From the time the devastating Calf Canyon/Hermit's Peak fire began two years ago, people in Mora supported each other with initiatives like food and firewood distribution.
Promised compensation in a program administered by FEMA has been slow to arrive, but some local efforts to support the area's recovery are getting cash to help them grow.
Last year, the legislature created the Creative Industries Division of the Economic Development Department.
One of the first grants went to the nonprofit Mora MainStreet to create a summer market in downtown Mora, for local artisans to sell things like pottery, homemade jams and natural beauty products.
Director Ilka Villarreal said the grant was for $100,000 and that the market will run on the first four Saturdays in May and June from 12 til 4pm, in the Mora Local Growers' Coop parking lot.
She said she wants to show: "that we are more than a place where tragedy happens. We want to give people hope."
And nonprofit HELP NM has proposed a new County Hub for Community-Based Services in nearby Cleveland, and received a check for $750,000 Tuesday.
Congresswoman Teresa Leger Fernández secured the funds in appropriations for fiscal year 2023.
HELP NM President Joseph Griego, who is from Mora, says initially the hub will support local businesses with office space and, funding permitting, a community room and commercial kitchen.
He wants: "to be able to help sustain some of the businesses that might need a place to open up while they get situated, giving them a temporary or even a long-term sustainable office or workplace."
Long-term, he hopes the hub will provide behavioral health and addiction services. too.
"Yes, the response has been slow from FEMA," he said. "But I think that the community, as a whole, the community and the people here have a great resilience."
