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       Campo Stories

Thursday morning we head out into the countryside or campo. Our first stop is the small city of Nochixlan in the Mixteca region of Oaxaca state. The Mixteca region is one of the most eroded areas in the world, and has the highest rate of migration in Oaxaca State. We meet with the Center for the Integral Development of the Mixteca Countryside (CEDICAM). There we learn about community projects, such as reforestation, sustainable agriculture and protecting native seeds. One intent of these programs is to help stop the migration to Mexico City or the United States. (report on CEDICAM meeting coming soon).

After meeting with CEDICAM we travel the community of La Providencia, which contains fewer than 50 families, to start our two day homestay with a family in the campo. We travel there to the community in three trucks down a sometimes narrow dirt mountain road.

 We are met at the school by a group of people from the community. They wait for us on benches in a roofed area in front of the school. Once we all arrive we are officially welcomed and divided into groups of three or four to stay with different families. Then we disperse to stay with our families.

See photos on one group's experiences. More photos of other campo families and of the countryside coming soon.

After we say our goodbyes to the families, we leave again for Nochixlan, where we will catch a bus to Mexico City.

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