September 30 - October 3: Oaxaca City

Our journey begins in Oaxaca City, the capital of a region that is host to both Indian and Spanish cultures. We will begin with a visit to Monte Albán, the once-flourishing capital of the Zapotec people. We will then meet the CEDI/Unitierra team, who will introduce us to their work in supporting the emergence of learning systems that honor the richness of Oaxaca’s indigenous culture. We will visit community leaders experimenting with permaculture, alternative energy techniques, traditional arts and more. This sets the stage for our inquiry into the relationship between traditional systems and the modern world.

October 4 - 6: Juchitán

The next stage will begin to expose us to the resiliency and adaptability of indigenous people. We will journey to the Istmo region, where we will visit government development projects that have been resisted by local communities. We will continue on to Juchitán, the political and economic center of the region, which has been governed peacefully since 1989 by a Zapotec Indian political movement. Part of our time will be spent at the Juchitán Ecological Forum, the site of the former city dump which has been transformed into an environmental education center. We will visit with Unitierra Istmo and engage in an intergenerational dialogue with indigenous communities.

October 7 - 10: Chiapas

Chiapas is home to the Zapatista movement, a revolutionary group that emerged in 1994 intending to overthrow the Mexican government. Today, the Zapatistas preside over 32 autonomous municipalities, demanding the freedom to live authentically as taught by ancient Mayan traditions. We will meet with members of the Zaptista movement to learn about perspectives on autonomy and relate these to our own views of democracy. We will visit the Unitierra Chiapas campus, where indigenous learners are engaged in self-directed programs. We may also have an opportunity to spend a day and night in the homes of local families from a Zapatista community. Our closing days are also an opportunity for us to reflect on all that we learned and prepare ourselves for returning to our communities at home.