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"Casita de Barro": How can we live a sustainable life while strengthening the local economy?

22.11.2022 - Sandy Jotzer
Hola! Mein Name ist Sandy, ich bin 24 Jahre alt und habe in diesem Jahr meinen Bachelor in Gesundheitswissenschaften in Hamburg beendet. Da ich nach meinem Bachelor unbedingt noch einmal raus in die weite Welt wollte und dabei gleichzeitig etwas Sinnvolles tun wollte, habe ich mich im Rahmen eines weltwärts Freiwilligendienstes des DRK-Landesverbandes Badisches Rotes Kreuz e.V. nach Mexiko begeben.

Während ich diesen Bericht schreibe, bin ich bereits seit über zwei Monaten hier und arbeite in der Organisation „Casita de Barro“, die sich neuen, nachhaltigen Lebensmodellen in dem Dorf San Jerónimo Tecuanipan widmet.
Photo: Sandy Jotzer
San Jerónimo Tecuanipan, abgekürzt Tecuanipan, liegt in dem Staat Puebla, hat ca. 6.000 EinwohnerInnen und ist ein Dorf, das stark von Marginalisierung und Abwanderung betroffen ist. Im Jahr 2008 entschieden sich Manuel Palma Barbosa und Ina Vanooteghem, die Gründer der Organisation Casita de Barro, dazu, sich in diesem Dorf niederzulassen. Ihr Ziel ist es, die DorfbewohnerInnen durch partizipative Bildungsmaßnahmen dabei zu unterstützen ihre natürlichen Ressourcen zu erhalten, das indigene Wissen wiederzubeleben und alternative nachhaltige Bewirtschaftungsmodelle auszuprobieren, um so ihre Lebenssituation positiv zu beeinflussen. 

Gemeinsam bauten Manuel und Ina auf einem Grundstück am Rande des Dorfes ein Haus aus Lehm, dass die DorfbewohnerInnen „Casita de Barro“ (= „Lehmhäuschen“) tauften. Die beiden zogen in das Bauwerk ein und begannen ihre Suche nach nachhaltigen Lebens- und Anbauweisen, die sich auch von den LandwirtInnen vor Ort umsetzen lassen würden.
In recent years, both their piece of land and their other activities have continued to develop and a wide variety of projects and collaborations have emerged, of which I have been able to be a part during my voluntary service. In the following, I would like to give you an insight into the various activities of Casita de Barro and my first experiences during my voluntary service.

At the moment I am mainly involved in organic vegetable and fruit cultivation, which is intended to serve as a reference for the farmers in the village. In the Casita de Barro there are four different gardens with beds in which all kinds of things are grown: potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, tomatoes, beetroot, cacti, berries, and much, much more. All without artificial chemicals, but with natural additives and fertilizers that we make ourselves in the Casita de Barro from ingredients such as cow dung, molasses, ash and minerals.

For example, last month we used so-called "effective microorganisms" to produce "Bokashi", a nutritional, organic fertilizer, from cow dung in a 20-day fermentation process. Next year, a laboratory will also be built on the property in which biological crop protection products will be produced in the future.
Photo: Sandy Jotzer
Neben der Pflege der Beete und dem Anpflanzen von verschiedenen Gemüsesorten habe ich in den letzten Wochen auch einige Male in der Biokonstruktion geholfen. Auf dem Gelände des Casita de Barro und in einem Gemeinschaftsgarten, der sich neben dem Casita de Barro befindet, werden derzeit zwei neue Komposttoiletten gebaut, mit natürlichen, umweltfreundlichen Materialien. 
Photo: Sandy Jotzer
Zum Bau werden Steine, Stroh, Lehm und Bambus verwendet. Um für Licht in den Toiletten zu sorgen, werden gesäuberte, alte Glasflaschen in die Wände eingebaut. An den Toilettenhäuschen sollen Regenrinnen angebracht werden, die später das Regenwasser in einen Kanister leiten und über den Kanister in ein Waschbecken, so dass das Regenwasser zum Händewaschen verwendet werden kann. 

Ina und Manuel sind aber nicht nur auf ihrem eigenen Grundstück tätig, sondern haben verschiedene Projekte gemeinsam mit den BewohnerInnen von San Jerónimo Tecuanipan und Kooperationspartnern initiiert. Vor allem der Bereich Umweltbildung hat für sie einen hohen Stellenwert. Zusammen mit Lehramtsstudentinnen einer Universität in Puebla setzt das Casita de Barro derzeit ein Umweltbildungsprojekt für Schulkinder um.  
In my first month in the Casita, I was able to take part in the meetings to plan the project, and the project is currently in full swing. Once a week, the students go in groups of two or three to the 5th and 6th grades of the school in the village of Tecuanipan and work with the students on environmentally relevant topics. The program includes, for example, examining and exploring one's own roots, culture and being (talents, skills, etc.), as well as one's own relationship with the environment and the earth. The aim is to increase awareness of regional plants and regionality (what in my everyday life actually comes from Tecuanipan and what doesn't?) and to examine Tecuanipan's past in comparison to the present (what did Tecuanipan and its surroundings look like in the past compared to today? What has changed?).Overall, the aim is to increase the sense of responsibility and respect in dealing with the environment and to work together to identify problems, opportunities and possible solutions. I have now attended the student teachers' lessons four times. The last session was not held at school, but we went together to the shop of the "SanJe" cooperation. The SanJe cooperation is a cooperation of various farmers from San Jerónimo Tecuanipan who have joined forces with the support of Casita de Barro and sell their various products together under the name of the cooperation.
There, Renato and Rosalba, two members of the cooperative, explained to the children how a cooperative works, where the products they sell come from and how they are grown. Rosalba showed the children her garden, her cow and her two sheep and, particularly interesting, her "biodigestor": Rosalba uses the manure that her cow excretes to produce biogas, which she then takes to the stove in her house to cook with. In the process, the manure is fermented with the help of bacteria and the exclusion of oxygen, and thus becomes biogas. I had never seen anything like this in a private household before, although the costs and work involved in installing it are really low compared to the benefits. It was very impressive for me in any case, and since everyone had popcorn afterwards, which was made together on the biogas stove, it certainly stuck in the children's minds too.
Photo: Sandy Jotzer
Another form of environmental education that the Casita de Barro offers are hikes for school classes on the weekend. I was also able to accompany these last month.
Photo: Sandy Jotzer
For the hike, the students were given various questions to consider along the way. The questions were related to the rivers and waters in the area, including the two questions "What is the significance and causes of the deterioration of the environmental conditions in the waters?" and "How do these causes affect the communities located in the area or in the foothills of Popocatéptl?".

The goal of the hike was a mountain that offers a beautiful view of the Popocatéptl. Here the children planted an agave in groups. After returning to the Casita de Barro there was a short discussion about the experiences and the insights gained from the hike.

In addition to their work in the field of environmental education, Ina and Manuel are trying to find new ways to boost the village's economy. This includes an eco-tourism project that Casita de Barro has initiated and that the villagers are supposed to implement as independently and as self-sufficiently as possible. Two meetings have already taken place with the villagers for this purpose, and I was able to attend the second meeting. Over 30 of the villagers attended the event.
After a short introduction and an introductory talk by Manuel to explain the topic and communicate the goals of the day, ideas and thoughts were collected in groups on three different topics: culture, gastronomy and nature and animals, in order to work out the potential of the village as a place for tourists. The residents participated enthusiastically in the brainstorming session. After compiling all ideas, concerns, problems and opportunities, each group presented its results to the other participants. The next steps were finally defined in a large group. The project is still in its early stages and in the next phases committees will be formed which will take responsibility for various areas of responsibility. Due to its location in beautiful nature, its proximity to the large volcano Popocatépetl and its wealth of culture, tradition and traditional cuisine, the village has potential for tourism.
Photo: Sandy Jotzer
Other projects currently being planned include a reforestation project on a nearby hill in which the families in Tecuanipan will be involved, a women's handicrafts group linked to the tourism project, and a school garden to garden together with the children.

In the coming months I will be devoting more time to environmental education and will also be able to plan and implement my own small project. I have free choice regarding the target group and topic and can therefore contribute and implement my own ideas. I look forward to being able to tell you about my plans and experiences with my own project in my next reports.
If you have any questions about the organization, the projects or my experiences, please do not hesitate to contact me at the following email address: sandy.jotzer@web.de

I send warm greetings from Mexico. Until the next report!

Sandy Jotzer
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