Samuel Beautysta Lazer will be joining Austin Organic Gardeners over Zoom from one of the cradles of civilization in the Central Valley of Oaxaca (Teotitlán del Valle). His family is a traditional Benizaa (Zapotec) family of weavers. Benizaa means "people from the clouds" in the native language.

Lazer will share the richness of his community's agroecosystem that goes back 10,000+ years growing food that is now protected through UNESCO. He will weave a story connecting the cycle of nature's elements that create the beauty of the food to the hand-woven tapestries of the region. He will also discuss the fight against GMOs and industrial farming that continues in Mexico and is led by the indigenous people.