This is the first grant to the Center of Experimentation for Tzeltal Community Development (CEDECOT) in Chiapas, Mexico. They are a relatively new organization, working in four communities to promote alternative development and social justice among a very poor and marginalized population, where women, mostly illiterate, have historically been oppressed and disempowered. Specific projects address developing appropriate technology (stoves, ovens, solar dryers), community economics (bread production, processing and conserving food), nutrition, and food security (promotion of home gardens, chickens, etc.). Their projects emphasize gender as a human rights issue, as the idea for the project came from the women themselves, who want to be “taken into account as someone important.”

Through their grant, CEDECOT will conduct a series of workshops in each of the four communities they serve, focusing on gender equality, human and women’s rights, social leadership skills, and the exchange of experiences. Following the workshops, participants will also meet with men in leadership positions in their communities, and organize an exchange among all four communities.