De mamás a maestras: From mothers to teachers

The Covid 19 pandemic has brought changes to the daily life of us all.  Many people around the world have had to adapt to the challenges of working at home rather than in an office. This wasn’t the case for the En Vía women, as the majority were already running their businesses from their houses…

A passion for organic farming: Trinidad Martínez Sosa

I'm from Atlanta, Georgia and my long-term plan is to have my own organic farm. So I was thrilled to be invited to spend time with Trinidad in her beautiful allotment in Teotitlán del Valle. By Payton Haynes The sign on the gate outside Trinidad’s huerto. I arrive late in the afternoon to the huerto,where…

En Vía Borrowers Go International in Women’s Day Event Linking Mexico and Canada

Susan Bean Aycock Longtime En Vía entrepreneurs and weavers Isabel Lazo Chávez and Alicia Mendoza Pablo had never touched a computer before, but here they were talking about their work in a zoom webinar that spanned three countries. Some of their handwoven products - from Isabel’s Tree of Life wool table runners and cotton shawls…

Beyond the home: women’s role in the community cargos of Teotitlán

Looking after the church, running the Cultural Center, dancing the famous Danza de la Pluma - what do they have in common? They are all cargos - roles carried out without pay, which form a fundamental part of the system of self-government of many of the indigenous communities in Oaxaca known as usos y costumbres.…

A woman of independent means

Feisty and funny, Eulalia Florina Ruíz Morales is unusual in Teotitlán: a woman in her sixties who owns her own land and house and supports herself entirely on her own earnings. As the oldest daughter in her family, she took care of her parents and never married; in turn they left her the inheritance of…