RCE Borderlands Mexico-USA - 2018

CURRENT PROJECT 7. Ejido Favela Museum, Organic Agriculture Demonstration Site, Art Gallery, Store and Bustillos Lake Restoration Centre
CSV
Basic Information
Title of project : 
CURRENT PROJECT 7. Ejido Favela Museum, Organic Agriculture Demonstration Site, Art Gallery, Store and Bustillos Lake Restoration Centre
Submitting RCE: 
RCE Borderlands México-USA
Contributing organization(s) : 
1) Museo Ejido Favela
Domicilio Conocido
Ejido Favela
Municipio de Cuauhtémoc, Chih.
31606 México

2) Living Lab/Centro de Diálogo y Transformación Inc.
Priv. de Encino 1905-2
Col. Granjas
Chihuahua, Chih.
31100 México
Focal point(s) and affiliation(s)
Name: 
Elizabeth Dávila García
Organizational Affiliation: 
Museo Ejido Favela (Tel. +521 625 156 5795)
E-mail: 
living.lab.cdt.inc@gmail.com
Name: 
Eliseo Ángel Villegas Juárez
Organizational Affiliation: 
Museo Ejido Favela (Tel. +521 625 114 5281)
E-mail: 
living.lab.cdt.inc@gmail.com
Name: 
Carolina López C.
Organizational Affiliation: 
Living Lab/Centro de Diálogo y Transformación Inc.
E-mail: 
living.lab.cdt.inc@gmail.com
Format of project: 
Community activies for Sustainable Development, Publications, PPTs, Workshops and Trainings
Language of project: 
Spanish
Date of submission:
Monday, October 22, 2018
Web link: 
https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Organization/Living-LabCentro-de-Di%C3%A1logo-y-Transformaci%C3%B3n-Borderlands-M%C3%A9xico-USA-1080731175368081/
Additional resources: 
http://sic.gob.mx/ficha.php?table=museo&table_id=1654
Does this project link to any education and/or sustainable development policy or policies?: 
Yes
Decreto que establece la Ley sobre Vestigios y Restos Fósiles
At what level is the policy operating?: 
National
Ley de Desarrollo Rural Sustentable
At what level is the policy operating?: 
National
Agenda 2030
At what level is the policy operating?: 
International
Geographical & Education Information
Region: 
Americas
Country: 
Mexico
Location(s): 
Ejido Favela, Municipio de Cuauhtémoc, Chihuahua, México
Address of focal point institution for project: 
Museo Ejido Favela
Domicilio Conocido
Ejido Favela
Municipio de Cuauhtémoc, Chih.
31606 México
Ecosystem(s):
Agricultural, Fresh water, Grassland, Wetlands
Target Audience:
Community, Higher, Primary, Secondary, Youth (Informal)
Socioeconomic and environmental characteristics of the area : 
Ejido Favela is a collectively-held agricultural village located on the shore of Bustillos Lake in Cuauhtémoc Municipality, Chihuahua México.

Both fishing and farming have been traditional sources of livelihood in Ejido Favela, with agriculture constituting the bulk of economic activities in the community. Ponderosa paper mill and plywood producer established a factory on the shore of Bustillos Lake in 1956. Over these years, the factory has discarded its effluents into the lake, causing severe problems of contamination and pollution. As such, fishing is not currently a safe or a lucrative activity.

Among other sustainable development activities, the current project aims to launch a Bustillos Lake Restoration Center Wildlife Preserve.
Description of sustainable development challenge(s) in the area the project addresses: 
° Solving the problem of toxic dumping into Bustillos Lake
° Restoring the Lake and making it an attractive place for wildlife to return to make their homes
° Housing, classifying and safeguarding the mammoth cemetery and other natural and human relics from the Bustillos Lake region
° Spreading sustainable agricultural techniques among farmers in the region
° Helping farmers move away from dependency on genetically-altered seeds and chemical fertilizers
° Soil restoration
° Restoring water quality for human, animal and agricultural uses
° Safety and security of the human community
Contents
Status: 
Ongoing
Period: 
April, 2018 to December, 2038
Rationale: 
1) The Eco-Museum building is needed since the Ejido Favela Museum & Demonstration Site is currently housed in a small inhabited home. The Eco-Museum and Learning Center will provide informal and non-formal educational activities that are highly relevant to the locality, i.e. natural history, education on local flora and fauna, paleontology, sustainable organic agriculture, water restoration & conservation, food security, cottage industry, local economic revitalization; dehydrating, canning and preserving harvested crops, among others.

2) The site will offer a community center for educational and social activities for the communities of Ejido Favela, Anáhuac and Cuauhtémoc, Chihuahua.

3) Recycling, waste management and construction with recycled materials are skills needed a) to help create dwellings for the less-well-off, b) to help clean up the region and, c) to generate income from items produced from recycled materials, i.e. handbags, arts, crafts, etc.

4) Community training for sustainable livelihoods is imperative, as it helps ensure food security, self-sufficiency and human wellbeing.

5) The restoration of Bustillos Lake, along with its flora and fauna is greatly needed in order to improve human health and environmental wellbeing.
Objectives: 
° Construct a 20 x 15 m2 building to house the museum, multipurpose classroom, store and art gallery, 2 bathrooms, Bustillos Lake Restoration Centre, community activity center
° Make the Ejido Favela Eco-Museum and Learning Centre economically self-sustaining
° Produce and sell art and agricultural products from the demonstration site
° Offer to sell for local artists and farmers on consignment
° Offer courses, workshops and conferences, i.e. organic agriculture, art, small business development, etc. according to the needs of the community
° Teach and demonstrate recycling and waste management for the community and visitors
° Train community members for sustainable livelihoods, i.e. recycling-based handicrafts, cottage industry, sustainable organic agriculture, canning & dehydrating foodstuffs, etc.
° Offer wild animal observation activities
° Organize Bustillos Lake education and restoration activities
Activities and/or practices employed: 
Current activities include the following:

° Schools in the region send children on field trips to Ejido Favela Museum
° Sustainable Organic Agriculture workshops are offered at the demonstration site
° Painting and art workshops are offered at the site

Future activities are summarized in the 'Objectives' section above.

Size of academic audience: 
Currently the audience reached is probably nearing 1,000 individuals. With the proposed expansion and the publication of project results, we hope to reach several thousand individuals and communities.
Results: 
Results of current activities:

° Children learn about the natural and the social history of the Bustillos Lake region
° Farmers and other participants learn about Sustainable Organic Agriculture
° Children and other participants learn how to paint and to create locally-relevant handicrafts

Expected results from the proposed expansion include:

° The creation of a Community Center, a Lake Restoration Center, a multipurpose classroom, a store & art gallery for local products and, a facility to house the existing Museum holdings that would a) allow the Museum’s founders to recover their home and b) be a larger space where all anthropological and paleontological specimens will be properly labelled and displayed. (The current space is insufficient for the aforementioned).
° The Ejido Favela Eco-Museum and Learning Centre will become economically self-sustaining
° Fresh and preserved local organic agricultural and art products will be sold at the Museum Store
° Courses, workshops and conferences will be offered on organic agriculture, art, small business development, etc. according to the needs of the community
° Recycling and waste management will be demonstrated, and participants will be taught how to turn ‘trash into treasures’
° Community members will be trained in different aspects of sustainable living, i.e. recycling-based handicrafts, cottage industry, sustainable organic agriculture, canning & dehydrating foodstuffs, etc.
° Bustillos Lake water, flora and fauna restoration activities will be held at the center
Lessons learned: 
° People have a great desire to learn about the natural and the anthropological history in the region
° Local farmers want to learn about Sustainable Organic Agriculture, since they struggle greatly with the economic dependency created by the use of hybrid patented seeds and costly chemical fertilizers
° Both the agro-toxins and the effluents from the paper mill into the Lake have been documented to cause health problems for humans and for the lake's fauna
° People in the region seek to break out of the cycle of poverty and dependency
° Helping to create local sustainable livelihoods should help a) to retain youth in the area and b) to allow people options for licit livelihoods-- beyond the current options of earning a living in the elicit activities present in the region, migrating to cities or to the USA in search of employment
Key messages: 
The challenges of poverty, violence, unemployment and environmental damage in the region CAN BE TRANSFORMED. We are very fortunate to have committed people who wish to lead these efforts.
Relationship to other RCE activities: 
The Museo Ejido Favela project forms part of RCE BMU's Sustainability Corridor, which runs through Western Central Chihuahua state.
Funding: 
° The Museum charges an admission fee of $15.00 pesos per child and $25.00 pesos for adults.

° Cuauhtémoc Municipal Government provides $4,500.00 pesos per month to help support the Organic Agriculture Demonstration Site located on the Museum property

° A small fee is charged to participants in the Organic Agriculture and the Art courses and workshops

° Museum co-founder and artist, Mrs. Elizabeth Dávila, is hired from time to time to paint murals in communities throughout the region.

° Mrs. Dávila sells her paintings, sculptures, arts and crafts in the region and to visitors to the Museum and Demonstration Site

Pictures:

File Name Caption for picture Photo Credit
Image icon 1. Children. 7-11-18.jpg (42.83 KB) Young visitors to the Ejido Favela Museum Eliseo Villegas
Image icon 2. Cultural History. 7-11-18.jpg (48.71 KB) Cultural history from the Bustillos Lake region. Elizabeth Dávila
Image icon 3. Organic Ag. Demo. Site. 7-11-18.jpg (92.82 KB) Museo Ejido Favela Organic Agriculture Demonstration Site Carolina López C.
A recycled tire turned into a flower pot and an artistic creation Elizabeth Dávila
Image icon 5. Organic Ag Demo Site. 7-11-18.jpeg (116.3 KB) Edible cactus, a traditional staple grown at the Demonstration Site. Eliseo Villegas
Image icon 6. Founders. Ag Site. 7-11-18.jpg (35.13 KB) Museo Ejido Favela Founders Elizabeth Dávila and Eliseo Villegas at the Organic Agriculture Demonstration Site. Carolina López C.
Image icon 7. School Children at Mural. 7-11-18.jpg (117.73 KB) School chidlren posing at one of the Museum's murals Elizabeth Dávila
References and reference materials: 
File Fondeo. Favela. 15-10-18.pptx
File MUSEO DE PALEONTOLOGÍA EJIDO FAVELA, A.pptx
PDF icon 7. Museum-Demo Site Summary. Funding. 7-11-18.pdf
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
(https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdgs) and other themes of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)
SDG 1 - End poverty in all its forms everywhere 
Direct
SDG 2 - End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture 
Direct
SDG 3 - Ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages 
Direct
SDG 4 - Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all 
Indirect
SDG 5 - Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls 
Indirect
SDG 6 - Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all 
Direct
SDG 7 - Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all 
Indirect
SDG 8 - Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all 
Direct
SDG 9 - Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation, and foster innovation 
Indirect
SDG 10 - Reduce inequality within and among countries 
Direct
SDG 11 - Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable 
Direct
SDG 12 - Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns 
Direct
SDG 13 - Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts 
Direct
SDG 14 - Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development 
Indirect
SDG 15 - Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification and halt and reverse land degradation, and halt biodiversity loss 
Direct
SDG 16 - Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels 
Indirect
SDG 17 - Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development 
Indirect
Theme
Disaster Risk Reduction 
Indirect
Traditional Knowledge  
Direct
Agriculture 
Direct
Arts 
Direct
Curriculum Development 
Indirect
Ecotourism 
Direct
Forests/Trees 
Indirect
Plants & Animals 
Direct
Waste 
Direct
Global Action Programme (GAP) on Education for Sustainable Development – Priority Action Areas
Priority Action Area 1 - Advancing policy 
Indirect
Priority Action Area 2 - Transforming learning and training environments 
Direct
Priority Action Area 3 - Building capacities of educators and trainers 
Direct
Priority Action Area 4 - Empowering and mobilizing youth 
Direct
Priority Action Area 5 - Accelerating sustainable solutions at local level 
Direct
Update: 
No