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 Development, Outcome Mapping, Asset Mapping, etc. But Social Illusionism brings some new philosophical theories to the table as well as some innovative tools. Most development models involve giving or providing people or

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 casually walking around in the public. She is too busy picking up her children from school, making food and taking care of her family. Sometimes there is even limited time to enjoy a taco, she has to eat quickly. In additio

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 invasion around the former train station of Cuernavaca. The bountiful natural lands of Texcal for the past two decades have been slowly disappearing from the hands of communal-land owners to municipal housing construction

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 over 100-year old, inactive train station. Slowly it is being recuperated not only by officials but the neighborhood residents as well. [if gte vml 1]><v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75" coordsize="21600,21600" o:spt="75" o:pr

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 the idea of remodeling the Community Center into something that is more participatory. We played a game to better understand relation dynamics in La Estacion. Passing around a ball of yarn, each person shared what they l

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 hour as Mexicans say. The women utilized this time to get to know one another better. For example, Francis shared that her family lived in a train wagon. Some people recollected sad times, like what happened with Teo´s 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 Community Center says, “We no longer want informative workshops but to do things.” Men drinking and eating , children playing video games How meals are celebrated at the “project.” New arrivals are always invited to eat a

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 considered as a squatting settlement by local authorities, and is located near a health center. For years, officials have implemented ineffective relocation programs. In fact, this year the municipality of Cuernavaca 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 little bit about the history of the river formation and the importance of taking care of the environment. The children listened to the guide while stretching out on their tip-toes and looking down below into the foam and bubb

Mapping, mapping, life navigating In the walk we find histories People that are present and others that are not We find places that do and do not exist We find hope Even though we don’t have anything strategic And who knows if it will ever be There is water to drink during these dry seasons Mapping, mapping one finds coincidences Surprises and groups Spaces and community life The intense communal life of Cuernavaca´s La Estacion

This past month has been full of festivities: celebrating the last days of classes for children and the town’s Patron, Apostle St. James celebration. The Community Mapping group, part of the Community Center Remodeling Project, has taken advantage of this time to share with the rest of the neighborhood what they have been doing and learning. These summer months they have seen how to cultivate mushrooms and construct dry toilets from a house visit in the city of Ocotepec. They have carryed out two cleaning campaigns in the neighborhood, and with the money gathered from recycling material visited the scenic train of Cuernavaca, and bought plants to trade in for recycling material with other ne