Restoration of habitat and home in Rio Pachine

The integral plan for Río Pachiñe reconstruction is developing in coordination with the Reconstruction Committee. In these three month we have focused our work in to review the reconstruction plan proposed for the community; offer emotional contention; to diffuse information about the community conditions two years after the earthquake; to support in the family economy reactivation and to make arrangements with the authorities.

As part of reconstruction strategies in Colonia Juan in Río Pachiñe, our integral plan in these three months has been guided toward the points that we will describe then.

I.- Reconstruction plan review

Our work with Río Pachiñe community always has been collaborative, for that, in this period we have gathered with Reconstruction Committee for follow our workplan and to review the pending strategies, tasks and actions.

After a deep analyses with Reconstruction Committee, is decided to change the informative strategy, because the people don’t want to know about the ground problem. The Colonia Juan inhabitants say that they are recovering their “normal” life and to talk about that topic causes them discomfort, so instead of keeping them together they move away. After to see this situation we decided to make an informative pamphlet where we talk about the Nääxwiin and Reconstruction Committee actions for recovery the community, instead of describing the consequences that the earthquakes caused in the community.

The families are conscientious that they live in a damaged land, some of they have fear and others resign themselves that it is the life that they had to live and that are put in the hands of God. The majority of the families profess a Christian religion denominated Espiritualista, Trinitaria y Mariana, which don’t allow to be organized for to talk against authorities or the government. The Reconstruction Committee have become aware about the importance of being heard so that the authorities look at them; they know that alone they won’t achieve.

In the same sense to continue with our reconstruction integral plan and, at the same time, to strengthen our ties with other organizations in the GlobalGiving network, we decided to ask advisory to México Une A.C for to create a video that will make visible, beyond the community, the problem of the ground and the life of the families of this colony. Also, we contact to Isadora, who work in Cooperación Comunitaria A.C., to request the technical advice of a geologist for to make a final review of the land to have an official opinion and thus insist to the government in the prompt relocation.

II.- Emotional contention

Nääxwiin is offering psychological attention to 18 families that decided to 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. However, the families recognize that they need therapy, because they don’t overcome the damaged in their lives provoked for the earthquake.

In these therapies sessions the psychologist has identified cases of physical, psychological and sexual violence, that have been channeled to Nääxwiin, to the center of attention of women victims of violence, to give better help to the women who want it. The process is slow, but important and we will continue strengthening as of the Fundación Origen training that we will receive, with whom we are already linking to receive a training of psychological tools for team members of Nääxwiin and the Reconstruction Committee, only that these sessions will take place in the next three months.

III.- Information diffusion

We made a pamphlet with texts and images that show the actions that is doing the Reconstruction Committee in coordination with Nääxwiin. This form of present the information was accepted for the families, so we see that now they are more involved in the different activities that realize the Committee and Nääxwiin, and we discreetly take advantage to continue talking about the issue of damaged ground.

Together with the Reconstruction Committee and México Une A.C., we made a video to document the permanents risk and damages that confront the Río Pachiñe families, to live in a damaged ground, sequel that left the earthquake of September 7, 2017. Just two years later we uploaded to Youtube the video created: Río Pachiñe. Aquí estamos, aquí seguimos (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ntk0W6TKGvA); and we diffuse it in the social networks for make visible the Colonia Juan situation. In view of that, Marisol Cruz López, in charge of the National Reconstruction of SEDATU, has contacted the Committee to inform that the reconstruction issue is still pending in the community.

Through Fondo Semillas we contacted with Animal Político newspaper, who also are documenting the earthquake situation in the istmo de Tehuantepec region. Moreover, Susana Vázquez Vidal PhD student in CIESAS Occidente, wrote an article that was published for Animal Político newspaper: https://www.animalpolitico.com/blog-invitado/la-incertidumbre-del-teterete-rio-pachine-dos-anos-despues-del-sismo/

VI.- Economic reactivation and wood-saving stove construction

The kitchens, to be located out the houses, weren’t considered in the government census. For that, part of our plan have been focused to reconstruct kitchens, because for community women this is an important space, where they spend almost all the time. There, they make their totopos and foods for the family. Until now we have constructed 15 kitchens.

We have trained six women and three men in the adobe elaboration’s and wood-saving stove construction. Until now we have constructed 18 wood-saving stove. This is an alternative not only for women, but also all the family. Through of these stoves the workload families is reduced, because the firewood is no longer obtained in a close way, these stoves also has three burners which that take better advantage the use of the firewood and women have more time for themselves and to do other activities such as totopos, crafts, etc. An other advantage is that with these stoves the smoke goes to outside, and so the women no longer breathe it directly, which prevents respiratory diseases.

The idea of training a group of people in the community is so that wherever they are, whether in the same colony or in another relocated place, they know how to build their own adobe stoves and thus make better advantage use of their region resources, because the only thing that they need bought is the chimney pipes. The construction of the stoves is done by tequio, in this way the people support each other and is a way to recover the tequio in the community.

As part of reactivation economic project, ins this period we have met with 35 women totoperas, artisans, the beneficiaries of wood-burning stoves and kitchens to give a workshop aboutself-esteem and self-care.

V.- Arrangements with the authorities

After the visit of different governmental instances to the community in May, 2019, it was determined the placement of stakes to monitor the landslide, which raised doubts. The Reconstruction Committee asked to the technicians sent by San Juan Guichicovi municipality: how long timewill the ground be monitored?, to which the technicians responded month or years. This answer provoked more uncertainty in the community and for that is we requested the collaboration of the geologist Dr. Rosalba Pérez Gutiérrez, professor-researcher at the Autonomous University of Guerrero, who visited the community a month ago to do a study and we are waiting for these results.

During the two days that Dra. Rosalba with her team were in the Colonia Juan, they made observations in visible cuts of soil in different parts of the zone and took measurements at different topographic levels. The direct observation was accompanied by the measurement of the resistance of the ground through a penetrometer of French origin, PANDA (Pénétromètre Autonome Numérique Dynamique Assisté).

The fracture created in the land also occurred for the ground composition in the Colonia Juan, that according to Dra. Rosalba Pérez it hasn’t a good cohesion. In the direct observation of the cuts of soil she observed a sequence of material composed of sands and clays, which do not have a compaction, which generates pores that filter the water and the air.

VI.- Meeting with GlobalGiving

We assisted to a GlobalGiving meeting the past August 26 in Juchitán, Oaxaca. There we shared our work and show the video Río Pachiñe. Aquí estamos, aquí seguimos, created in collaboration with Reconstruction Committee, Nääxwiin and México Une.

Also, we received the Nicté, María and Chese visit, who could see and listen the complex situation that the community lives in the Colonia Juan in Río Pachiñe.

Links:

• Damaged land in Rio Pachine
• Uncertainty in Rio Pachine
• Rio Pachine is waiting for governamental answers