As climate change and the persistent pressure of extractive industries place growing strain on ecosystems across the world, traditional ecological knowledge passed down over generations is also at risk of being lost. This is especially pressing in the Oaxacan town of Mitla, a biodiversity hotspot where expanding mezcal production and severe wildfires are changing the surrounding landscape. For the Zapotec community that has called Mitla home for thousands of years, these environmental changes also threaten Indigenous knowledge tied to plants, water, animals, geological formations, sacred places, and the stories that connect people to the land.

Our community-led program works to document and safeguard this traditional knowledge while keeping its stewardship in local hands for future generations. You’ll spend your field school learning directly from Zapotec knowledge keepers while building practical ethnographic and survey skills. Your research will become part of a digital community archive, helping preserve Mitla’s living heritage while showing how ecological knowledge can guide the conservation of this extraordinary landscape.

Field school highlights:

• Learn how community-based research works in practice, building skills in ethnographic interviewing, participant observation, GIS mapping, and more.
• Connect with the vibrant local community and make a real impact by documenting their stories and what they can teach us about environmental conservation.
• Soak up the best of Oaxaca, including excursions to UNESCO-listed Zapotec sites and a cactus-studded biosphere reserve.