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| 'A better world is possible' -Centro de Desarrollo Comunitario Centéotl A.C. |
This past week, we found ourselves
venturing outside the bubble of Oaxaca City that we have begun to call home in
order to grasp a greater understanding of how a vast amount of people here in
Oaxaca live day to day. Our group,
which consisted of Sarah, Margaret, Winston, Paul, Caitlin, and our TA Carey,
boarded a bus early Monday morning to head towards Zimatlán
in order to meet with the organization we would be working with for the remainder
of the week. With luggage in hand and
spirits high, we arrived at Centro de Desarrollo Comunitario Centéotl
A.C. in order to learn about their projects as a rural development
organization, as well as the actual community, San Isidro Zegache, that we would
be staying with. The mission and concept
of Centéotl
and its successive projects were first born in 1994. It was then that the organization’s
‘constitution’ was written after its founders had begun to learn about
successful development projects in other parts of the world, while simultaneously
planning how they could be applied to rural, farming communities like that of
San Isidro that struggle with water scarcity, agricultural development, and
varying levels of malnutrition and poverty.
By 1996, Centéotl had begun initiating some of its rural and economic
development projects, most of which are geared towards women and children, with
the following principles in mind:
1.) Environmental conservation
2.)
Sensitivity towards cultural identity
3.) Gender
equality
4.) Citizen
participation
One of
their first projects (still ongoing) to be implemented revolved around
reintroducing the native grain amaranth as a nutritious agricultural amendment,
the cultivation of which is also intended to develop the local economy and
financially benefit the families that produce it. In conjunction with this, Centéotl
actively promotes agriculture to meet basic needs by offering projects like
PESA (Proyecto Estrategico para la Segundad) in order to develop ecological
cultivation practices, organize producers to be able to work together
efficiently, and teach beneficial marketing skills and knowledge to these
small-scale farmers (campesinos), the
families of which we found ourselves living and working with during the
week. One of their more prevalent
projects, which is currently active in San Isidro, is Bancommunidad, a
community banking and micro-financing venture started in 2002. Bancommunidad offers low interest loans to
established groups of women, as the more financially responsible members of the
household, within participating communities in order to create easier access to
money where the opportunities are less prevalent. After absorbing all of this information and
munching on some delicious snacks made from locally produced amaranth, we were
off to go see these projects in action midst the residents of San Isidro, whom
soon became our second Oaxacan families.
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| San Isidro Zegache at sunset |
Upon our arrival, we immediately realized that we were
about to embark on a semi-arduous week in ‘el campo’ as there were animals and
farmland aplenty. Everywhere you
looked, there was some sort of animal. Whether they were in a pen behind
someone’s house, or roaming the open fields, animals had a presence in the
pueblo. Families had a variety of animals with all different purposes. For
example, it was common to see pigs, chickens, turkeys, goats, and rabbits in
their pens, and some families had horses as a means of transportation. The birds provide eggs and meat for the
family, and the cows and goats are used as milk sources.
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| Munchin' on maize |
Chickens wandering
into homes, turkeys jumping over fences, and goats screaming like children were
a few of the observations. Pigs eat everything they can get their noses in, and
one family observed all of the food scraps going to the pigs, probably to fatten
them up to eat later. All of us were more likely to see a herd of goats
flocking the streets than a car, and this is part of their livelihood. Everyone
in the pueblo does his or her part to make sure they’re taking care of the
animals or making sure they’re being put to good use, and without them, the
farms and families wouldn’t be functioning the same. Admittedly, they seemed to find it comical
at how entertained the ‘gringos’ were by the amount of farm creatures.
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| Oink! |
Farming is a very important part
of San Isidro Zegache. It is one of the
main methods used in the village to make a living. I would say based on our
experience probably between 85-90% of people are involved in food or livestock
farming of some form. There are many people who grow food to sustain
themselves, their livestock and for the purpose of selling it at market. There
is also a portion of the town that grows different foods to make it into other
things and then sell them. Like the families who grow corn, to grind it into
masa so the women can make it into tortillas and sell them. Food is the biggest
economy in the village, it is also the best way for them to make a living.
They start in the fields very early
in the morning, 7 or 8 am on average, but at 6 or earlier if it is a harvest
day. It is many long hours of weeding, cutting, picking and watering. The work
is very hard, and strenuous on the body especially after many hours. Some of us
got to participate in a day of harvest while we were in our village stay. We
started our day at 6am and were at the farm by 6:30am we spent the next four
hours cutting and picking the plants. Then they were bundled, cleaned, put in
the cart and taken to be sold at the market. This was a long hard process and
it wasn’t even a full harvest. In the rainy season when they are at top production,
it is common to spend 10 hours in the field in an average day. This life is
hard work, yet very rewarding in a non-tangible manner.
| Harvesting parsley |
The one thing that unifies the lives of virtually every resident of San Isidro is the involvement
in the food system through one way or another. Most families kept some combination of goats, cows, lambs, and chickens that were both to eat and to sell for meat. Furthermore, farming is virtually the only viable way of making money for most families because there isn’t much of an industry otherwise.
During our week in San Isidro, we were fortunate enough to help out with various aspects of food procurement and preparation. Many of us worked on our host family’s farms harvesting garbanzo beans and herbs and all of us were able to help cook in one way or another considering that is the major daily activity of most women in town. We learned how to use the comal which is a pre-hispanic
cooking method that involves a clay pan set atop a fire on which women cook
anything from tortillas to eggs.
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| Tortilla & Huevos Rancheros on the comal |
One of the most important components of Oaxacan cuisine is masa, which is corn ground very fine
with water. Masa can then be turned into tortillas, atole (a popular hot drink), or a number of other foods. Traditionally, the corn was ground by hand using a metate but more communities are turning to the Molino, which is a machine that grinds the corn and automatically produces masa. San Isidro has a
Molino for all of the residents and it is a daily meeting ground for all of the women every morning.
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| Fortunata making masa in the molino |
In general, the structure of meals is also slightly different. The women began preparing food
around 6 am and then brought a “desayuno” generally consisting of atole and bread to the men working in the fields. Then around 11 or so, there would be another break for “almuerzo” which was on the lighter side and generally involved beans, eggs, and definitely tortillas. Around 3 or 4, the workers
would return from the fields for “comida” which is the largest meal of the day and is when everyone gets together and relaxes for a bit. This would tide everyone over until about 7 or 8 when they would have a lighter “cena” before going to bed to repeat the cycle the next day.
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| Homemade tamales |
It was very rewarding to have the opportunity to be so involved in the food system of San Isidro
because it is the central focus of daily life. We were very lucky to not only learn about new techniques and dishes, but also to enjoy a week full of really incredible food midst really incredible people. All of us agreed that this past week in San Isidro was one of the most grounding and profound experiences any of us have had. It was certainly difficult at times, and yet the genuine hospitality and kinds hearts of our families will definitely find us coming back for visits in the future. We hope to be able to bring back the lessons in the values of incredibly hard work, family and neighborly relationships, and a true appreciation for the little things in life. Until next time, San Isidro.
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| A family photo |
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