Today I went to San Rafael, a community near Comitán to visit a training workshop that IDEX partner, DESMI, was facilitating together with the collective living there.
San Rafael's collective is a new group that started one year ago with DESMI. In this brief period, they have already established their own training center that teaches community members in the region how to grow a type of mushroom called zeto.
When I got there, they were already sowing the mushroom seed in bags filled with olote (corn without their kernels). The training had started yesterday and I was joining them in their last phase. They encouraged me to participate and it looked like fun, so I did. I felt like a surgeon as I wore my mask, hat and latex gloves. The gear was to help prevent contamination on the seeds, so they can grow better. Once the bag of seeds with olotes was completed, it was placed in a separate dark room covered with plastic to foment the mushroom to grow.
After the training workshop the trainees, two of DESMI staff and I sat down together and had a good talk about their experience in working collectively, the projects they're working on and their hopes for their communities. The trainees were representative leaders that their communities had elected to promote organic agriculture. When I asked them what their hopes were for themselves and their communities, many responded that they wanted health among community members to improve and that everyone should have a balanced diet. One young man, promoter of organic agriculture in the community of Nuevo Tepeyac said, "I'm hoping to change the world." Everyone cried in unison that this was really the ultimate goal, to show that there is a better way to live in this world.
Don Juan, member of San Rafael's collective, used to own the land where the training center now stands. He sold the land to the collective so that the center could be owned and used by the collective members. He offered to show me his plot of land after the meeting, where he just harvested his milpas (corn). He's been practicing organic agriculture for 4 years now. Everything he grows has been primarily for his family's consumption, and whatever remains, is sold at the central market in Comitán.
It was a great experience to be among the people at the training today. All of them had the intention to go back to their communities to demonstrate how to grow mushrooms and if they are motivated enough, San Rafael's collective will go directly to them to train them and give suggestions. A couple of the trainees today were 14-year-old, young girls, who are already working to support their community.
They have all shown how much they care for their land, for their Mother Earth. They've all come here to be part of something bigger, because they want a better life, a better world for themselves and their communities. One cannot help but witness their dedication to achieve this wonderful goal!
Kat
San Rafael's collective is a new group that started one year ago with DESMI. In this brief period, they have already established their own training center that teaches community members in the region how to grow a type of mushroom called zeto.
When I got there, they were already sowing the mushroom seed in bags filled with olote (corn without their kernels). The training had started yesterday and I was joining them in their last phase. They encouraged me to participate and it looked like fun, so I did. I felt like a surgeon as I wore my mask, hat and latex gloves. The gear was to help prevent contamination on the seeds, so they can grow better. Once the bag of seeds with olotes was completed, it was placed in a separate dark room covered with plastic to foment the mushroom to grow.
After the training workshop the trainees, two of DESMI staff and I sat down together and had a good talk about their experience in working collectively, the projects they're working on and their hopes for their communities. The trainees were representative leaders that their communities had elected to promote organic agriculture. When I asked them what their hopes were for themselves and their communities, many responded that they wanted health among community members to improve and that everyone should have a balanced diet. One young man, promoter of organic agriculture in the community of Nuevo Tepeyac said, "I'm hoping to change the world." Everyone cried in unison that this was really the ultimate goal, to show that there is a better way to live in this world.
Don Juan, member of San Rafael's collective, used to own the land where the training center now stands. He sold the land to the collective so that the center could be owned and used by the collective members. He offered to show me his plot of land after the meeting, where he just harvested his milpas (corn). He's been practicing organic agriculture for 4 years now. Everything he grows has been primarily for his family's consumption, and whatever remains, is sold at the central market in Comitán.
It was a great experience to be among the people at the training today. All of them had the intention to go back to their communities to demonstrate how to grow mushrooms and if they are motivated enough, San Rafael's collective will go directly to them to train them and give suggestions. A couple of the trainees today were 14-year-old, young girls, who are already working to support their community.
They have all shown how much they care for their land, for their Mother Earth. They've all come here to be part of something bigger, because they want a better life, a better world for themselves and their communities. One cannot help but witness their dedication to achieve this wonderful goal!
Kat
Labels: Comitan, DESMI, training
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