ED Visits Peace Fund Grantee in Chiapas
Executive director Jason Smith recently traveled to Chiapas in southern Mexico. He visited the Mayan Intercultural Seminary (SIM), a Peace Fund recipient led by board member Dalia Juarez, from September 3–9. He cataloged his trip in images, which you can find below.
Colin Holtz, associate pastor of the Church at Ponce and Highland in Atlanta, Ga., takes a selfie with a group at Iglesia de Cristo Nuevo Pacto (Church of the New Covenant), in the community of Nichén Chamula. Jason had the opportunity to lead a session on “peacemaking and self-care” with an intergenerational group.
Jason provides assistance to a team shoveling sheep dung, probiotics, leaves, and wood ash to make organic fertilizer for use in community gardens. Professor Eleazar Encino (black hat, third from right), coordinator of productive projects through the seminary’s Center for Reflection and Action leads SIM’s organic farming initiative with over 40 indigenous communities around San Cristobal.
Here, Jason assists the team with bringing concrete blocks to the home of the pastor of Iglesia de Cristo Nuevo Pacto (New Covenant Church of Christ) to build a prototype of the eco-friendly toilets. SIM has recently begun a project to install eco-friendly toilets in indigenous communities around Chiapas.
Jason was gifted a traditional Tzotzil Mayan Jerca, a white wooly vest handmade by members of the Iglesia de Cristo Nuevo Pacto (New Covenant Church of Christ). He felt “deeply humbled.”
SIM began a small organic garden on site at Iglesia de Cristo Nuevo Pacto (New Covenant Church of Christ). It grows vegetables and fruit with the aid of all-natural organic fertilizer.
Jason interviews SIM director Rev. Dalia Juarez about the work of the seminary and her idea of peace with justice in the context of Chiapas.
Jason and SIM team members assemble an organic fertilizer.
