As the first sunlight warms the stony tip of Pikachu, the low mountain top overlooking Teotitlan del Valle, the day's work is already well underway in the Gonzalez home.

By mid-morning Ruben is in the sun-soaked fields, immersed in the age-old cycle of coaxing food from the earth. Leonel and Osvaldo are at the loom, slowly creating their woolen works of art. Soledad is in the corral, feeding the burros, pigs, turkeys and chickens. Elena is carding wool. A campfire smell drifts through the air as Minerva and Magdalena prepare tortillas for one of the days stout meals.

The hard work is tempered by the casual rhythm to the day's events. There is no schedule, no clock to punch. Time is a relative thing here.