Habitat in Mexico
Trip highlights from September 23-27
I was invited to join other U.S. Habitat affiliate leaders and Habitat International staff on a learning trip with Hábitat para la Humanidad México, and despite some scheduling hurdles, I leapt at the offer. We were originally planning to visit communities in Chiapas, but our itinerary changed so that we ended up spending most of the week in Tlaxcala.
➡ Over on my Habitat affiliate’s blog, I shared about the experience. ⬅
From the moment I stepped onto Hábitat México’s construction site in Huamantla, Tlaxcala, I knew I was home.
Here’s the longer, director’s cut:
The trip was amazing. The leadership and staff at Habitat Mexico were generous, gracious, loving, knowledgeable and all-around spectacular hosts. The entire week has me meditating on what it means to welcome, to host, to care for and to show hospitality. From Habitat homeowners surprising us with homecooked meals, to on-site lunches for volunteers, to the warmth of everyone we met… I’ve got to up my neighboring game.
Our day on the construction site was meticulously planned and organized. This was the first time that Habitat Mexico blended international volunteers and corporate sponsors on site, and it was perfect. Bucket by bucket, with the exceptions of all that spilled on my shirt, we poured concrete for the entire foundation of a home. The music was blasting, we danced together across languages and cultures and we worked hard. In true Habitat fashion, the beneficiary family was there working right alongside us.
Afterwards, we walked a few properties over for a gorgeous midday meal — in addition to the locally catered spread, Habitat also brought in a bike taco vendor (street tacos sold from the basket of a bike or motorcycle!) and jugs of pulque, the fermented cactus wine famous in Tlaxcala.
I heard this quote from
in one of their online classes, and I think about it all the time:“We are careful here not to prove, not to perform, not to save. We show up as a neighbor, a worker amongst workers, with responsibility to self and others.”
I think about it in my writing here and in my work with Habitat, because it is so resonant with Habitat’s model of partnership housing. From the earliest days of Habitat’s inspiration at an interracial community in rural Georgia called Koinonia Farm, our work has always been about true and equal partnership. About breaking down barriers and restructuring power systems so that all of our neighbors can have a decent place to live. My favorite beautifully subversive Habitat quote is from Clarence Jordon of Koinonia Farm, who is considered a spiritual founder of Habitat:
“What the poor need is not charity but capital, not caseworkers but coworkers. And what the rich need is a wise, honorable and just way of divesting themselves of their overabundance.”
We are workers amongst workers. Neighbors amongst neighbors.
And at the risk of sounding cheesy, you can see that so clearly on a Habitat construction site when community volunteers, future homeowners, neighbors and Habitat staff come together to build. On that day at the construction site in Huamantla, Tlaxcala we had leaders from Habitat for Humanity International, the Area Vice President for Latin America and the Caribbean, Habitat Mexico’s Executive Director and leadership team, seven leaders of U.S. Habitat affiliates alongside professional contractors, Mexican corporate sponsor volunteers and the family whose home were helping to build. Coworkers amongst coworkers.
We also announced a new partnership between our affiliate and Habitat Mexico.
Each year, we tithe (share) a portion of our unrestricted funds with Habitat colleagues around the world. Tithing is an ancient practice of many faiths and cultures and we proudly commit to it in our covenant agreement with Habitat International. This practice has created a cycle of generosity and partnership, transcending borders and languages.
We are thrilled to announce that Habitat for Humanity Capital District’s board of directors approved a new multi-year tithe commitment to Hábitat México!
It’s another demonstration of partnership housing, and working together as equals, neighbors amongst neighbors. Our affiliate is committed to tithing to support Hábitat México’s work along with a tithe designation to the Orphans and Vulnerable Groups Fund, which provides housing solutions for the most vulnerable, such as orphans and ethnic groups facing persecution.
I’m looking forward to continuing learning about Mexico’s housing context and solutions, and hope to share more here along the way. In the meantime, here are some more photos:
This group was so special, instantly clicking together on our very first night. Shown above: crunchy grasshoppers with guacamole; group photo in Coyoacán, Mexico City; generous gifts from Habitat Mexico staff; my daily concha; margaritas with Vania; never miss a chance for Habi-TATs; the group in Tlaxcala; a sip of tequila.
We spent a magical day touring an orchard and farm to learn about the crops grown there, before visiting Arte Mágico and getting to make our very own Magic Carpets of Huamantla from dyed sawdust, which is then taken back to the farm for compost.
Elsewhere
Save the date for next year’s
: Sunday, May 4, 2025!
You are wonderful.😍