Build Cooperatives with Indigenous Women in Mexico

Dear PSYDEH supporters and friends,

¡Feliz Día de la Independencia! As summer comes to an end and children across Hidalgo return to school, September brings new energy to communities throughout the Sierra Otomí-Tepehua. It is also a month of celebration, as families and communities come together to mark Mexico’s Independence Day.

Here in the Sierra, a new season also brings new opportunities, continued learning and important progress across our programs. We are excited to share our highlights from the last few months with you. 

Across the region, the rainy season has transformed the landscape. The mountains are green, local crops continue to grow, and families are moving through an important period in the agricultural calendar. Coffee, plants, fruit trees, maize, and other crops flourish with the rains, reflecting the diversity of the Sierra and of small family plots throughout the lands. Many of these plants are used for traditional practices and local livelihoods. Some provide the natural pigments used to dye threads and fabrics, transforming locally available leaves, petals, fruits and other materials into colors for handmade textiles. For women across the Sierra, these textiles can provide an important source of income for their families. Through embroidery, natural dyes and other techniques passed down from generation to generation, the region’s biodiversity becomes closely connected to cultural heritage, creativity and economic opportunities. 

In recent months, the four women-led cooperatives that form PSYDEH’s Sierra Madre Network have continued to come together through workshops and collaborative learning spaces. These gatherings give socias the opportunity to exchange techniques and designs and learn from each other. Workshops have also been held around practices such as natural dyes, helping to preserve Indigenous knowledge of local plants and traditional techniques. 

The skills, ideas and designs developed through these spaces have also contributed to the creation of new textile pieces, many of which will be featured in a new collection being launched by the end of the year on our online shop! Building on the cooperative’s existing presence on e-commerce platforms, the new collection offers new opportunities for women to share their evolving designs, skills and stories with audiences beyond the Sierra. By connecting this work with digital markets, women continue to strengthen their economic opportunities while ensuring that their work remains rooted in their own identities, knowledge and creativity. 

Looking ahead, we are finding new ways to build on the knowledge and traditions that make the Sierra so unique. For example, through the developing Ruta Red Sierra Madre, PSYDEH is exploring a regenerative approach to tourism that aims to create meaningful connections between visitors and local communities. This new initiative will invite visitors to experience the Sierra through its traditions, landscapes, food, textiles and people, while ensuring that it directly benefits the women and families living in the Sierra. We look forward to sharing more as Ruta Red Sierra Madre continues to take shape!

Finally, as September brings the heaviest downpours and highest flooding risks in the region, we would like to reflect on the resilience of communities across the Sierra. Nearly a year ago, central Mexico was affected by catastrophic flooding and landslides in the wake of Hurricane Priscilla. The flooding caused severe damage across various rural and Indigenous communities, destroying homes, roads, and livelihoods. In response, PSYDEH shifted its effort towards disaster response and community recovery, working alongside affected communities to respond to immediate needs and support recovery. To read more about our recovery efforts following the hurricane, click here: Flood Recovery in Indigenous Communities in Mexico. One year later, the return of the rainy season is a reminder of the strength, organization and solidarity demonstrated by communities in times of crisis. As we continue our work across the Sierra, strengthening community resilience remains closely connected to our broader commitment to sustainable and locally led development.

As always, none of this would be possible without the support of our GlobalGiving donors, many of whom have been with us since the beginning of our journey towards achieving a network of women leaders and changemakers in the region. Thank YOU for continuing to invest in long-term, sustainable change for women in Mexico and around the world. 

For the most immediate updates on our work, please be sure to follow us on Instagram, where we post weekly happenings from the field, with partners, and more.

Gratitude and abrazos from all of us at PSYDEH,

Elena