The following are some examples of trips that snowbird symposium goers have gone on:

 Seeking Alternatives to Emigration- Cruz Del Palmar

How to make money if crops can no longer be sold and there are no jobs? This is the situation of the folks in Cruz del Palmar and throughout Mexico. Cheap subsidized corn from the US is actually cheaper than corn grown by local producers; people don’t want to sell their land; and they don’t want their young adult children to go illegally to the US to work. Our friends in Cruz del Palmar are seeking ways to retain their community. Join us on our visit to their community and learn about what they are doing.

 Organic Tomato Co-op- Peñon de los Banos

Residents of this small dairy farm on an ejido north of Los Rodriguez want their adult children who are working illegally in the States to come home. What do the children need? Work. So, they’ve banded together and formed a SPR (Sociedad de Produccion Rural). They borrowed money from the revolving loan fund of the Center for Global Justice and from the Weissman Foundation and are building a greenhouse in which to grow organic tomatoes. Come see their success and hear about their hopes for the future!

 Cooperativa Hacienda la Trinidad – El Moral

In El Moral, on the road to Queretaro, an amazing dynamo of a woman has fought against all odds to build a sewing cooperative. Today seven women work and produce beautiful clothes! Some are for sale in the Center’s fair-trade shop, Mujeres Productoras (Calz. de la Luz. 42), and in stall #22 in the artesans’ market. The Center for Global Justice visits the cooperative every month to follow their progress. They have overcome many obstacles and have more to come, but believe in their abilities and each other!

CEDESA

CEDESA, the Centro de Desarrollo Social y Agropecuaria in Dolores Hidalgo, has for 40 years been organizing campesinos and helping them keep their land. CEDESA is teaching modern sustainable, environmentally sound farming methods. They are developing a model living unit for the campesinos including: rain water catchment, sanitary dry toilets, recycling and filtering water, vegetable gardens, micro-green houses for growing nopal. Come join us in supporting this incredible organization and see what began as the dedication of a few has created!