By Blanca Castanon Canals | Proyect Leader
Dear friends and benefactors of Espiral por la Vida:
We greet you in the hope that you will be healthy and in your family!
On this occasion, we are going to take advantage of this communication space to inform you about the actions that our organization has been carrying out in this period marked by the pandemic and the confinement, of which the indigenous communities and in particular, the women with whom we work, far from relegating themselves to a secondary or expectant role towards what the authorities give them, have exercised a protagonist presence, leading the actions of protection and preservation of their communities.
From our organization, we have implemented communication strategies that allow us to continue with the work of training, skills development and capacity transfer in the participants of the project, within a framework of respect towards the health measures dictated by the Health Authorities in our State, but without neglecting this collaborative work:
1) Sessions through Zoom to continue with the training on a biweekly basis, addressing different topics that allow for a beneficial association between the activities they are carrying out such as the cultivation of their land and that, in addition to subsistence, allow for the creation of sources of employment and the possibility of organizing regional organic markets.
2) Moodle Platform where they have adapted courses on topics in rights: food, education and a life free of violence; emphasizing at this stage, food security: the right to access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their needs and according to the food preferences of their culture to lead an active and healthy life.
3) Creation of Whatsapp groups in order to maintain constant communication between the compañeras and municipalities.
4) Social networks and website, we are sharing relevant information: statistical data, news, links to research or useful recommendations.
Putting these strategies into practice has allowed women to develop new skills that allow them to bridge the gaps of inequality that exist in their indigenous communities, including access to technology. This last one has made more difficult the work we do, however, far from discouraging us, we try to innovate by learning and sharing with our partners, the way to solve these problems: learning in different platforms, how to install and use them in different devices, etc.
The work with our partners in the indigenous communities of the Sierra Norte has left us with great lessons, because in the face of the economic, political and educational disadvantages that they have maintained for centuries; in situations such as the one we are currently experiencing, it is our indigenous peoples who show their social conscience, developing networks of solidarity, support and mutual help to maintain and protect the health of the entire population, putting collective well-being before their individual needs.
Showing the strength of their social fabric and exposing the characteristics of why their millenary culture transmitted through generations, is capable of moving forward through respect for community rules, the common good and food sovereignty, since it is the indigenous communities, who far from worrying about how they will feed themselves; they occupied their plots, their fields, are eating what they harvested and continue to sow, because as they mention: "it is a time of great learning because we can realize the relevance that agriculture acquires, the cultivation of our lands that allows us to have food self-sufficiency; it is the return to the land, the pleasure of dedicating time to our crops".
We'd love to hear from you!
All the best,
Espiral por la Vida, A.C.
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