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The Sierra Tarahumara
Geography
Located to the southwest of the state of Chihuahua, the Sierra Tarahumara includes some of the deepest canyons in the world surrounded by high and wooded mountains.
23 municipalities are located in the region with extreme climates that exceed 40 °C (100 °F) and 20 °C below zero (-4°F).
Human Development
Scattered throughout the extensive mountains of the Sierra Tarahumara are remote villages, indigenous communities that have little to no access to basic services and the necessary infrastructure for health care and education, placing them in poverty and extreme poverty conditions.
In the mountains there are prolonged droughts and frosts that, together with mining, forest devastation, land dispossession, water pollution and the threat of criminal groups, result in the loss of crops, serious environmental deterioration and health risks.
There are deaths from curable diseases, malnutrition, which can be severe in some cases, tuberculosis, respiratory diseases and gastrointestinal diseases.
culture
3% of the population in the state of Chihuahua is indigenous.
In the Tarahumara Mountains there are Tarahumara or Raramuri, Tepehuanos or Odami, Guarojíos or Makurawe and Pima or O'oba indigenous communities.
Despite the odds, the Raramuri people have managed to preserve good part of their customs and lifestyle. The traditional barter system prevails in the exchange of goods and services, as well as agriculture, hunting and gathering.
As part of their core values, there is a high respect for the family, especially for the elderly and children, and love for nature.