I’m reflecting on the past week working with Yo’on Ixim, and I have to say, I feel an immense amount of respect and admiration for the women who are part of the cooperative. On Thursday, I had the joy of accompanying them to a culinary workshop at a university where they learned to make cheesecake.
In Mexico, all university students must complete 420 hours of community service before they graduate, and a couple of students are partnering with Yo’on Ixim to teach culinary workshops. The purpose is to teach women how to make different foods so they can sell them at local markets or on the street. Most importantly, the recipes must be relatively inexpensive and they can’t require the use of an oven, freezer or other appliances that the women don’t have access to.
On Thursday, we learned to make cheesecake for two reasons: 1) it doesn’t require an oven, and 2) the women already know how to make jelly, and we can add jelly to the cheesecake and incorporate two of their products!
What impressed me the most was how attentive and eager the women were to learn. Despite the language barrier and not knowing what cheesecake was, they diligently followed the chef’s directions and paid close attention to the entire process.
Not only that, they participated in the workshop carrying babies on their back!!! The three women who attended the workshop are all mothers and could have easily said they couldn’t go because of their children. Instead, they wrapped their little ones on their back and rolled up their sleeves. This simply amazed me because it demonstrates their hunger to learn and their dedication to better themselves. I am grateful that I regularly get to witness their perseverance and find inspiration from them.
All women are powerful. But mothers who fight for their children every day are superheroes in a league of their own.
Trails And Travels 