Restoration of habitat and home in Rio Pachine

In recognition to Reconstruction Committee work in colonia Juan, Río Pachiñé, we want to share with you these personal learning of some Committee members.

Edgar:

For me, this experience has been very productive over these two years and five months of work in the Committee. In the personal aspect, this work has changed my emotions, now I’m more positive, I have met much people, I’ve learned to offer my help and now I known that there are many people who want to support the issue when humanity needs arise. I have discovered that we need to join forces for obtain all that we want. The reconstruction matter is too big and together we have achieved many things like: that women have a space where cooking food and the construction of wood-saving stove that is a great advantage because it help us in the family economy because reduce the firewood buy and consume, and further, we take care our health and the environment because we deforest less tree; also, some artisan women have recovery their work tools and they already sewing and that way also to contribute to family income when they sell their crafts. Men and women are beginning a tilapia production project, that we can use for vary the family food and if we achieve to learn about tilapia production, later we can sell the mojarra. Also, we achieve that the authorities will listen to us. With local authorities we had a dialogue table with SEDATU, federal institution that in January begun a deeper soil study and in March they will should deliver to us the results for to know if we leave the community or we stay and so recovery our life and broken dreams after the earthquake.

Don Beto:

Today I can say that I have learned to much, I’m not died yet, we can work and to do beautiful things. I forgot the earthquake; I have that episode like history. Sometimes I think that the earthquake allowed us to meet much people, joined us and sometimes it disunited us because the majority in the colonia is part of a religion and our religion don’t allow us to organize, but I think that you have to sow and cultivate joy. This work in the committee it has served me, I met a lot of people, when we was in the shelter we received 120 visitors, there is persons that want to support us and that encourages me and more when arrive the Nääxwiin girls that always have been with us, since the earthquake occurred.

Cris:

Thanks to God and Nääxwiin my life changed, I changed emotionally. Before, I was very scared, I was ashamed to talk and the workshops have helped me, I don’t knew that as a woman a have rights, with this work I have learned to much, I didn’t leave my town, always I worked in home and for to be part of Committe I went to Ciudad de México, a city that I didn’t know. All this work is beautiful, I learn, know, see and I get excited. My family recognize that already I changed, they tell me that they have seen me on Facebook. They were recently told me that if I was not afraid to say that I said about the governor and I told them that I said what I felt and what happened. I have met another person’s and organizations that are working in their community reconstruction and that motivated me to keep going, because great challenges await us, we are waiting for the last soil study done by SEDATU.

Two years after the September 7 earthquake, the families in colonia Juan, Río Pachiñé, have could gone ahead, despite that they know that lives in an unstable soil. This was possible thank to the effort and work development for Comité de Reconstrucción de Río Pachiñé in coordination with CDM Nääxwiin. The families have recovered their trustfulness, security and begin to participate in the reconstruction integral plan. The strategies that we have done have been the next:

1. Right to information

The work team have development various activities for keep informed the inhabitants in Colonia Juan about the risk situation that prevails yet in the Colonia. We have realized informative meetings, workshops, informational booklet, articles and videos in coordination with other actors like: Vázquez, PhD student in CIESAS Occidente who wrote the article “La incertidumbre del teterete: Río Pachiñe dos años después del sismo” https://www.animalpolitico.com/blog-invitado/la-incertidumbre-del-teterete-rio-pachine-dos-anos-despues-del-sismo/;the civil association México Une who created the video “Aquí estamos, aquí seguimos” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ntk0W6TKGvA)and Animal Político newspaper journalists who created a video (“Rìo Pachiñè tras el sismo, vivir sobre arena” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-k0-O9CyNg&feature=youtu.be) and an article: “Rìo Pachiñé, el pueblo de Oaxaca que vive en riesgo y esperando reubicación a dos años del sismo” https://www.animalpolitico.com/historias-sismos-2017-mexico-reconstruccion/rio-pachine-reubicacion-sismo.html

2.- Emotional therapies to earthquake affected families.

After the 2017 earthquake the Nääxwiin work team received emotional therapies, because we had been affected by the earthquake situation. This emotional tool its have strengthened with the Fundación Origen A.C. alliance and capitation. Fundación Origen have offered emotional tools capatitation to work team Nääxwiin and to some member of Comité de Reconstrucción de Río Pachiñé, with the porpoise to offer a better accompaniment to the community.

We achieved offer psychological attention to 22 families that decided heal their emotions. For the families in Colonia Juan in Río Pachiñe isn’t easy to accept the psychological attention, because the most families profess a christian religion that prohibit to receive this kind of support, but after try in a few occasions we achieved to have individual sessions and in group. The emotional recognition helped to each of the people to control the anger, sadness, joy and to know express themselves adequately. Some families recognize that the lived violence isn’t normal and the therapies helped much to overcome this situation and other cases have been channeled from Nääxwiin, to the center of attention of women victims of violence, to give better help to the women who want it.

3.- Workshop with women about self-esteem and empowerment

The CDM Nääxwiin is an indigenous women organization that works for women's rights defense and is for this point that we are interested that all women becomeinformed about their rights and to achieve their empowerment for that they can participate in family and community decision making. In this way, we have realized four workshop with women about self-esteem, self-recognition and women's rights. In the beginning women had embarrassment to give their opinion and to participate, but little by little they were losing their embarrassment. As we moved with the workshop we realized that they was losing the fear, because begun to talk more, shared their ideas and they were integrated into teamwork. They have overcome the fear that did not let them live in peace because they were very scared every time the earth shook. They recognize that as women they also have rights and can participate in the reconstruction of the community.

4.- Links and articulation with different actors

We have linked with other organizations like Socorro Popular Francés y Fondo Semillas for support to craftswoman groups and totoperas, but also for to benefit women that lost their kitchens. México Une, another organization, helped us to create a video for make visible the colonia risk situation. Other links were with a CIESAS academic and Animal Político journalists, both of them made two articles about Colonia Juan in Río Pachiñé. In addition we madeconnections with Fundación Origen organization, who offered us emotional tools training and also with Fundación Comunitaria who articulated us with the geologist Dra. Pérez who conducted a third soil study.

5.- Management with the authorities

In many occasions we have communicated the colonia Juan risk situation to different authorities, but they ignores the problem, simulated that they work but with much bureaucracy. In front the emergency, the Comité de Reconstrucción requested help to Dra. Pérez, professor in Universidad de Ciencia de la Tierra de Guerrero for realize a geological study in the community. Dra. Pérez and a work team did a study in the zone. Now we are in process for to have a meeting with Secretaría de Desarrollo Agrario, Territorial y Urbano for to know the study results.

6.- Economic recovery and construction of wood-saving stoves

A way to motive the families to participate in community reconstruction was through the recognize of the kitchens situation, because, these kitchens wasn’t included in the government census for to be located in the outside of the houses.

a) We supported 30 families for to construct their kitchens and wood-saving stoves

Have been trained 5 persons (3 women and 2 men) in the adobe making and construction of wood-saving stoves. This have been an achieved because there are other women in the community and region that are interested in the ecotechnics, because is a good alternative for the families lives. This ecotechnic, help to reduce the women workload, because they taken advantage of fire to cook tortillas, coffee and other foods in a short time. Also, is been consumed less wood, that means less work, less cost and a contamination reduction; and this stove help to prevent respiratory diseases because it is women and girls and boys who stay longer in the kitchen.

b) We have supported to 20 craftswomen and totoperas who in the earthquake lost their work tools and they needed recovery it for return to their job and them to reactivate the familiar economy.

c) We are beginning a fish farming project with women and men in the community.

For the families it haven’t bee easy to recover their lives after the earthquake because unlike another places where the people only lost their houses and already recovered them, this community have the damaged soil and they know that in any time have to be relocated and start over again. While that happens, today the community is in process to restore normalcy in their ways of life and continue working to have an economic income. The majority work in the field and for that reason they are interested in to boost the production of tilapia mojarra to diversify the production of food to improve the diet of women and men and especially girls and boys, and also, to generate economic incomes for their families. We have beginning the project in a motivated way and had a first training for to construct a fishpond. But it takes to gives continuity in a second project for strengthened the project.

This project has taught us that the community people can be resilient. Participating in the project makes them more aware of the situation; they can understand the articulation importance with other actors and the benefit that it has to considerate the affected families necessities for to advance in the goals.

We appreciate the GlobalGiving support to this project and be part of the reconstruction plan in the community.

Links:

• Video titled "Aqui estamos, aqui seguimos"
• Video created for Animal Politico newspaper
• Article published in Animal Politico newspaper