no high school, recreational parks, or teen center-they planted a seed. 15 years ago these teens planted a garden on the Tres Semillas land.

And every year since, generations of teens have participated in the agriculture or art programs. They have cleaned and maintained the acequia, held farm to table events, and visited other farmers and community events to expose the youth to a wider world.

Tres Semillas, who instead of planting their three seeds, their hope for the future, is selling this land to the highest bidder. An organization created to protect Abiquiu from outside development and exploitation, has itself made the community vulnerable. Instead of continuing to cultivate the seeds that have flourished for years, they are digging them up. Another sacrifice to the bulldozer of capitalism. A non-profit organization turned into a landlord- who has existed out of non- profit compliance for years.

What a shame that another handful of seeds has been taken away from our youth in a region that already has limited resources. Local schools have limited or no art programs. Recreational and job opportunities are also scarce. Youth are often isolated due to lack of transportation and opportunities to connect with others.

Though these seeds have been taken away FOR profit. The wildflowers have blown in the wind. Evicted and uprooted. But resilient with community soil, a loving sun, and nourishing water. Though their absence will leave a scar, the seeds will float in the wind to a new place. New land ready to receive them.

But the story of Tres Semillas will remain. The story of how Peter and Sarah Solmssen, as well as Bernadette and Steve Gallegos sold the land they were entrusted to manage for the community instead of stewarding it. How they evicted a youth program. How they made a whole community vulnerable to unwanted development. The story of their greed and disregard for their neighbors and the future of our region.

Quisieron enterrarnos, pero se les olvido que somos semillas. They tried to bury us, but they didn’t know we were seeds.