If it is bad to be disillusioned, it must be good to be Illusioned, right? The name of course is a kind of provocation, and though on one hand it is a criticism of how institutions have been doing community development and poverty reduction it is founded on principals of appreciation of gifts and abilities instead of weakness and need. Some of these ideas are notnew, a myriad of methodologies have been developed over the years: Appreciative Inquiry, Asset Based Community De

Three men, four women and three children went walking, talking and discovering that which is their own, that which is close yet far. The partly-paved street surprised the women, “How pretty in contrast to the streets made out of dirt where we live.” There is an events hall en La Estacion, there you can have your party. Lupita brought her baby doll along for the walk. The theme of gender began to come out. Women in La Estacion barely have time for themselves or to go about cas

Brief Background on Social Illusionism “Social Illusionism” is an innovative, international approach to participatory community work. In Mexico the work began over five years ago with the collaboration of social workers, architects, professors and neighbors. Most of our work is carried out in two marginalized communities called Estacion and Texcal (as well as work that is carried out in an indigenous community called Ocotopec). Estacion is an illegally-formed “shanty” town in

In the beginning of December a group of academics, community workers, city and neighborhood officials and participants of the community center of La Estacion sat around to plan on how to recover the antique train station of Cuernavaca. Los Patios de la Estacion is situated in the heart of Cuernavaca. Around it are the historic center, main market, pre-Hispanic ruins and parks, as well as routes for 19 different local busses. Situated right in the center of La Estacion is the

A few people started to gather at 11AM on the dot, getting ready to participate in the “Project,” as some participants in the Community Center refer to it. Around 15 school desk chairs, the same ones the children use every morning for the breakfast program, were being lined up in the traditional lines and row style. However, once everyone was settled in, the chairs were realigned into a semi-circle, to enhance group dynamic. At about a quarter after 11 we began to talk about

Today Emelia, Roberto, Ana, Francis and Teo, along with Erik and Juan Manuel, participated in mapping. It was hot; spring came early in Cuernavaca this year. It usually arrives by the 21st of March. The birds perched up in trees, right now are singing and making lots of noise. We went to La Estacion´s ex-train station, a very pretty building. Even though it seems like it is federal property, we talked about how we can use this space for communal gatherings, or for the town´s

During Holy Week, the CCIDD team invited La Estacion residents to participate in a cleaning activity. The youth, women and children walking along streets and pathways, collected garbage and recyclable materials. Afterwards, participants relaxed in the Community Center. As refreshing juice and chicken soup was served, the participants watched a movie about community organizing and recycling in the neighborhood of San Anton.

From intuition mapping, we come across the following: That we the UNILCO-Mexico team was not assaulted walking along the streets of La Estacion. A strip of beef was hung up on a cloth line. We hung up the Cloth Line of Wishes were participants on pieces of paper wrote down their desires for their community and hung them up on a cloth line. There were wishes to eat, to take children on walks to the ravines and to organizing the community into action. Fresvinda, staff at the C

The Free University for a Collective Construction (La Universidad Libre para la Construción Colectiva) or UNILOCO´s Mexico team is initiating a remodeling project for the Los Patios de la La Estacion Community Center. The center is found in one of the oldest parts of Cuernavaca, imbedded in the ex-railway system that ran between Mexico and Cuernavaca. The railway was inaugurated in 1987 in this paradise-like location, as local authors have stated. Los Patios de la Estación is

GETTING TO KNOW THE RAVINES OF CUERNAVACA: Lots of moms along with their children and one dad, on the morning of April 9th, took a short bus ride from their neighborhood in La Estacion to the Amanalco ravine located in the historic center of Cuernavaca. The ravine has been converted into a park, with walking pathways curving around the roots of hundred-year old trees and into the river found at the bottom. Our tour was guided by city park officials, who shared with us a littl