It may seem odd to ask you to remember Cherán, a village in the Mexican state of Michoacán, if you realize that it is both extant and thriving, and may it remain so. Yet it may not. Meanwhile its many notable qualities symbolize much which is valuable to remember.

According to an article in this month’s Harper’s, Michoacán is the premier avocado-producing region in the world, providing nearly a third of the global supply and eighty percent of the avocados sold in the US. As the global market for this healthy fruit, specifically a single-seeded berry, has mushroomed to the $18 billion, Michoacán has suffered deforestation, reduced rainfall and groundwater, violence, dismemberment, and death, as the famed–or maybe infamous, or even nonexistent, but something is going on there–cartels of Mexico are drawn to money as flies are drawn to decay.

Mexico does have a very cool constitutional right that guarantees autonomy for indigenous communities, and when Cherán, a mostly Purépecha community of about 20,000, started to experience these negative outcomes, it successfully petitioned for its independence, which entitles it to millions of dollars annually. Since 2014 it has a charter which includes a government by an elected elected, local council; a military force committed to both safely and environment protection, in lieu of a police force; and bans on both political parties and avocados.

Dozens of localities in the state have followed Cherán’s model, though all are under constant pressure from outside forces, and some have re-succumbed to the lures of trading near-term riches for long-term sterility, either due to local greed or under outside duress. For this reason, Cherán must remain ever-vigilant. All visitors are cleared through checkpoints, and daily forays perform missions ranging from routine inspections to armed engagement with poachers. The entire town works together to achieve its goal of restoring the natural environment, and there is considerable pride in being an independent, self-governed entity amid a conventional state. I believe pretty much everyone owns firearms, often including automatic weapons.

Cherán’s people have a lot to teach the rest of us about ethnic separatism within a state, self-governance, living with firearms, standing up to powerful armed groups, reforestation, water filtration and groundwater maintenance, and choosing sustainable community life over being a cog in the global industrialization. The rosy dawn sings, It is really possible! The ominous shadow whispers, For how long?

Meanwhile, woeful though it makes me, I believe the time has come for me to stop eating avocados.