¡Saludos a los amigos de la casa de la paz!

A few words to introduce myself and invite you to share your ideas as the Oaxaca Peace House (Casa Chapulín) begins to take shape…

My name is Diana Denham and I´m looking forward to coordinating the new Peace House opening in Oaxaca in a few short months. Presently I´m in training in Chiapas and it´s been a busy and exciting few weeks of networking with local organizations, participating in workshops, visiting communities and generally learning the ropes.

I spent the last year working in northeastern Brasil with the MST- the Landless Movement for Agrarian Reform- and researching local political projects emphasizing the authentic inclusion of traditionally marginalized communities. Before moving to Brasil, I studied Comparative Development and Latin American Studies and spent a year abroad in Cuba and Mexico. In the U.S., I coordinated the MET Family Literacy Program for Social Change, a project which connects adult immigrants with community and educational resources available to them in Rhode Island.

I also enjoy working with independent media and making documentary films. Two projects I´ve worked on in the past year include -The Right to Share in our Common Wealth- documenting participants in a Workers Party project for political inclusion in Brasil and -Hermanas de la Tierra Viva- about how women in the Sierra Norte of Oaxaca have organized as the men have migrated north.

I´ve been living in Oaxaca for the past six months and am very excited about helping get Casa Chapulín off the ground. I´m looking forward to imagining ways that our solidarity work can collaborate with both urban and rural resistance movements and local organizations. I`m also interested in engaging the issue of immigration and more generally, the idea of making a rural, agricultural way of life a viable and sustainable option. I hope to have a lot of input about the shaping of the collective, so please send your thoughts and inspirations to me at casachapulin@gmail.com!

Saludos y paz,
Diana