Monte Alban & Nueva Vida
Written January 9, 2009
We were in Oaxaca today, visiting Monte Alban and a women’s weaving
cooperative. We were feeling a little guilty about leaving the blog posts to see a tourist attraction, but as John said, “I don’t think we’ll be coming around these parts again soon,” so we went to see the Zapotec ruins on the mountain above the city of Oaxaca.
The massive foundations on the top of Monte Alban were begun in 80′0 BC, and are evidence of the incredible Zapotec civilization that lived there until about 200 AD. A guide pointed out that they couldn´t have been completed without a different worldview, of less self-interest and more interest in the collective, reinforced by religious beliefs (as well as a very hierarchical society with many lower-class workers available). I don´t know how much of that thought system was inherited by modern Zapotec communities, but in Barranca Fierro (the Zapotec village we´ll visit), the community collectively decides to take on projects, then uses a system of tequio to require every male member to contribute labor to communal projects.
The womens weaving cooperative visit was part of the CAUSA delegation schedule, not WDA related, but I think we learned some important lessons from this successful nonprofit group, especially about organizing change from the bottom up.
A little history: eleven years ago, women in the small community needed to supplement their household income, although they rarely left the house. The group began when eight women rented a sewing machine and began embroidering traditional shirts to sell. Very early, they received help from a professor in international development. She advised them to seek out financial support from civil and governmental organizations, which was difficult since many of the women had never been to the city, a half hour away. The first time they had to walk through the busy downtown of Oaxaca, they held hands out of fear. Even when organizations agreed to lend them money, the women faced pressure from their families and communities to remain in the home, caring for their children. However, as they began to earn money that benefited their families, and to undertake projects that helped the entire community, those critical voices calmed down. Eventually they grew to sixteen members, who create beautiful handwoven pieces - rugs, hangings and bags - all using traditional dyes.
This is the part that applies to WDA´s work in Tindu: the professor´s help and those loans
and grants from Oaxacan city organizations were crucial for the cooperative´s growth. These women didn’t magically brainstorm ideas without any outside help - they were aided by the professor in finding the help that was already there. Also, their community location put them geographically close enough to the city to make accessing these official resources possible. Ted said that the Mexican government is often criticized for not sharing information about the social programs it provides. I wonder if there are governmental programs that Santa Maria Tindu is not aware of – should WDA be venturing, like the coop, into the city to get more connections for them? Are there experts whose help we should solicit? I feel that we´ve barely scratched the surface of NGOs here in Oaxaca, which might help Tindu with the long term needs for an income source for elderly people, and ongoing clinic supplies.
Here´s another lesson from the womens cooperative: they do all the preparation for weaving collectively, carding, spinning and dyeing the wool together. At the coop, they enjoy the social benefits of leaving the house and meeting with other women.Then the actual weaving projects are undertaken by individual women, who work on them at home and received 100% of the selling price. As a student group, WDA could try the same thing: try to give individuals more creative, pay-back projects, which reward self-directed work. We should also continue to do the boring or more nerves-inducing work (making cold phone calls) together, and also make sure that we value leaving time to build friendship within the group. (Well, ok, I think we have that one covered pretty well, at least.)
One more lesson from the coop: In the monthly meetings, every woman is required to speak, and to give her opinion of the progress of the cooperative. There´s a subtle difference between, ¨Any questions?¨and ¨What do you (addressed to each individual) think?¨ I think it´s really important that our little student group follow the women´s coop example, where the norm is for everyone to voice their opinion. Having more minds involved is helpful, of course, but even more importantly, a project in which everyone has a voice is one in which everyone feels invested.
Obviously the womens cooperative was successful because of its members determination.
it seemed like the leadership and example set by women like the president (who spoke with us), Pastora Gutierrez had been especially important. Her confidence and vision was obvious, especially her leadership in creating community-based projects such as ecological stoves and native species reforestation. However, the group was also successful because of their methods, attitudes and connections to other organizations. I’m not sure that all of their experience is completely applicable to WDA and our future work, but I think they are a group worth learning from.
Tomorrow we´ll head out to Barranca Fierro Mixtepec, and meet with some other organizations for development: Donaciano Garcia´s American-style NGO, as well as the traditional Zapotec community authority in his hometown. Thanks for staying updated.
Take care,
Kristen