unitierra final booklet
TRANSCRIPT
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EDICIONES¡BASTA!
Universidad de la Tierra en Oaxaca, A.C.
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EDICIONES ¡BASTA! is an autonomous effort of anindependent group of people and organizations.
EDICIONES ¡BASTA!Azucenas 610, Col. Reforma,C.P. 68050, Oaxaca, México.(951) 5151313, (951) [email protected], [email protected]/basta
1st edition: June, 2009English translation: Nicole Kast
Copyright? No thank you!This work is published under theCreative Commons 2.5 México license.To see a copy of this license go to:http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/mx/
Design and layout: Sergio Beltrán ArrutiPhoto selection: Preeti Verma, Nicole Kast
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UNIVERSIDAD DE LA TIERRA IN OAXACA IS AN ORGANIZATION
dedicated to learning, study, reflection and action.Our efforts are focused on actions of social transfor-
mation aimed at rooting, strengthening and expanding theconvivial way of life and radical democracy.
PURPOSE
Unitierra works to strengthen and enhance autonomy,freedom and democracy, particularly in indigenouscommunities and barrios through transformativeinitiatives and actions. People acquire skills and profe-ssional abilities that enable them to gain appreciation andincome while maintaining their dignity.
Unitierra practices and enriches intercultural dialoguethrough learning stays in which people from differentcommunities, cultures and countries interact and reflecttogether.
PHILOSOPHY
Our learning style emphasizes practice. We learn by doingwhat we want to learn with the people that are practicingin the field.
The members of Unitierra follow their self-directedpath of learning, at their own pace, and in the field oflearning that they choose. The fields of learning definespheres of common interest. They can be theoretical: so-cial movements, the nature of the current crisis, the chal-lenges of democracy; or practical: video production,
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appropriate technology, alternative therapies, urbanagriculture, among others.
Those who wish to learn at Unitierra can begin to doso at any time without any preconditions. They do not needto demonstrate certification of prior studies.
ACTIONS
The Struggle for Cultural Regeneration
We attempt to contribute to the cultural regeneration ofindigenous communities and barrios. We believe in thestatement that indigenous peoples use: “They tore off ourfruits, they broke off our branches, they burnt our trunksbut they could not kill our roots.”
We know that the foliage is damaged- the visible di-mension of the culture: language, clothing, food ... Thatthe trunk has also been affected-the partially visible, par-tially invisible dimension: medical or religious practices,forms of governance, social organization...
But we witness the vitality and vigor of the roots-the mythical dimension of the culture, the cosmovision,the notion of being, the perception of time or space ...
By regenerating ourselves from our roots, strength-ening what is ours, we also explore ways to appreciatethe ideas, tools and attitudes of others.
Community Regeneration. In 2003 we initiated a re-generation program in 400 communities in Chiapas, Guerreroand Oaxaca in which thousandsof people have participated andwhich has generated many dif-ferent transformation initia-tives. This program was sup-ported by UNESCO and hasextensive audio-visual docu-mentation, which focuses on theinvolvement of the communities themselves.
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América Profunda. Over a hundred people from 36 vil-lages in the American continent participated in an eventorganized by Unit-ierra in Mexico City. Itexplored the possib-ility of applying Gui-llermo Bonfil’s hypo-thesis of MéxicoProfundo (Deep Mex-ico) to the peoples ofthe entire continentformed by those who,even today, experi-ence the world from anon-western cosmo-vision. A book reco-rding the discussionsof the event was pub-lished. Autonomousinitiatives in variouscountries keep the spi-rit of the symposium alive.
Democratic consensus-building. We work to streng-then practices of democratic consensus-building at thegrassroots, which expand participation in activities oftransformation. We have developed a unique methodologyin our work in barrios and indigenous communities.
Intercultural Dialogue. We explore interculturaldialogue and practice it in various forms. Toward thiseffort, we regularly organize programs for students,teachers, researchers and others, and facilitate their in-teraction with Oaxacan cultures. In addition, we encour-age activities that facilitate dialogue between the differ-ent Indian peoples of Oaxaca and between them and othersectors of society. Unitierra has prepared and publishedseveral books for the use of the participants involved in
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this dialogue. Some of our activities also formed part ofthe UNESCO project “Search/Research”. (See Emergingand re-emerging learning communities: Old wisdoms andnew initiatives from around the World. Paris: UNESCO,November 2005)
The Struggle for Food Sovereignty
Unitierra strives to strengthen the autonomous capac-ity to produce and exchange food in the countryside andthe city.
En defensa de nuestro maíz (In Defense of OurCorn). In 2003 Unitierra prompted the formation of theCommittee In Defense of Our Corn, comprised of morethan 60 people and organizations from Oaxaca. Utilizingworkshops, seminars, radio publicity, publications, spe-cial events, and other actions, committee members mostnotably supported the planting of native corn and the fightagainst transgenic contamination of native species.
The forum In Defense of Our Corn, organized in 2004to coincide with the meeting in Oaxaca of an organ of theFree Trade Agreement, had important implications. Itsmanifesto has been circulated widely and is part of theglobal fight against the irresponsible dissemination ofgenetically modified organisms.
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Sin maíz no hay país (No Corn no Country). Incollaboration with other people, organizations and insti-tutions, Unitierra initiated the exhibition, No Corn
No Country, which waspresented at the NationalMuseum for Popular and In-digenous Cultures from Feb-ruary to December 2003.Over a million visitorsattended the exhibition,which presented brochures,
CDs and a book on the subject. The slogan and the con-tents of the exhibition were adopted by many organiza-tions, who independently continue the campaign in sev-eral states of Mexico.
Red Autónoma para la Soberanía Alimentaria(RASA). The Autonomous Network for Food Sovereigntyis an important effort to connect people and groups tostrengthen food sovereignty by means of the autonomousproduction and distribution of food, the generation and shar-ing of necessary knowledge, and collective action to resistthe constant attacks on food sovereignty. Unitierraspearheaded the formationof this network and activelysupports its operationthrough a center to demon-strate the practices. RASAorganizes workshops for thecreation of new centers forfood production, courses onurban agriculture, the orga-nization of public events andother crucial activities.
Organic Agriculture.Unitierra is particularly interested in the regeneration oforganic agriculture and the adoption of contemporary sus-
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tainable practices. Unitierra undertakes innovative prac-tices in this field and supports various initiatives.
The Struggle for Free, Autonomous Interaction
Unitierra encourages and supports forms of interactionthat allow for the free and autonomous interconnectionbetween individuals and groups through meetings, work-shops, forums and non-conventional means of commu-nication.
Editions Basta! is a publishing collective that producesbooks, pamphlets and audio-visual materials. Thepublications present topics ranging from urban agricultureto indigenous philosophy in Spanish and English. Amongour books are América Profunda and Experienciasorganizativas de la sociedad civil en Oaxaca.
Center for Popular Communication is a space thatarticulates Unitierra’s activities as well as the importantwork of other people and organizations to encourage freeinteraction. The Center has produced numerous videos,documentaries, posters, tapes, and radio programs. From2002 to 2005, for example, Unitierra, together withArcano Catorce and the El Pochote Cinema Club, organizedMirada Biónica, a series of workshops on the creation of
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audio-visual materials. The projects prepared by theparticipants, during five weeks of the workshop, werepresented at El Pochote Cinema Club.
Creative Journalism Seminar. In the fall of 2008,Unitierra, oaxacalibre.org and revolucionemosoaxaca.orgorganized this weekly seminar. Teachers, journalists, stu-dents, businessmen, lawyers and others who participatedin the social movement of 2006 attended the seminar.They narrated their stories in the form of creativejournalism. It made evident the validity of different per-ceptions of the same facts and the power of speech andmemory. The seminar produced the book, Oaxaca 2006:Lo vimos, Lo vivimos. The effort is the first step in a seriesof similar seminars.
Community Radio. Togetherwith other organizations, Unitie-rra fostered the establishment of25 community radio stations.Unitierra currently supportsthose that operate in the state of
Oaxaca, and seeks to establish links with those operatingin other states in Mexico.
Oaxacalibre.org. is a web page created by members ofUnitierra in August 2006, with the aim to provideinformation and analysis through the internet. Over theyears it has proved to be a credible and valuable source ofonline information regarding social struggles in Oaxaca.
Reclaiming Tools
Unitierra actively works to reclaim autonomous and ap-propriate tools.
Ecological Dry Toilets. Unitierra has actively partici-pated in the construction and dissemination of this tech-
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nology, an effort which helped to root the use of dry toiletsin Oaxaca, where 100,000 units are in operation.
Chocosol, Intercultural Choco-late Production. Unitierra sup-ported the creation and use of solarconcentrators for various purposes,and has supported the production ofchocolate in Oaxaca, Chiapas andToronto, through a trading mechanism which uses hori-zontal commerce to generate autonomous activities whichprovide dignity and income to all those involved. The ini-tiative is currently preparing a report of the experience:Reclaiming chocolate: a political manifesto.
Autonomous Center for the Intercultural Cre-ation of Alternative Technologies (CACITA).Unitierra initiated and currently supports this center,which is conceived as a space of free learning, reflection inaction and creative practice in order to produce technolo-gies such as pedal-powered bicycle machines, dry toilets,solar concentrators, water filters and others technologies.
National Forum for Appropriate Technologies. Incollaboration with several groups, Unitierra convened thisforum on March 19-22 2009. The forum sought to raiseawareness of the negative impact of conventionaltechnologies and show practical alternatives. It was a re-
markable success, with hun-dreds of participants fromother states, dozens of exhibi-tors and thousands of attend-ees. Audio-visual materialswere produced following theevent.
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Participation in Independent Efforts
We actively participate in and support independent effortsof collective transformation that coincide with our socialorientation and commitments.
Universidades de la Tierra. Unitierra shared its ex-perience with the founders of the Universidad de la Tierrain Chiapas, which operates independently. UnitierraOaxaca currently contributes to the creation of other simi-lar organizations in Guanajuato, Morelos, Mexico City,Toronto and California.
Autonomous House of Oaxacan Solidarity forSelf-Reliant Activity (CASOTA). Through the IvanIllich Documentation Center, located in CASOTA, Unitierraparticipates in this independent effort. CASOTA is anetwork of autonomous initiatives which organize a varietyof activities designed to contribute to the strengthening ofthe organization and autonomy of popular neighborhoodsand indigenous communities in Oaxaca and which alsoencourage interaction with people and groups from otherplaces and cultures.
Foro Oaxaqueño del Agua (Oaxacan Water Fo-rum) . Unitierra helped found and currently participatesin the operation of this space of transformative action,which sees the participation of all three levels of govern-
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ment as well as diverse actors in Oaxacan civil society.The Forum has been publicized and operated by the In-stitute of Nature and Society in Oaxaca (INSO), which alsoparticipated in the founding of Unitierra and has workedwith the organization.
Escuela de Guerreros Sin Armas (School of War-riors Without Weapons).In 2008, Unitierra organized this experience in the ColoniaDiamante of Santiago Etla, a suburb of Oaxaca city. The
initiative used themethodology developedby the Instituto Elos, inSantos Brazil, to trans-form marginal communi-ties in Latin Americausing the skills, dreamsand efforts of the peoplein popular neighborhoods
and young activists from various countries to transformtheir places and learn new ways to interact with people fromthese spaces. The exercise involved the construction of arecreational park on the site.
Networks. Unitierra participates, in local, national andinternational networks like Learning Societies, BerkanaExchange, Multiversity, International Group for Grass-roots Initiatives, International Network for CulturalAlternatives to Development, Red Latinoamericana deTecnología Alternativa, Causa and the US SolidarityEconomy Network.
FIELDS OF LEARNING
The Convivial Way of Life
We believe that the convivial way of life is a lifestyle thatmoves beyond the economic society and beyond the domi-
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nant political regime. It is based on the assertion and ex-pansion of the dignity of individuals and groups to gener-ate dignified, fair, supportive and mutual social relation-ships and to encourage autonomy/self-sufficiency forpeople, groups, communities and regions and their hori-zontal organization.
In this area of learning, we study the theoretical andpractical aspects of a convivial way of life and learn to liveit, facing the challenges together which it represents andsharing our practical experiences.
Eating. The area of eating ranges from farming and foodproduction to waste management, and includes aspectsrelated to food preparation, the exchange of food, thecultivation of food in an urbansetting, the protection of nativevariants, among other areas.
Healing. Stemming from a cri-tique of the system of profes-sional control, this area of learn-ing explores ways to maintain ahealthy lifestyle, to strengthenautonomous processes of healingpeople, communities and neighborhoods, and to use valuablecontributions of contemporary medical research withoutsuffering from its adverse or counterproductive effects.Among other activities in this field, Unitierra supports a spacewhere people learn how to use traditional and contemporarychildbirth practices.
Learning. Starting from a radical critique of the educationsystem, this field of learning explores the ways in which wecan strengthen the autonomous learning capacity of people,communities and neighborhoods through appropriate meth-ods, free social spaces which facilitate the application of thesemethods, and initiatives to consolidate disciplined and rig-orous study and exercises of reflection in action.
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Settling. This area of learning explores the ways and con-ditions in which all people can provide themselves with theirown place, a place which will transform itself into anauthentic home. This field explores issues relating to own-ership of the land, the use of traditional and contemporarymaterials, the adoption of ecological criteria in construction,use and maintenance of the constructions and other aspects.
Intertwining. This area of learning explores attitudesthat actively resist any form of discrimination based onrace, sex or social condition; forms of interaction whichimply hospitable attitudes towards the other and exerciseradical pluralism; methods to resist isolation but also theinvasion of the private sphere; attitudes and practices thatstrengthen personal interaction without renouncing the useof contemporary technologies; methods for the develop-ment of democratic consensus at the grassroots in com-munities and neighborhoods; mobility schemes that re-duce the need to be transported and subjugated to therealm of motor vehicles, and other aspects.
Reclaiming Tools
Unitierra believes that a tool is an extension or expansionof the capabilities of the user, if and when the user can use
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it according to his/her intentions and desires. Tools are ahammer, a pencil, an assembly, a social security system oran electoral procedure. In the current era of systems welose control over the tool: we become a subsystem of a sys-tem to whose rules and conditions we must submit. Insteadof using tools in accord with our intentions and desires, wemust adjust to the conditions that the tool, converted into asystem, imposes upon us; that is, we fulfill functions of thesystem which no longer correspond to our intentions.
In this area of learning, we critically examine ourtechnological society and study how we can liberate our-selves from the impositions of the systems and how wecan autonomously employ the tools of this era. At the sametime, we focus our efforts on designing, creating, repro-ducing and employing tools which expand our capabilitiesin daily life.
Theoretical Questions. A critical examination of thetechnological society explores the impact of contemporarytechnologies on ways of thinking and acting, social resis-tance to the era of systems, mechanisms that reduce orlimit the autonomous use of tools and, in general, autono-mous subsistence and other aspects.
Practical Issues. This includes the design of technical in-novations –ideas, equipment and practices– and the autono-mous production of these innovations: bicycle machines, so-lar concentrators, dry toilets, water filters ... as well as savingnative seeds, buildinggreenhouses for urbanfood production or up-cycling.
Autonomous Media
We are convinced thatnational and interna-tional mass media
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have disturbing effects on social life and thatto resist its impact is as necessary as it isviable.
In this area of learning we criticallystudy the operation of mass media and itseffects on society and we conceive, con-struct, organize and operate means of in-teraction with other people and groups thatallow us to autonomously produce, withoutcommercial intentions, for the purposes that
each person or group considers appropriate:
Publicity: to publicize activities, events, investigationsand findings.
Propaganda: to make known, in a persuasive manner,actions, practices, etc. with the intention that others takeinterest in them and can share them.
Interaction and agreement: to discuss with others,using various means, topics or themes of common interest,particularly those which may lead to concerted action.
Among the media that we use are print media—books, pamphlets, magazines, flyers, screen printing,posters, electronic media —uses of the Internet and ra-dio and video production; and direct media —theater,megaphone, others.
RESEARCH
Reflection in action is the name for all the documented,disciplined, rigorous, public, and critical activities whichallow us to reflect on the reality in which we are immersed,on our own activities, and on the experiences of otherpeople and groups, whether or not they are formalized intexts (books, etc).
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Reflection in action has become over time a critical di-mension of our work and is present in all of our activities.
The articulating component of these activities is a two-hour weekly seminar, open to the public. It began in 2003as a study of the thought of Ivan Illich. We believe he isone of the central thinkers of the twentieth century, whosecritical work anticipated for decades the current problemsand constituted a lucid form of articulating the discourseof the common people, at a time of crisis for the dominantinstitutions. Since February 2008, the seminar is dedi-cated to a reflection on the convivial mode of life, inter-spersing conjucture analysis. The participants attempt toput into practice whatever is discussed in the seminar.
Unitierra helped create and supports the operationof an independent initiative of the group Oaxacan VoicesConstructing Autonomy and Freedom (VOCAL):
The Barefoot Researchers Program. Young activ-ists, mostly from barrios in the city of Oaxaca, meet twicea month for this program which aims to broaden theirknowledge of the realities they are trying to transform.They conduct a systematicreflection on the economic,social and political life inOaxaca, with both a nationaland global perspective andwith emphasis on autonomoussocial movements. At the same time they examine pro-posals for social transformation and the nature and char-acteristics of communal and convivial ways of living, en-courage building consensus for joint action and contributeto public debate on the issues associated with the pro-found transformation of Oaxaca. The program has al-ready held numerous public events and has organizedthe publication of several books, using posters and othermedia.
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COORDINATION MECHANISMS AT UNITIERRA
For the organization and administration of our activities,we have an advisory council and a coordination comm-ittee. The assembly of members defines the general ori-entation of Unitierra and is the final decision-makingbody.
Assembly of Members. The Assembly meets once amonth to discuss activities and make suggestions forUnitierra. Proposes initiatives, projects and fields of workand makes suggestions for the operation of the organiza-tion. It makes decisions regarding the status of the asso-ciation, examines annual financial statements, and assiststhe co-ordinating council in resolving important issues.
Coordinating Council. Administers the association inall its aspects.
Advisory Board. Makes suggestions and recommenda-tions on the activities of the association, based on the pe-riodic reports it receives. It proposes initiatives, projectsand collaborative activities.
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CONTACT US!
Unitierra organizes its activities in workshops, seminars,programs and tutorships, in its own learning spaces andproduction centers and those of like-minded organizations.
The costs associated with the learning stays of peoplefrom other countries are covered by them. Their financialcontributions help cover the costs of local activities.
Many activities are open to the public. Workshops,seminars, programs and other activities require pre-reg-istration, for reasons of space.
Azucenas 610, Colonia Reforma, C.P. 68050, Oaxaca de Juárez,
Oaxaca, México.
Tel: (951) 515-13-13, fax: (951) 515-33-84
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The complete or partial reproduction of this work,in any form, is fully authorized, and actually encouraged.
Appropriate citation would be appreciated.Oaxaca, México, 2009.
