ABOUT US

History

Cooperación Comunitaria was founded as a non-profit organization in 2012. Its mission is to improve the habitability and reduce the vulnerability of rural indigenous communities in the territorial-environmental, the socio-cultural, the constructive, and the productive areas.

The Assembly is made up of Ireri De La Peña, Isadora Hastings, Gerson Huerta, Elis Martínez, Jesús Álvarez, and Lizet Zaldivar.

From the beginning we have had the advice of several experts in their field, and in 2020 they came together to form an Advisory board. These experts are: Enrique Ortiz (Social production of habitat), Doris Ruiz (education and intercultural communities), María Gutiérrez (environment and climate change), Luis F. Guerrero Baca (earth-based construction), and Bertha Michel (finance).

Mission

To improve the habitability and reduce the vulnerability of rural communities in Mexico, by facilitating sustainable self-management in the sociocultural, productive, constructive, and territorial-environmental areas, while preserving and recovering traditional knowledge.

Vision

The indigenous and rural communities of Mexico increase their habitability, and self-manage their habitat, through the recuperation of traditional knowledge related to community organization, mutual aid, decision-making by consensus in the assembly, and collective ownership of the land.

Values

Our values are:

Self-management
Responsibility
Solidarity
Equity
Respect

Working method

The work methodology is based on constructivist pedagogies, such as popular education and participatory action research, which aim to promote the exchange of knowledge between Cooperación Comunitaria and the participating populations, as well as between communities themselves.

This methodology relies on a comprehensive and systemic approach, which takes into account the different territorial scales of the emancipatory process of rural populations in the territorial-environmental, sociocultural, constructive, and productive spheres.

Sociocultural Sphere

Through a comprehensive and participatory community assessment , we identify social dynamics and recognize housing and production structures, as well as the vulnerabilities to which they are exposed to in these areas. Likewise, we analyze the cultural uses of spaces and the related traditional knowledge to promote and recover the practices that allow for the sustainable use of natural resources and the populations’ emancipatory processes.

Productive Sphere

We encourage activities that strengthen the relationship between the inhabitants and the environment ,contributing to self-management, self-production, and reciprocity. We identify and promote traditional productive and economic practices such as tequio and mano vuelta, based on mutual aid or cooperation.

Territorial-Environmental Sphere

We seek to understand the relationship between inhabitants and their territory, as well as the threats and risks to which they are exposed; in order to combine traditional and technical knowledge that allows for sustainable building and production, restoring ecosystems, thereby reducing the vulnerability of the populations.

Constructive Sphere

We revaluate and recuperate the traditional constructive cultures that involve or use local natural materials. At the same time, we introduce adapted technologies that enable the reinforcement required to protect against earthquakes, strong winds, floods, and other risks.

The recuperation of these traditional cultures, in addition to avoiding the homogenization of construction systems, allows us to preserve and promote our country´s diverse cultural heritage. By using local natural resources in construction, energy and economic costs along with CO2 emissions are reduced. Finally, the use of traditional construction systems improves habitability, as they are adapted to the climate and culture, and it also strengthens the local economy.

Awards

Cooperación Comunitaria was the winner in 2015 of the Reason for Being (Razón de Ser) Award in the Sustainable Habitat category granted by the Merced Foundation. It was also a finalist in both the World Habitat Awards and the Buckminster Fuller Challenge in 2016. In 2017, Cooperación Comunitaria was one of the five Latin American organizations awarded the Social Production of Habitat, delivered by the BSHF. That same year, it received the National Housing Award in the rural housing category granted by the National Commission for Housing (CONAVI), as well as the Green Star Award, granted by OCHA, UN Environment, and the international Green Cross, which reward outstanding efforts to address the environmental and humanitarian impacts of disasters and conflicts. In 2019, it obtained the Latin American Award for cases of social reconstruction of the post-disaster habitat, offered by the Latin American Office of the International Coalition for Habitat (HIC-AL) and the Faculty of Architecture of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).