December 1, 2006
Zapatista Autonomous Ecological Agricultural Education Center
Santa Cruz, Autonomous Municipality of Trabajo
Roberto Barrios ~ Caracol V: “The New Seed Which Is Going To Produce”
Palenque, México, Planet Earth
Dear friend of “Schools for Chiapas”,
Looking back on 2006, it’s clear that this year has been one of unprecedented, and seemingly impossible, growth in our support for Mayan education in the Mexican southeast.
At the moment it’s rainy season in the warm north of Chiapas where Chol, Tseltal, and Zoque Mayan peoples work the land, renew traditions, and resist extermination. Here, the clinging mud makes simple tasks like walking to a latrine challenging; collecting firewood or clearing a corn field is absolutely exhausting.
The unprecedented cold snap in the Tsotsil highlands that greeted the first phase of our third encounter of “Ecological-Agriculture in Resistance” at Oventic just a few days ago is a thing of the past – except for the persistent colds that several GMO testing trainers and theatre troupe volunteers have carried into these steamy lowlands.
This letter is being written in the midst of an ambitious state-wide agro-ecology / health educational tour where fences are falling and hope growing during inspiring discussions spoken in Tsotsil, Tseltal, Chol, Zoque (with a smattering of Spanish) about human dignity, democracy, and saving the planet. Healthy little Neem trees are bridging borders across the state and Zapatista corn is being tested for GMO contamination by indigenous agro-ecology activists.
After months of preparation this trip is inspiring and deeply rewarding. Because this letter will attempt to summarize the massive load of the work “Schools for Chiapas” has accomplished in 2006, it’s appropriate that it is being born during this period of intensive travel. We hope that this detailed report will inspire you to join us in 2007. Specifically, we hope your growing moral and economic support will allow “Schools for Chiapas” to maintain ongoing work and complete the following in 2007:
• Construct four new autonomous schools with sports centers and promoter’s (teachers’) housing.
• Test 5000+ Mayan corn fields for GMO contamination and plant Zapatista corn world-wide.
• Provide financial support for two women’s reproductive health education workshops.
• Double the size of our new Ecological Agricultural Nursery and monitor the growth of 3000 Neem seedlings planted throughout Chiapas in autonomous Mayan communities.
• Organize six international educational delegations in Chiapas and one international speaking tour.
• Rebuild shelters for the refugee community in Chol de Tumbala, Palenque, Mexico.
• Complete videos about autonomous education in two of the autonomous zones in Chiapas.
• Launch the “Market of the Others” selling indigenous products from collectives and promoters in each of the five Zapatista zones via the internet.
• Hire and train a full-time staff person to work in Chiapas.
But before I describe those future dreams, let me tell you a little about what your past support has allowed us to accomplish in 2006 – and what will be completed early in 2007.
Education in autonomous, indigenous schools:
Although “Schools for Chiapas” has now expanded our educational work far beyond classroom walls, we continue to support the more traditional aspects of Zapatista education. During 2006 your donations have built or improved nine autonomous schools in Chiapas (an all-time high!); several of these projects included the construction of basketball courts and sports centers – all included extensive community participation and sacrifice. Students are now attending classes in six of these nine school sites. Each of these nine Mayan communities already has plans for future expansions. Ground will be broken for construction on the final two schools in December of this year.
In addition to these nine school constructions, “Schools for Chiapas” has provided educational supplies, blackboards, computers, teacher resources, and even baby Neem trees for schools during 2006. Two supporters requested help distributing books ~ one filled with Zapatista music, the other a two book educational series about Mayan mathematics. Throughout Zapatista Territory, these three books have proved to be wildly popular and autonomous authorities are clamoring for additional copies.
Work on new videos about Zapatista education advanced this year with cooperation from the Chiapas Media Project in San Cristobal and extensive filming by indigenous video makers. With luck, a successful grant to two, and perhaps a little help from friends like you; we’ll have a beautiful video about autonomous education in Chiapas to show you by early 2008!
Education for Health:
For years, “Schools for Chiapas” has taken its international delegations to Zapatista hospitals and “houses of health” where one inspiring advance in community health care after another have became almost routine. Autonomous schools supported by “Schools for Chiapas” helped to train the indigenous graduates who now continue their education directly within this expanding health system. During the last two years support from the Global Fund for Children, the Larson Legacy, and an anonymous family donation has provided “Schools for Chiapas” the means to support these exciting educational health programs.
So far we have worked with a pilot student health program, the final construction on a beautiful Women’s Reproductive Health Training Center, and the establishment of an emergency health testing fund now named after the famous Zapatista leader named Ramona who died early in January 2006.
Frankly, the learning curve has been steep and we’ve made our share of mistakes; but we are now deeply involved and prepared to request your donations for this new area of educational work. The current Health and Ecological-Agriculture statewide education tour represents a turning point in our efforts for a more integrated approach to autonomous education in Chiapas. On this tour we are racing between testing of corn for GMO contamination, plantings of Neem trees, and participating in extraordinary discussions with education, health, and ecological agriculture promoters.
We are very excited about this expansion into health education. We hope that you will be as generous in your support of health education inside Mayan “Casas de Salud” (Houses of Health) as you have been in the past for literacy education inside of Mayan schools.
Education for Ecological Agriculture:
As I mentioned earlier, our third “Encounter of Mother Seeds in Resistance” with presentations in three Zapatista zones focused on transgenic contaminations in indigenous corn and cultivation of Neem trees. Two wildly popular theatre pieces created by a creative Australian volunteer (and the distribution of Neem tree seedlings) broadened the appeal of this year’s program. In conjunction with the Good Government Boards and the Ecological Agriculture promoters (teachers), “Schools for Chiapas” has expanded field testing for GMO contaminations into several new regions. Indigenous farmers are again donating recently harvested and breathtakingly beautiful seed corn to continue the international solidarity growing of Zapatista corn. All donations associated with these seeds continue to be dedicated to the purchase of additional field tests for use in the indigenous communities. You may order your corn for next spring’s planting through our web page.
One of the most exciting new elements in our work in ecological agriculture education is the statewide program of plantings Neem trees. More than 3,000 of these baby trees were born in our newly constructed tropical nursery constructed in the northern zone of Chiapas near the ancient Mayan city of Palenque. Like modern day Johnnie Appleseeds, we are traveling the state distributing Neem in all five zones. Neem, known as “The Pharmacy of the People”, has a 4000 year history of use in India as medicine, organic fertilizer, insecticide, construction material, and firewood. We hope these Neem trees will be of great use to Zapatista communities.
The aging wood-frame building which holds the laboratory and long-term freezer storage of Mother Seeds in Resistance is being significantly up-graded by our Zapatista hosts. Those of you who will be in Oventic for the year-end celebrations and intergalactic preparatory meetings are invited to visit this renovated center.
Education for Commercialization:
There is another important, and little noticed, area of popular education within Zapatista territory. Commercialization is the least reported and most unconventional aspect of education here in rebel territory. However, no one should underestimate the importance of the entrepreneurial spirit and dreams for a better life that motivates the dozens of collectives, cooperatives, warehouses, restaurants, stores, and other businesses throughout autonomous, indigenous Chiapas.
Nor should anyone negate the educational significance of the real life experiences of the thousands of Zapatistas involved in these vital commercial projects. Zapatistas with only a few years of formal education are inventing and managing local, national, and international businesses selling organic coffee, shoes, videos, artesian work, and music. Perhaps more importantly, within Chiapas indigenous members of the Zapatista organization have created collective transportation, warehousing, marketing, and productive systems that are currently serving indigenous communities.
Over the next few years we will introduce you to a few of these inspiring community leaders and detail the skills they have mastered working in the commercial sector. “Schools for Chiapas” has decided to participate directly in education within the commercial sector of the Zapatista movement by supporting trainings and seeking new markets for these emerging revolutionaries.
By the time you receive this letter, with the hard work of our college intern and other volunteers, the new on-line market should be selling a several products from Chiapas as well as few items from Mexican and international groups in solidarity with Chiapas. We’re a little late to ask you to do your holiday shopping at this web site, but in the future we hope that you’ll tell your family and friends to patronize this foray of “Schools for Chiapas” into on-line marketing of indigenous products by buying Zapatista products at our online store. With your support and feedback our inventory and sophistication is certain to grow rapidly.
International Education for justice, democracy and dignity:
Despite our challenging schedule within the Zapatista communities in the Mexican southeast, “Schools for Chiapas” has also been busy at an international level this year. As this letter is written we are preparing to participate in the preparatory meeting of The Other Campaign International which will be held in the highlands of Chiapas during the last days of 2006 and the first days of 2007. If you wish to join us for that historic event, please contact us immediately through the travel section of our new web page.
Actually describing this year’s international work as “busy” is an astounding understatement. “Schools for Chiapas” organized and hosted seven international delegations and one funders’ tour in Chiapas, participated in the annual convention of the National Education Association and the annual meeting of the Indigenous Funders’ Network, lead a weeklong intensive workshop about Chiapas at Elon University in North Carolina, and hosted (in conjunction with La Milpa Organica Farm in Escondido, CA) a greatly expanded and very upbeat Zapatista Harvest Festival for Peace and Justice.
With support from the Oceansong Center in Occidential, CA and many other volunteers, “Schools for Chapas” expanded distribution of indigenous corn seed donated by Zapatista farmers for international sanctuary grow-outs. We symbolically returned some of this internationally grown corn to the communities of Chiapas and Atenco in a public meeting of The Other Campaign with Sub Commander Marcos in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico – and as mentioned before these Mother Seeds of Zapatista GMO-free corn seeds are available for you to plant in 2007 at www.schoolsforchiapas.org.
Speaking of web pages, our public face received a major scrubbing and uplift with the launching of a totally redesigned web page (if you have not already done so, take a look at www.schoolsforchiapas.org!). Our eNewsletter was published eight times in 2006 (some spam software blocks our emails, so be sure you are getting mail from schoolsforchiapas.org). We also realized numerous radio and print media interviews. In addition to general education about Chiapas, this outreach work was directly responsible for providing urgently needed food, clothing, toys, and medicines for the refugee community of Chol de Tumbala.
I am happy to report that with the support of hundreds of Zapatistas, the Other Campaign, and international supporters like you; the men of Chol de Tumbala have returned to their community and are once again organically farming the land and slowly rebuilding rough structures (women and children remain in hiding). Dozens of indigenous communities have helped plant vegetables and we’ve donated Neem trees. For now the deep mud helps protect them from another attack. In 2007 we’ll keep you posted on developments and progress.
For a world where all the worlds fit! As I mentioned earlier, the unprecedented cold snap which greeted the beginning of the Mother Seeds in Resistance annual tour has once again taken a back seat in the national news to the steaming conflicts in Oaxaca and Mexico’s capital. However here in the Mexican countryside human life is measured in plantings of corn and beans; reality is dreamed in all the colors of native corn; and the future remains deeply rooted in ancient traditions of collectivity and inclusion with borders made in flowers and fences built to serve people’s needs.
The deep, clinging mud which follows the torrential rains are now sprouting the next generation of Mayan corn. The community-run education programs in literacy, health, ecological-agriculture, and commercialization of the indigenous communities of Chiapas, Mexico are also growing from the deep and fertile soil of Mayan culture. We hope that you will find it in your hearts to once again sacrifice in support of dignity, democracy, and justice. We welcome you comments about this lengthy letter and we invite your participation in this exciting project.
Come to Chiapas when you can, but no matter what, join us in the struggle to birth a new and better world.
Por y para los niños y las niñas,
Peter Brown, Administrative Coordinator “Schools for Chiapas”, www.schoolsforchiapas.org
ps. In Mexico, borders and fences can’t ever be forgotten. Fences now protect the best lands (always reserved for rich men’s cattle) from millions of poor Mexicans who are herded to the U.S. border where fences open broadly for low wage workers. Two “elected” presidents talk across fences designed to contain the people’s anger and narcotics-dealing police repeatedly attack from behind the many fences built to protect power. Yet from Atenco to Oaxaca to Chol de Tumbala, the Mexican people are shouting “Ya Basta” (Enough is enough). Please join this noble struggle to bridge the borders and tear down the fences of ignorance, greed, and disunity.
Pps. Is there a last minute holiday gift that you might purchase at a “Schools for Chiapas” online store? As I write these words, our web designers have not completed programming for the new store; however they insist that our on-line market is coming any day now! So perhaps you could check at www.schoolsforchiapas.org to see if there’s a Zapatista market for your shopping pleasures during this holiday season. Good luck.
Ppps. How spending about New Years in the highlands of Chiapas? Actually, this is my least favorite climactic moment because it is so bloody cold. However I’m convinced that this New Years’ celebrations in Oventic are going to exceed everyone’s expectations. Be sure to come if you can! We would, of course, love to welcome you on the “Schools for Chiapas” delegation but, no matter how you organize your trip, prepare to be overwhelmed with what the indigenous communities are going to present! Just dress warmly and please stop by our newly reconstructed Oventic office to say “hi”.
Pppps. Did I mention that this intensive year of work in Chiapas has been inspiring, heartwarming, and deeply emotional? It has been all of that and more! It is your support that makes it possible and we deeply appreciate the sacrifices you have made to support “Schools for Chiapas”. Thank you.
