Indigenous and Western communities are faced with increasing issues of sustainability compromising their natural resources and cultural heritage, for example, a cross-pollination/complementary approach in relation to their current knowledge systems and discourses on sustainability. There is a need for methods that integrate different discourses relating to sustainability to identify the most pressing needs in terms of sustainability. Sustainability assessments are a type of impact assessment that focus on enhanced sustainability both now and in the future; however, the literature on indigenous sustainability assessment methods, is scarce. To address this gap, we have developed a novel Sustainability Assessment method for Indigenous Communities (SAIC). The SAIC method combines Western and indigenous sustainability objectives and principles, in order to extend the range of options for action to address sustainability. The SAIC method consists of two sections (i) values and considerations and (ii) procedure. The “values and considerations” section establishes the fundamental participatory and ethical considerations for conducting sustainability assessments in indigenous communities, and the “procedure” section establishes a set of 55 indicators in eight categories. The method was tested in a Zapotec, indigenous community in México. Results show that this community was rated highly in all eight categories. However, indicators for family planning and access to health services were rated poorly. The identified issues can be used as guidelines for decision making in future regional projects and development plans. The results reveal further areas for improvement, such as strengthening the links to national or international networks and increasing the use of renewable energies. The method presented in this paper provides an assessment approach based on Western and indigenous sustainability discourses, which is suitable for assessing indigenous communities.

Sustainable processing from native vegetation such as agave, nopal and aloe, is mainly centered on the components of lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose, defined generally as lignocellulosic. Cytotoxicity of lignocellulosic biopolymer membranes (LBMs) of mucilages of Opuntia ficus-indica, Aloe barbadensis Miller, fructans, and residual Agave tequilana Weber fibers at different concentrations (30, 50 and 70%), was evaluated in contact with human fibroblast cells (ATCC^® PCS-201-010), cultured in vitro. Long and short LMBs were formed from the fibrous material. The interaction showed mild cytotoxicity according to ISO 10993-5: 2009. Cytotoxic activity demonstrated in the presence of fibroblasts implied a maximum cytotoxicity of close to 46% and a minimum of 7% in LBMs. UV light absorption results of the large fiber LMBs showed the highest prevention of passage of light, having a protective effect mechanism of delaying the response of hypersensitivity as a result of exposure to UV radiation. The morphology and structure were characterized using SEM, FT-IR, and image texture analysis. According to the LBMs reactivity measured, the feasible uses of these membranes can be suggested as materials for biomedical applications over a short period of time, with feasibility as a support to provide some beneficial solutions.

La comprensión del paisaje ha tomado fuerza entre comunidades que buscan alternativas de mejora a métodos de producción y gestión del patrimonio. El paisaje agavero da sentido e identidad a diversas regiones en México. Esta investigación discute las percepciones de integrantes de dos comunidades sobre el patrimonio natural y cultural en torno al agave. El estudio de caso de Tlalquiltenango, Morelos y Arandas Jalisco, ha sido seleccionado debido a que ambas comunidades realizan la producción de bebidas alcohólicas a partir de la explotación de la planta de agave, lo que no sólo significa el uso de bienes materiales, sino un producto de la cultura, historia e identidad. Para lograr un acercamiento a la percepción del paisaje agavero, se diseñó un instrumento que fue aplicado a trabajadores y tomadores de decisiones. Los resultados mostraron que la mayoría de los participantes percibieron al paisaje agavero como parte de su patrimonio e identidad, lo que aporta elementos para vislumbrar y/o identificar alguna aplicación y aprovechamiento de los residuales, que conlleve a la conservación del paisaje en esas comunidades.