Juan Pablo Ampudia

Documentary Photographer

The Mennonites of Bacalar in front of environmental crisis

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Clients: NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, GATOPARDO, LOS ANGELES TIMES, UNICEF, INSIDER

School: Centro de Estudios en Ciencias de la Comunicacion Foundry Photojournalism Workshop

Cornelius Klassen, 29, rests fo...atin America after the Amazon.

Cornelius Klassen, 29, rests for a moment early in the morning before starting his work in the field.

Cornelius is responsible for accounting in Salamanca, a Mennonite agricultural community that has not stopped growing in its twenty years of life. For them working the soil is the most precious thing. This world view has not only made them great farmers, it has also made them participants in the dispossession of the Mayan jungle, the second best consolidated forest in Latin America after the Amazon.

Seen from the air, Salamanca lo...lds, and pig and poultry farms.

Seen from the air, Salamanca looks like a large patch of land surrounded by dense jungle: almost sixty square kilometers of vegetation that has been extirpated. Where there were previously endangered animal and plant species, now there are colorful wooden houses, transgenic soybean fields, and pig and poultry farms.

The Schmitt family eat breakfas...mitt, 11, Wilhem Schmitt, 21.)

The Schmitt family eat breakfast at home before the boys work the soil, and the girls do the house chores.

From left to right (Anna Schmitt, 13, Margaretha Schmitt, 7, Elisabeth Schmitt, 15, Susana Schmitt, 18, Benjamin Schmitt, 4, Aganetha Schmitt, 11, Wilhem Schmitt, 21.)

Abram Schmitt prepares to feed ...co and settled in Quintana Roo.

Abram Schmitt prepares to feed his cattle early in the morning. He is a 42-year-old man, originally from Durango, raised in Belize, but living in Salamanca since 2008.

The Mennonites have a long history of migration.They first arrived in Canada In the 20's, they moved to northern Mexico, and over time, they sought out new territories in countries like Belize; They founded Little Belize, a community so prosperous, and with such agricultural production, that the country soon became too small for them. In 2001, they arrived in southern Mexico and settled in Quintana Roo.

David and Franz Guenter, along ...ell to the a supermarket chain.

David and Franz Guenter, along with Abram Schmitt and his son, return home after selling a 1,600-kilo Papaya crop to a man from Cancun, who will then sell to the a supermarket chain.

Johan Schmitt, 5, rests while h...cities of Bacalar and Chetumal.

Johan Schmitt, 5, rests while his brother Wilhelm, 21, milks the cows. Some people have chosen to produce cheese and dairy products in their own homes. They sell them in the cities of Bacalar and Chetumal.

Landscape of one of the 17 fie...r storing soybeans.

Landscape of one of the 17 fields in Salamanca. Here are located 3 silos in which more than 2500 tons of grains are stored. In August 2021, the Mennonites began the construction of a fourth silo, exclusively for storing soybeans.

Elisabeth, 15, and her sister G...ing to sell cheese to Chetumal.

Elisabeth, 15, and her sister Gertruda, 10, prepare the horse for their father. He is going to sell cheese to Chetumal.

Benjamin Harder feeds his cattl...t that this continue to happen.

Benjamin Harder feeds his cattle in the morning. His family is one of the founders of Salamanca. In 2017, the authorities found transgenic soybeans in part of their 40 hectares, which at the time affected the bee population in the area. Today it is not possible to be sure if they continue to sow transgenic seeds, but specialists are confident that this continue to happen.

Aganetha Schmitt, 11, and her s...  pose for a portrait.

Aganetha Schmitt, 11, and her sister, Margaretha, 7, pose for a portrait.

Abram Schmitt, 43, and his wife...are of, 8 daughters and 4 sons.

Abram Schmitt, 43, and his wife Elizabeth, 42, spent time with their children at home. They have 12 children to take care of, 8 daughters and 4 sons.

Susanna Schmitt, 18, prepares to wash the family clothing.

A man picks up his bible for Su...dietsch, Low German, is spoken.

A man picks up his bible for Sunday church. Salamanca is an autarchic, inbred, peaceful, and patriarchal community. Here a Protestant religion, Anabaptism, is professed, and Plautdietsch, Low German, is spoken.

Franz Schmitt, 5, Gertruda Schm...e for a portrait before church.

Franz Schmitt, 5, Gertruda Schmitt, 6, Cornelius Schmitt, 8, Sahra Hildebrand, 29, Elisabeth Schmitt, 9 months, and Abraham Schmitt, 32, pose for a portrait before church.

Landscape of a soybean field in...bsp;500 tons of corn per year.

Landscape of a soybean field in Salamanca.

The Mennonites harvest on a large scale; Almost four thousand tons of soybeans, 2,300 tons of sorghum, and 500 tons of corn per year.

Isaac Dyck, 42, fixes an engine...nd they were sold forest land.

Isaac Dyck, 42, fixes an engine together with his sons.

Everybody complains about deforestation at the hands of the Mennonites, about the lack of permits, about the use of agrochemicals, but nobody has counted the fraud, the deceit and abuses of which they have been victims by land owners, and the obstacles that the authorities put on them to regularize their situation. It is common for the residents of Bacalar or Chetumal to scam the Mennonites when they sell them tractors, and other tools or products. In fact, they had to pay for the land twice, because the first time they were scammed. Their intention from the beginning was to buy arable land, and they were sold forest land.

Johan Schmitt, 5, poses for a portrait with his bird.

The Schmitt's family kitchen after breakfast.

Franz Wall sprays glyphosate to...its harmful effects on health.

Franz Wall sprays glyphosate to prepare the soil.

Quintana Roo is not an agricultural state. The soils are porous and shallow, except in the south. Due to these conditions, Salamanca has resorted to the use of agrochemicals to shield the harvest; As well as insecticides to prevent or eliminate pests. To prepare the soil they spray glyphosate, a herbicide whose use has been prohibited since 2020 in Mexico due to its harmful effects on health.

Aerial view of the Bacalar lago...them to change their practices.

Aerial view of the Bacalar lagoon in Quintana Roo, Mexico.

The Bacalar Lagoon is a main tourist destination of Quintana Roo, Mexico. Once famous for its multiple shades of blue, the waters of Bacalar turned a dirty and uniform color in 2020 after the tropical storm Cristobal hit the region. A large part of the water unloaded by the storm flowed into the lagoon, resulting in a massive death toll of endemic species.

The Mennonites were singled out as the main culprits, but they are unaware of their impacts on the ecosystem. Therefore, there have been no acts of awareness or environmental education from the government nor the society that motivate them to change their practices.

Thumbnail of Cornelius Klassen, 29, rests for_Latin America after the Amazon.

Thumbnail of Seen from the air, Salamanca loo_elds, and pig and poultry farms.

Thumbnail of The Schmitt family eat breakfast_hmitt, 11, Wilhem Schmitt, 21.)

Thumbnail of Abram Schmitt prepares to feed h_ico and settled in Quintana Roo.

Thumbnail of David and Franz Guenter, along w_sell to the a supermarket chain.

Thumbnail of Johan Schmitt, 5, rests while hi_ cities of Bacalar and Chetumal.

Thumbnail of Landscape of one of the 17 fiel_or storing soybeans.

Thumbnail of Elisabeth, 15, and her sister Ge_oing to sell cheese to Chetumal.

Thumbnail of Benjamin Harder feeds his cattle_nt that this continue to happen.

Thumbnail of Aganetha Schmitt, 11, and her si_,  pose for a portrait.

Thumbnail of Abram Schmitt, 43, and his wife _care of, 8 daughters and 4 sons.

Thumbnail of Susanna Schmitt, 18, prepares to wash the family clothing.

Thumbnail of A man picks up his bible for Sun_tdietsch, Low German, is spoken.

Thumbnail of Franz Schmitt, 5, Gertruda Schmi_se for a portrait before church.

Thumbnail of Landscape of a soybean field in _nbsp;500 tons of corn per year.

Thumbnail of Isaac Dyck, 42, fixes an engine _and they were sold forest land.

Thumbnail of Johan Schmitt, 5, poses for a portrait with his bird.

Thumbnail of The Schmitt's family kitchen after breakfast.

Thumbnail of Franz Wall sprays glyphosate to _ its harmful effects on health.

Thumbnail of Aerial view of the Bacalar lagoo_ them to change their practices.

Public Project

The Mennonites of Bacalar in front of environmental crisis

Copyright Juan Pablo Ampudia 2024

Updated Apr 2022

Location Bacalar Quintana Roo

Summary

Salamanca is an isolated community of 1,450 Mennonites surrounded by the dense Mayan Jungle. For over five hundred years, these people have found meaning in working the soil. The fifty square kilometers of the town were cleared, farmed and built by their hands. They have no television or radio, and the only books they read are editions of the New Testament. As such, they are ignorant of climate change and the role they play in it.

When the Mennonites arrived to Bacalar, they uprooted trees, bushes, and plants and replaced them with various crops and livestock. All of this they did without permits. For two or three seasons a year they toil on the six thousand hectares of arable land. In the process, they dump hundreds of thousands of liters of agrochemicals into the ground putting the ecosystem at risk.

Eight kilometers away is the city of Bacalar. Coveted for its proximity to the shore and to Bacalar Lagoon, this town is a main tourist destination of Quintana Roo, Mexico. Once famous for its multiple shades of blue, the waters of Bacalar turned a dirty and uniform color in 2020 after the tropical storm Cristobal hit the region. A large part of the water unloaded by the storm flowed into the lagoon, resulting in a massive death toll of endemic species.

The Mennonites were singled out as the main culprits. Pouring chemicals on the porous soil of the Yucatan Peninsula brings with it a serious problem: the abundant rains that fall in the region easily infiltrate it the soil and spread the pollutants. The great Mayan aquifer is a complex network of interconnected underground rivers supplied by this rainfall. The jungle, the cenotes, the mangroves, and the seagrasses, are all connected by this aquifer. What happens in one place affects all the others. This project seeks to understand this community, to address their impact on the climate crisis and ultimately to foster conversation about the importance of looking for sustainable alternatives and the urgency of environmental education.

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