CB
Cory Barker
  • sociology
  • Class of 2015
  • Atglen, Pa.

Barker of Atglen Takes Advantage of New Widener University Study Abroad Trip to Puebla, Mexico

2015 Feb 5

Cory Barker of Atglen, Pa., took advantage of a new winter break trip offered through the Widener University course Women & Development in Latin America. The course commenced January 2 with a trip to developing areas within the state of Puebla, Mexico.

The trip largely focused on the role of indigenous women in the development of the region and the range of challenges faced by these women, who are oppressed both because of their sex and because of their ethnicity.

Barker, a criminal justice/sociology senior at Widener, visited two eco-tourism lodges run by indigenous women's cooperatives. The first, Kakiwin Tutunaku, is located in the remote village of Huehuetla, five hours by bus north of Puebla. The women there presented to the Widener group on the history of the cooperative, the challenges they face as indigenous women, and their ability to enact social change despite a scarcity of resources.

While visiting Kakiwin Tutunaku, the Widener group also explored the culture of the indigenous people, which included cooking lessons, dance demonstrations, a discussion about healing practices with a curandera, and exposure to the local vernacular, Totonac.

The Widener students took on a service project to build a Lorena wood-saving stove that is critical to the Totonac people's culture and the sustainability of their environment. Now that the students are back in the states, they'll continue a second service project to enhance the website and social media used to promote Kakiwin Tutunaku to help ensure its continued success.

The Widener group witnessed the practices of a more established operation during its second stop in Cuetzalan, one of Mexico's "magical villages" and home to the Taselotzin eco-tourism lodge. The trip ended in the city of Puebla with a visit to Xasasti Yolistli, a capacity-building NGO that encompasses many women's cooperatives in the region.