Cecadhhi is an intercultural and multidisciplinary non-profit organization integrated by women. Our goal is to contribute to the self-determination of indigenous peoples through the collective legal defense of territories and forests, participatory action research, and the production and dissemination of collective knowledge. The axes of our work are anti-racism and the focus on women and youth.
History
The founders of this project began their work in the Sierra Tarahumara in 2009, through volunteer service and work in non-governmental organizations in various communities in the municipalities of Guachochi, Bocoyna and Urique. During this period the volunteer work was oriented in two main areas: the rights of indigenous peoples, their autonomy in conflict resolution, and the rights of Rarámuri women.
Regarding indigenous rights, we carried out training activities for Rarámuri authorities in the area, for the Rarámuri peoples to defend their territory and natural resources. We also accompanied in processes of conciliation of conflicts over territory, at the invitation of the Rarámuri authorities, where we privileged the dialogue of the community and the word of its authorities, so that our support focused solely on clarifying what was requested, from the legal interpretation of the rights.
In the area of Rarámuri women's rights, we worked specifically with a group of women in the community of Samachike. We elaborated a diagnosis of their own conceptualization of their situation and value within the family and community context, and we worked for more than a year in weekly sessions of reflection and training on women's rights.
The work in non-governmental organizations focused on the areas of environment and territory, as well as food autonomy of the people, work that allowed us to know different realities of the Sierra Tarahumara, as well as the situation of vulnerability of the most basic human rights such as nutrition and health. For this reason, we opted for the defense of the core rights of indigenous peoples, which are autonomy and territory, so that the communities themselves can achieve the effectiveness of their individual human rights through the management of their own resources and organization.
We promote women's integral well-being and participation in decision-making and community organization based on the recognition and respect for their knowledge and rights
We provide free legal advice for the collective defense of indigenous territories and their natural resources.
In Cecaddhi, we understand defense as the collective and ongoing construction of the indigenous people's law, intercultural legal dialogue, and the collective claim for justice based on other forms of historical continuity and resistance of the indigenous peoples. In this sense, the legal defense of rights is only a tool, not the organization's heart.
We carry out research projects based on our collaborative experiences. The objective is the analysis and transformation of our praxis and the production of accessible work materials that contribute to the community processes that we support and other related processes and actors.
At cecaddhi, action research is a work methodology that recognizes the vital link between research and active collaboration in social processes. Without research, the work lacks direction and strategy. Without active and responsible partnerships, research is sterile and extractive.
We design training programs on territory, rights, and anti-racism and gender violence. The target population is indigenous communities and authorities, youth, women, and other groups of interest that help defend the territory and promote the protagonist of indigenous peoples.
