In the Q & A with Zapatista representatives from the 12 caracoles, at the Encuentro de Resistencias y Rebeldías “Some Parts of the Whole,” August 15th 2025.

Dear compañeras, compañeros, compañeroas,
To all who have supported our work over the years,

Chiapas is a living school, born of 500 years of resistance. Forty-two years since the foundation of the EZLN, thirty-two since the uprising, seeds sown in the Mexican southeast bear fruit in geographies far away. It is a place where a common language was born, where lessons are shared —and when we convene from time to time in territorio Zapatista, it is a place where el Común grows stronger as our diverse struggles intertwine. 

The Zapatista Encounter of Resistance and Rebellion this August was a seminar of “some parts of the whole” from 40 different countries. The stories were distinctly human — of being afraid, of making mistakes, and also of profound dedication, creativity in our common vocation of defending life. This, after all, is the territory of el Común.

Chiapas has been a deep dive into many facets of solidarity and autonomy, and an ongoing reminder that the defense of life is collective work that requires constant learning. And it has never been more relevant than now. Our work after 30 years continues in a continuous life-cycle, at once sowing seeds and harvesting the fruits of an ongoing apprenticeship. 

The entry points to learning are endless, be they in weavings or in games. Girls of many ages join in one of the women’s literacy workshops.

Education Takes Many Forms

An autonomous school now sits at the center of the community, where just a year ago a dream was sown. Children scramble up the steps to learn from one of several education promoters—and from one another. The promoters themselves engage in the process of constant learning together.

At other times, women gather in this same space to advance their skills in reading, writing and beyond. In the company of sisters, they explore their own strengths, passions and potential.  

Learning flows in every direction: from student to teacher, from elder to child.
This, where the laughter of children is both the soundtrack and the goal.

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Community, Health, and Resilience

On the coast of Chiapas, women healers  gather under fruit trees, sharing ancestral remedies and the knowledge learned in recent community workshops. They carry the wisdom of their elders and the experiences of their families and communities. Amidst the hum of conversation, and explosions of laughter, they also share their health problems and other concerns.

Together they prepare tinctures, exchange stories, and strengthen their collective resilience. In the absence of public healthcare, they build their own —not only with plants and knowledge, but with mutual care. 

Every gathering becomes an act of resistance and hope.

In a community health workshop with organized women from the coast of Chiapas, preparing an herbal cough syrup for Covid 19.

Sendas: where paths cross

In San Cristóbal, Sendas continues to grow as a space of learning, creativity, and encounter.

The barista fires up the espresso machine as people filter in for a meeting or to work awhile. Farmers arrive with an abundance of fresh organic food; artisans from one of dozens of collectives in resistance may come by to replenish their wares; poets and musicians stop in to share time and a word.

It is a collaboration of the greater community —hosting language and dance lessons, workshops and weekly seminars, book releases and art exhibits. Where creativity, camaraderie and coffee coincide, solidarity thrives, and solutions are set in motion. 

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Looking ahead

As 2025 draws to a close, we carry with us countless small acts of love and interconnectedness —a shared meal, a class, a seed planted, a story told— that together form a network of care, creativity, and resistance.

Across communities and continents, this invisible mycelial web continues to grow stronger, taking root in the cracks of the system. Despite the forces of dispossession and destruction, we are learning, rebuilding, and rising together.

We are constantly and collectively in formation, students of an intensive seminar in solidarity, reciprocity and cooperation.
Through it all, Chiapas remains our classroom.

Your support continues to make all of this possible.

Every workshop, every child in class, every healing circle, every open door at Sendas —all are living proof of what we can build together. We invite you to visit, to subscribe to our blog and newsletter, and to continue learning alongside us.

As we prepare for another year of sowing and growing, we ask for your continued support. Your donation helps sustain these spaces of autonomy and hope, and keeps alive the spirit of a world where many worlds fit.

Wishing you curiosity and imagination, perserverance and resilience as 2025 ends.  May the seeds of our diverse struggles find fertile soil in our work in Común.

From all of us at Schools for Chiapas,
Peace, with Justice and Dignity for All

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