Report 3 Guerrero Assembly 21.9.11

Report of 3rd visit to Guerrero,
Where: Guerrero – past Capaderillo, before La Aurora & Don Juan
When: 21.9.11 12.40pm
Who: Saul, Holly (Cedesa), Waldo & Alva (Sapasma) Laura (Rotary), 18 women (2 men), 10kids, 4 dogs

Purpose: To prepare for the water cistern project to be funded by Sapasma, & co-ordinated & administered by the Team (Laura, Saul, Chela & Holly).

Saul was there when we arrived & “passed the list” (called the roll).
Saul asked the assembled group to introduce themselves, each person in turn said their name. He remembered they have been working for more or less 1 year, & that today was a special day as Sapasma is with us & have confirmed they will provide funds for this project.

Holly, Waldo, Alva & I introduced ourselves.

Saul called for a co-ordinator & record taker, he briefly described the function of each role, & emphasised it was important to take good notes, especially of actions that are decided.

Eduviges was appointed Co-ordinator & Irene – record taker.

Holly asked for exception to be able to speak while others were speaking in case she needs to translate for me…I asked for permission to take photos (& they all immediately began giggling & started to “primp” for the camera)

Points for the agenda were called for.
1. Contaminated water/cisterns
2. Sanitarios secos
3. Forming of groups
4. Training pilot.

Saul stated one of the principle objectives of today’s meeting is to determine how united you are in your “mission” & how to achieve/create the plan of work, what’s involved, how etc.

Re item 1. Contaminated Water/Cisterns
Saul “why do you want this project? What are your water issues?”
Antonia – we know the water is very contaminated
Sylvia – as well our well doesn’t have any water, even now at the end of the rainy season
“we also have to carry water a long way from other sources if we don’t have a well”
“often the wells are shared between families, there are as many as 13 families sharing one hand dug well”
“the river was clean & clear, now it’s not, & our wells have fluoride, & rivers are polluted so no choices”


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Salud now has no problem because she has a cistern (she was lucky enough to be part of an earlier project with Capaderillo – neighbouring community).
It’s 2 wks since the pipas (water trucks) have come, when they come they don’t provide much water, 2 tambos (large buckets) per family only, & we haven’t even had that for the last 2 wks.

Saul reiterated that dental fluorosis & the pains in the bones they are having are all symptoms of fluoride contamination. The solution that is most viable & they can be confident in is Cisterns.

Waldo spoke briefly to mention that hearing the issues they are having at present is sad, he is happy they are here today & working to resolve their issues.


Item 2. Sanitarios Secos update – was briefly discussed


Item 3.& 4. Forming of work groups…& pilot training.
Saul said to get this done efficiently let’s talk about the process involved in the construction of cisterns & the general process.

Salud was asked to explain more – since she has already participated in a project, & is now part of the continuing process.

They have decided to do the Pilot training in the primary school & have already confirmed this is ok with the teacher. The kinder has not been constructed yet so it is not an option.
Holly proposed that the date of 17/10 be (tentative) date of the pilot (1st day), it will run for 5 days, & then they will need to be ready to work the following 6 wks to complete all of the cisterns in their groups. By 12/10 we will confirm the pilot date – it is dependent on the money being available from Sapasma in time with the specification of the entire project (including 2 other communities).

Groups were formed…A = abanile, L = leader total 23 family cisterns + 1 pilot = 24 cisterns
Group 1 Group 2 Group 3
1. Irene / Luis A
2. Juana
3. Berancia L
4. Leticia L
5. Salud Juarez
6. Berta
7. Elvia / Mario A
8. Mercedes Alejandra L
Rosamaria
Raquel
Maria Conc. L
Antoninia /Margarito A
Cecilia / Javier A
Julieta Carmen
Marisela
Eduviges / Ignacio A
Maria Zeferina
Felicitas
Antonia
Sylvia L / Federico A
Angelica L

Holly mentioned it is important for each of the groups to make agreements within the group of hours they will work, who will provide food etc, & that it is important that each stage of the cistern is the same for each family, ie that they proceed at the same rate.

There was a discussion about the lack of abaniles, it was pointed out that much of the work can be carried out by the women, (as in other projects) & if an abanile is needed they can group together to contribute to pay for one, Salud described all of the things the women did, & it was essentially a bit of each process…

Saul discussed the roles of – co-ordinator for the whole community Irene & Juana were elected.
& roles of co-ordinator for each group, these were volunteered & appointed.

Tools required on the day(s) of the pilot
Palas, Picos, Mangueras de Nievel, large cutters, cushions for knees, cucharas, escaleras, cubettas etc.

Water required per cistern is 3000 litres, at the school they have access, but at many houses this will be difficult, there are 7 people who have no access to water, one of the men Mario volunteered to help, he will drive water on his pickup truck.
Pilot will start at 8am, & finish depending on how fast they work each day.

Handshakes all round & we (the team) headed off to the next assembly – in Los Magueyes…

Meeting ended at 2.40pm

1st Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Los Magueyes Water Project

Where: Los Magueyes community (across from Los Labradores gated community)
When: 21.9.11 3.15pm – 6.35pm
Who: Saul, Holly, Chela – Cedesa, Waldo & Alva – Sapasma, + 28 adults (incl. 6 men)

Purpose: To know more the situation of the Los Magueyes & La Palma communities with regard to water. To determine if they are to be included in the next Sapasma funded Cedesa/Rotary water project.

We all decided to eat first as it was late in the day.

Chela gave a brief introduction re the project history & asked those from Los Magueyes & La Palma to identify themselves, 15 from La Palma raised their hands, & 9 from Los Magueyes raised theres.

Each person in turn introduced themselves & we joked that there were so many “Maria”s, everyone had a good laugh when I introduced myself as Maria too.

Chela described a little about Cedesa, her work for the last 40+ years & the work of Cedesa. She described the history of our work together, ie Rotary & Cedesa since October 2008 & that in May/June 2010 Saul started working with Cedesa after having come to Los Torres during an assembly, as he was doing a temp. job with Desarollo Social at that time, she explained Saul has the sensibility to unite & organize to improve standards of living.

Sapasma have been participating in water projects as a result of the proof of concept provided by the success of the previous projects. They are now working with us to provide resources & learn the process of the water projects.

Chela talked a little on the subject of fluoride & arsenic in this region, & the symptoms/damage it causes to the human body.

She explained we have uncomplicated & good relations with Sapasma & she asked the participants what they know about the projects & why they are here today…
“we don’t have any water, so capturing water is important to us”
“we don’t have potable water & want to learn about capturing water”
“I heard Enrique from Club Rotario, on the radio talking about cisterns, & we always have to pay for petrol to go & collect water from somewhere, I went to see Enrique, we are 7 + 2 families”
“we in La Palma have water so highly chlorinated it’s undrinkable”
“La Palma were invited originally to join in with Los Magueyes as we were told the minimum number for a project was 20 & we are very small – only 9”

Holly asked the history of the 2 communities…
“Los Magueyes families were all from La Palma, 20 years ago we came here, there was nothing here, no electricity, no water etc”
“Los Palma is a ‘bario’ of Rancho Viejo”
“it’s only 600 mtrs from Los Magueyes to the pozo in La Palma, but it is across the highway, so very expensive to pipe the water across”
“La Palma people do not have land or produce food, they all depend on work to buy food”

Chela asked the attendees if they can – from what they know – describe the process…
“attend assemblies”
“have patience re resources”
Chela described the forming of the Consejo (citizen’s council), it was formed to identify issues in common & work together to find solutions, including resources, mutual work commitment, attendance at assemblies & patience. There are many advantages of working together in a Consejo. Organisation is the key to advancing issues. Apparently 3 yrs is the normal amount of time to be working on an issue before achieving a resolution.

It’s a “journey” to lean & grow in general through experiences, talking, working & taking initiative. It’s a way to work together & get to know other communities & be more united in approach to life.

Holly gave an example: Los Torres had a project & inauguration & invited Lucy to come, they decorated, & were all excited & waiting for her to arrive… She didn’t come, in place she sent a representative… Then when the Consejo was formed she has been very responsive & attended almost monthly meetings of the Consejo. She has been very co-operative & supportive & encouraged other departments to be likewise.

“We should continue to meet, there will always be a ‘falling away’ of attendance along the way, but the ones that stay the distance will be the ones to achieve change or objectives.”

“I can imagine there are communities with a much higher need, that are worse off that we are, & for this I imagine we will be lower on the list”

Holly suggested there are other alternatives, if they have to wait, like a ‘tanda’ where people contribute each week & build each cistern as they can, until all are built.

I asked for clarification – if La Palma have water, why do they want to participate in this project?
“because the water is undrinkable, when we turn on the tap, the smell of chlorine is so strong”

Why not tell the water committee person to add less chlorine?
“we did, but we were not at the meeting to vote & so we have no say”
ACTION:
Waldo agreed they will organize a Sapasma rep. to go to La Palma & ensure only the correct dose of chlorine is being added.

So – if the chlorine issue is resolved, will that mean La Palma no longer want a cistern project?
“no, they still want them because sometimes they turn the taps on & no water comes, especially the ones in the upper community”

They are aware this water is only for drinking & cooking. They also know they will be low priority, but that participation changed the priority order, even if the need is high… ie if you don’t participate you lose your spot in the list. Meeting notices are not always advised, (sometimes people can’t get a message the right person) it is important to stay in touch with Saul to keep up to date with when the next meeting is.

INFO, there are approx. 200 families in La Palma.

The meeting finished at 6.35pm, we had a mini tour of the chicken farm, the family sells chicken every Friday.

Next meeting will be Consejo Meeting at La Tinaja on 28.9.11 at 11am

13th Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary @ Vivienda de Arriba re Dry Toilet project

Where: Vivienda de Arriba – courtyard of church(40 mins from SMA)
When: 14th Sept 2011 1.50pm – 4pm
Who: Holly & Saul, (Cedesa) Laura, (Rotary), + 19 adults (incl. 3 men) & 5 kids

Purpose: A dry toilet was begun by a colleague of Cedesa & has not been completed.
This toilet was to be the first public toilet & first dry toilet of this model in Vivienda de Arriba so it would be ideal to complete the project (including training).

There is an excess of funds from a direct grant project with Tallahassee & Walla Walla Rotary clubs, both of the administrators of these funds have agreed that to complete this toilet would be a worthwhile use of these funds, this assembly is to ensure the community are committed to the project & understand & commit to the ongoing maintenance requirements of a dry (composting) toilet, before the funds are expended to complete it.

Saul began the assembly with an apology for being late, he asked if everyone knew who we are (a resounding yes!), he grilled a specific person about our names & they knew them… all had a good laugh.

The roll was called – of the list of 30 approx 19 were here, some are in SMA some are picking up their kids…

Saul explained that we traditionally appoint a co-ordinator & record taker at the beginning of every meeting, he went on to explain the role briefly, & that it was important for everyone to have the experience & not rely on the same people each time.

Marisella will take the records. Holly proposed Lorena for co-ordinator.
Lorena asked who had points to raise for the agenda:
1. Cisternas (how are they going?)
2. 2nd stage/phase of cistern project
3. Other proposal/solicitud for dry toilets
4. The incomplete dry toilet

1. Cisterns – working very well for those that have them. Some families did not participate in the project.. Lorena “I never have a lack of water, other people have to go to the river, but I don’t I always have my water”. There are some people in the upper part of the community who do not have water, there have been no problems with the cistern water, only people using the river water are having health issues… Holly reminded people that if they are forced to drink river water, they should at least be using the SODIS method of purification, Holly suggested those who know it, could explain it to the non-project participants.
2. 2nd stage/phase II of cistern project – Saul asked if they all knew that a Citizen’s council (Consejo) had been formed as a result of the efforts of all the early water project communities & that this consejo had prioritised the communities to receive water… they have agreed that all communities should have a phase I before Phase II is started. There are apparently a list of another 16 families for Phase II - & we confirmed these were only to be families living in Vivienda (not ones absent & working in the USA). Sporadic water supply has caused people to want to join the 2nd phase, now they have seen how well the cisterns work.
3. Sanitarios Secos – joint solicitud update The consejo has been working on a joint community (18 communities) request for assistance to construct dry toilets. Saul gave an update of where they were up to with Govt. assistance, the municipality has respected their request & granted them funding, there are conditions which are now being worked on.


4. Finishing the partially constructed dry toilet – Saul asked for comments on the history of the dry toilet. Ana said she had talked to everyone involved, & all agreed it would be very useful to have this toilet operational but that no-one has funds to be able to co-operate to do it.
Holly suggested the community put together a proposal stating essentially who, what, where, when, why, how & how much - & that there was a potential for funding from Rotary. It was suggested this be used as a training run to show how to apply for a grant. Holly explained a little more of the process & Filiberto (one of the young guys) seemed to know exactly what she was asking & said he was able to help work on a draft proposal.

We gave a deadline of 28/9 for them to submit their proposal to “Rotary”, I committed to responding with a yes or no, within a week, Holly reminded them to include an amount for training on the ongoing use & maintenance .

PS this will be an excellent location for a demonstration dry toilet, 1.the people of Vivienda de Arriba will have public use of a dry toilet 2. All visitors will have a toilet to use when we attend assemblies & regional assemblies here,

The next meeting which Saul called , for him to assist with the process on 5th Oct at 3pm

Next regional Consejo meeting at La Tinaja on 28 Sept. at 11.30

June & July Regional Activities, report by Holly Yasui

June-July 2011 newsletter

First of all, apologies for the lateness of this newsletter. We had our biggest event of the year, the 12th Annual National Fair “Lucha Rivera” (for a dignified and sustainable life, and for fair trade and solidarity marketing) on August 5-7, with nearly 700 producers coming from 18 states. I was been extremely busy with preparations for that event, about which I will report in the next bi-monthly newsletter, and then catching up with projects and meetings postponed during the preparations.

A second apology: during the month of June, I was recovering from hip surgery and so I did not attend any meetings for the first half of the month and only a few during the second half, though I did receive reports from the my team members, which I will summarize.

Without further ado, notes on our activities in the months of June and July, 2011 follow.

Wednesday, June 1 –Community Assemblies at La Tinaja and Palmita II. These two communities are located on the west side of the highway to Guanajuato, in mountainous terrain (as opposed to the other communities where we have worked, which have been mostly riverside communities). Both La Tinaja and Palmita II are interested in dry toilets, and we hope to include La TInaja in the next International Rotary grant for rain-harvesting cisterns.

Wednesday, June 8 – Inauguration of the Tierra Blanca cisterns. The 40 families of Tierra Blanca completed their rain-harvesting systems in time for the rains expected this month (note: we did have good rains the last week of June, which filled many of the Tierra Blanca cisterns nearly to half-full, but July was an unusually dry month with only occasional light showers). Thank you Laura Stewart for the great photos!


Wednesday, June 15 – Full Council Assembly at Vivienda de Arriba. At this meeting, representatives of all 17 communities of the Citizen’s Council attended, plus two persons from a new community, Los Magueyes were introduced (Los Magueyes is a small community of about 20 families, located near the Atotonilco turnoff on the highway between San Miguel and Dolores Hidalgo).

It was decided that the next communities within the SMA Citizen’s Council to embark on cistern projects will be Presita de Santa Rosa (Rotary), Guerrero (SAPASMA), Cruz del Palmar II (Rotary), Los Torres III (SAPASMA), and La Tinaja (Rotary).

Saul reported on the application for dry toilets referred to the Department of Social Development by the mayor. Social Development proposed 125 dry toilets to be “given” to the “most needy”, financed by the federal SEDESOL program, at a cost of $25,000 per toilet, with a 15% cash contribution by the beneficiaries. Some comments: these types of programs benefit the laziest people and outside contractors (as opposed to our participatory methodology of having the families provide labor rather than cash, and employing local workers), and have no social context or follow-up. All agreed that we want to continue with our application which includes using local construction workers assisted by the families receiving the materials, training and follow-up technical assistance by CEDESA. The council rejected the SEDESOL proposal and voted to send a committee to the Department of Social Development to insist upon our proposal, and if unsuccessful, to the Mayor’s office.

Holly reported on a research project sponsored by CEDESA on medicinal plants – an internationally renowned expert on healing with herbs, Dr. Rosita Arvigo, is gathering information from local healers on plants of Guanajuato for a book in order to preserve knowledge that has traditionally been passed down from generation to generation orally. With the advent of “modern” medicine, this knowledge is in danger of being lost since many people now prefer to go to doctors and buy medicines made in laboratories. Revalorizing traditional knowledge of healing herbs can help families spend less and cure simple ailments in a more natural way with fewer side-effects. Representatives from several communities in the San Miguel Rural Citizen’s Council volunteered to contact their local traditional healers for interviews.

illustration for plant book

Ana of Vivienda de Arriba reported on her meeting with the Cruz del Palmar Ejido Commission regarding donation of land in that community for a meeting room and eco-technology demonstration center for the Citizen’s Council. The Council decided to request a plot next to the Vivienda de Arriba kindergarten, off the main road, rather than a more distant plot next to the football field. Irene of Capaderillo offered a piece of land in her community, but it does not have road access. Emelia of Cienega mentioned that the Cienega Ejido is selling land in the wedge between the old and new Guanajuato roads. For the moment, it was decided to pursue the donation first, and if that does not come through, to consider the purchase possibilities.


Monday, June 20 – Meeting with SAPASMA to review the progress of the cistern-building projects in Villa de Guadalupe and Cienega de Juana Ruiz. Both projects are proceeding on schedule in spite of problems of delivering water during several weeks of construction.


Friday, June 24 – Tierra Blanca: meeting with Dr. Ortega, who reported on the results from the water tests taken at and around Tierra Blanca, and discussed the symptoms of fluorosis (fluoride poisoning). The 80+ people attending were very attentive and expressed interest in knowing more about the quality of all the sources of water in the region. Results from Dr. Ortega’s fluoride tests:
1. Well – Cruz del Palmar: 1.99 mg/L
2. Well – Cruz del Palmar: 0.40 mg/L
3. Spring – Artesano: 2.56 mg/L
4. Well – Presita Santa Rosa: 2.67 mg/L
5. Well – Tierra Blanca de Abajo: 0.86 mg/L
6. Spring – Tierra Blanca d Abajo: 2.72 mg/L
7. Spring – Tierra Blanca de Abajo: 2.40 mg/L
8. Spring – Tierra Blanca de Abajo: 2.36 mg/L
9. River – Tierra Blanca de Abajo: 0.74 mg/L
10. Well – Rancho Nuevo de Banda: 3.47 mg/L
11. Spring – Los Torres: 0.70 mg/L


Wednesday, June 29 – Inauguration of cisterns at Juan Gonzales. The 21 families of this community celebrated the completion of their rain-harvesting systems at the old primary school – literally the day before the heavy rains at the end of June, which half-filled most of the cisterns.


Saturday, July 2 – Founders Day Gathering at CEDESA. From the municipality of San Miguel, representatives from 14 communities attended: Capaderillo, Los Magueyes, VIvienda Urbana, Guerrero, Presita Santa Rosa, Cruz del Palmar, Juan Gonzales, Cinco Señores, Correlejos, San Lorenzo, La Palmita II, Villa de Guadalupe, Cienega de Juana Ruiz, Tierra Blanca. The event included talks, displays and workshops on this year’s theme of natural health as well as activities for children.

Tuesday, July 5 – Meeting at Fondo Verde – a commission of six representatives from the Citizens Council visited the Department of Ecology and agreed that the $200,000 pesos that we turned down for another cistern project should be applied to a dry toilet project – pilots in the 15 communities that have requested them.
The written application was submitted on Tuesday, July 12 for fifteen dry toilets.

Thursday, July 7 – Assembly at Tierra Blanca to explain the protocol written by Dr. Georgina Mejia (SMA rep of State Health Dept) for an epidemiological study of the high incidence of cancer in that community. The assembly agreed to send a small committee to the Mayor’s office on July 20 to seek support for the study to be done by the Instituto Biomedico of UNAM .
Monday, July 11 - Visit to Cienega de Juana Ruiz to interview healers for the medicinal plant book. Holly took Dr. Rosita Arvigo to this community in order to interview Emelia, Socorro and Juana about the medicinal plants that they use. Their kids helped out by gathering wild plants.



Saturday, July 16 – Inauguration of cisterns at Cinco Señores. The 11 families of Cinco Señores celebrated the completion of their rainwater-harvesting systems. The ribbon-cutting ceremony took place at Josefina´s and Esther’s homes, a double-barreled system with two cisterns connected to one roof since the roof of Josefina’s house is higher and larger than Esther’s.



Wednesday, July 20 – Meeting with the Mayor. The Council met with Mayor Lucy Nuñez to discuss the application for dry toilets. Lucy supported the Council’s participatory project (over the SEDESOL outside-contractor project) and committed $4 million pesos to the Council project.
On this same day, we had a Community Assembly in Guerrero primarily to discuss the cistern project that we are proposing with SAPASMA.

Monday, July 25 – Visit to La TInaja and Espejo (next to Tierra Blanca). Holly took Dr. Rosita Arvigo to these communities to interview traditional healers about the plants they use.



Thursday, July 28 – Full Council Assembly at Cienega. Approximately 70 people from all the communities except Vivienda de Arriba and Vivienda Urbana attended. The meeting was initiated by Chela with a reflection on the phrase: “Today our Mother Earth is wounded, and the future of humankind is in danger.”

The rest of the meeting mainly dealt with the dry toilet application with the municipality. New clusters were established, and one community within each designated as the site for dry toilet construction training (marked with asterisk below).
Cluster 1 – Capaderillo*, Guerrero, Vivienda Urbana de Abajo, Presita Santa Rosa
Cluster 2 – Cruz del Palmar, Los Torres*, Montecillo de Nieto, Los Magueyes
Cluster 3 – Tierra Blanca, Vivienda de Arriba, Juan Gonzales*, Cinco Señores, Correlejos
Cluster 4 – Cienega de Juana Ruiz, Palmita II*, La Tinaja, Villa de Guadalupe, San Lorenzo

The Council was invited to participate in a panel at the National Fair in Dolores Hidalgo on August 5-7, to discuss the environmental problems of the region and the projects taking place or being proposed to resolve them (rain-harvesting cisterns and dry toilets)

On that same day, the four families of San Lorenzo celebrated the inauguration of their cisterns.

8th Regional Assembly of the Consejo Ciudadano Rural de Agua de San Miguel de Allende

Regional Assembly of the Consejo Ciudadano Rural de Agua de San Miguel de Allende
(SMA Rural CItizens Council on Water)

Over 70 men and women, plus a dozen children and babes-in-arms, attended this assembly in the chapel patio of Vivienda de Arriba. They represented 18 communities, including a new community, Los Magueyes:

Juan Gonzales – 3
Tierra Blanca – 10
Correlejos – 2
Villa Guadalupe – 2
Capaderillo – 3
Montecillo de Nieto – 6
Vivienda Urbana – 2
Cruz del Palmar – 3
Los Torres – 7
Cinco Señores – 2
Ciénaga de Juana Ruiz – 5
La Tinaja – 8
La Palmita – 4
Presita de Santa Rosa – 4
Guerrero – 5
San Lorenzo – 2
Vivienda de Arriba – 2
Los Magueyes – 6

The Council representatives explained to the newcomers the purpose and objectives of the Council – to represent campesino communities before the government and NGOs, to resolve problems in common, to generate resources for development projects, such as but not limited to rainwater-harvesting systems, dry toilets and health issues. Chela cited two concurrent objectives: organization of (within) the communities and unity among the communities to be able to have a stronger voice in dealing with regional issues.

Saul explained how a community can join the Council – with the Acta de Nombramiento, signed bya majority of members of the community and notarized with the seal of the community’s delegado. There are also application forms for cisterns (community application and family application) and dry toilets (family applications).

Chela asked how long everyone wanted to meet; and given that not everyone was informed that this meeting was “traje” (bring your food), it was decided to adjourn the meeting at 2 p.m. so that everyone can return home to eat. A discussion regarding the question of food ensued. Chela and Holly explained that Vivienda de Arriba hosts many meetings because of its central location and meeting place appropriate for large groups – even more so now since the community has enlarged the patio and built benches along the walls – but that we did not want them to feel obligated to prepare food for the whole regional assembly. Others stated that their community would provide food for people who attend meetings, since travelling to get to the meeting represents a cost that those in the host community don’t incur. Ana noted that they did not prepare any food for today’s meeting because Holly explicitly said not to, but they usually provide food for meetings. The discussion was tabled since it was taking up a good deal of time and since we decided to try to adjourn at 2 p.m., we need to get to other issues.

Ana Torres of VIvienda de Arriba was chosen to coordinate the meeting, and Abraham of Tierra Blanca to take notes.

The agenda was established:

1. Creation of a Regional Center for the Citizens Council.
2. Report on dry toilet applications with the department of Desarrollo Social (Social Development)
3. Encuentro Campesino (Campesino Conference)
4. Research for book on Medicinal Plants

1 Citizen’s Council Regional Center – a place to hold our meetings, for training and workshops, for showcasing model eco-technologies
a. Ana of Vivienda de Arriba reported that she went to the Cruz del Palmar Ejido Commission to find out about donating a piece of ejido land to the Citizens Council. The commissioner told her that the petitioners need to choose a piece of land that is not occupied or disputed, and make a request to the Ejido at their next meeting. Ana then called an community assembly and they chose two pieces of land in and near the community not in use or disputed: one next to the kindergarten on the main road and the other by the football field in the valley.
b. Irene of Capadrillo said that she has a piece of land about 5 minutes from the highway that she would be willing to loan to the Council, near the northern entrance to Capaderillo, but that it does not have road access.
c. Emelia of Cienaga reported that their ejido is selling land near the intersection of the old and new highways to Guanajuato.
d. Roberto of Presita Santa Rosa said that he and Abraham would seek out the owner of the building at the curve of the Vivienda de Arriba road to find out for how much the owner wants to sell it.
e. Chela mentioned that she, Holly and Saul checked out the building near the entrance to VIvienda de Arriba, just off the highway, and got a Mexico City phone number to inquire about the property.
Of all the options, everyone agree that (a) was best since it would be a donation and Vivienda de Arriba is the most central location for all the communities in the Council.
A commission including Ana, Gloria and Angela will find out about the next meeting of the Cruz del Palmar ejido and report back to CEDESA.
After the assembly, a group took a look at the land next to the kindergarten – about a half hectare, partly wooded with mesquite trees and large nopales which we liked. The other location within the community of Vivienda, next to the football field, does not have good road access, so after the meeting, we decided to pursue the possibility of donation of the lot next to the kindergarten.

2. Dry toilet applications.
Saul gave some background on the application that the Council made in March of 2011 (458 dry toilets in 17 communities): at the April meeting with the Presidencia, Lucy referred the Council to the department of Social Development since they have funds for dry toilets as part of a “sustainable campesino home” project. In May, Social Development accepted the applications presented by the Council, which requested funding for materials, construction to be done by local masons, and coordination and consulting by CEDESA for a cost of $11,000 pesos per toilet, with the families providing “chalan” (mason helper) labor.
At the end of May, Social Development told the Council that they needed a few more details, such as the number of people in the families that would benefit from the project. The Council collected this information and Saul went to present it to Social Development yesterday (June 14) and got a big surprise when they told him that they have decided to utilize outside consultants and contractors to build 225 dry toilets, each costing about $25,000 pesos, of which the families will be required to pay 15%, or about $3700 pesos. Furthermore, Social Development would not respect the organizational work already done by the Council, but rather visit the communities and choose whom they felt were“the most needy,” who would get the ready-made toilets.
Saul argued that the applications submitted by the Council represent people who have expressed their interest and motivation by participating in the Council, which would also provide follow-up in terms of training in the use and maintenance of the toilets so the likelihood of their being properly utilized would be much greater than Social Development’s non-participatory plan.
Other members of the Council also expressed their displeasure with Social Development’s first accepting the Council’s dry toilet project, then switching to a typical government-imposed plan that is more costly, less participatory and therefore less likely to succeed.
Discussion ensued as to what to do about this – return to Social Development to negotiate; appeal to the Mayor; publicize the situation through press conferences, interviews, articles and mass demonstrations. It was decided that a committee consisting of at least one member of each Council community will go to the office of Social Development on Tuesday, June 21 – if Social Development does not respond favorably, they will go to the Mayor’s office that same day; if there are still no concrete results, the Council will plan a publicity campaign to pressure the government officials to honor their word.

3. Encuentro Campesino
This was postponed last month due to an unexpectedly large increased workload (SAPASMA’s funding of 54 cistern projects in addition to the four communities funded by Rotary and Fondo Verde). Chela offered CEDESA as the site for the five workshops mentioned at the first Encuentro Campesino: 1) backyard design 2) bio-intensive gardens 3) cultivation of nopal in “tunnels” 4) medicinal plants and 5) terracing. Though CEDESA is in the municipality of Dolores Hidalgo, Chela suggested it would be worth it for participants to see the finished results of these techniques that have been implemented on site at CEDESA for many years. Also, participants can see other eco-technologies that CEDESA has or is testing and promoting in campesino communities.
The date was agreed upon: Saturday, June 25 and it will be an all-day event, starting at 10 a.m. and finishing at 5 p.m. Lunch will be provided by CEDESA, and we will help organize transportation. Roberto of Presita knows a bus driver and will investigate costs; all interested persons should explore ride- and expense-sharing options in their communities. Saul can lead a caravan up the new Guanajuato road to CEDESA via Xoconostle; Los Torres, Montecillo and Los Magueyes can make arrangements to go to CEDESA via the Dolores-SMA highway.

4. Medicinal Plants
Holly explained the book project that CEDESA is collaborating on with Dr. Rosita Arvigo, an international expert on nutrition and alternative medicine. Dr. Arvigo would like to interview healers who have traditional knowledge of plants and their uses for treating and curing common ailments. Her goal is to rescue this folk wisdom that is being abandoned for commercial medicines and doctors. The book will be given to all persons who participate in the project, as a way of sharing information and techniques. Several people from various communities including Los Torres, La Tinaja and Cienaga said they would talk with healers In their communities, and find out if they were willing to participate in the project and will get in touch with Holly.

The meeting was adjourned at 2:20 p.m.

article in atencion 3rd June 2011

Hi all
Please check this link to see the article in Atencion re the Sapasma/Rotary/Cedesa joint project in Cienega & Villa de Guadalupe...

Click here


Also: Scroll down to view the video re this project.