Catching Up

Tonight it's already late and we are leaving tomorrow morning at 7 a.m. for Barlovento, where we will visit a cacao cooperative and processing plant, but I want to get down at least a little bit about the people and places we visited in the last two days before putting in my earplugs and slipping on my eyeshade (excellent tools for sleeping in a room with 11 other people) and falling fast asleep, as I have every night since we arrived.

I'll try bullet points:

* the first night we arrived, we traveled to a building near the capitol, and listened to a group of queer youth talk about their experiences organizing and giving workshops in and around Caracas. Of note was a process they have entered to sue a popular T.V. show for defamation of queer characters. Under the constitution, any citizen group of 20 or more has the right to bring such a suit, and the corporation responsible for the programming has to respond within a period of days. If there is no response, or if the suit is found in case of the plaintiffs, then the offending show loses its airtime, and the plaintiffs then get to name what they would like to see shown instead.

* yesterday we visited La Universidad Bolivariana de Venezuela, a state-sponsored university that is free for all students. We ate home-cooked quality food in el comedor, also free. Several students spent the day with us, showing us around the building and giving us a history of the struggle for public education in Venezuela. We learned that the curriculum is interdisciplinary and that each year students are required to undertake a proyecto, meaning that they work within their communities to find out what services are needed, and then work with community members to find solutions and get a necessary project off the ground, such that it can be run by the community when the students finish the school year. Some examples include community T.V. and radio stations and accessible drinking water.

                                                  photos by Alejandra Abreu


today we spent most of the day at a farm outside of Caracas, talking with recipients of microloans and with administrators from the Red de Mujeres, a project of the government's ministry of women. The farm was beautiful, the women passionate and well informed about their history and the need for a global women's movement. It was a day of connection and serious inspiration. Above, you'll find some pictures from today: Ale holding the tea that was shared with us, a picture of the amazing soup we had for lunch, pictures of the women from the Red de Mujeres, and the farm itself.

If I wasn't so tired, I would include the text of article 88 of the Venezuelan Constitution, something the Red is working hard to get instituted. But for now, I'll let you look it up yourselves.

Goodnight for now...