“Fundación Merced," an organization dedicated to strengthening non-governmental organizations (NGOs), awarded the “Razón de Ser” (Reason for Being) prize to Alternare this year, acknowledging their institutionality, transparency, responsibility and professionalism. Karen Vega, Alternare’s director, and Eduardo García, an instructor trained by Alternare, accepted the award with eloquent speeches. Karen gave some background on Alternare’s 26-year history and talked about their “campesino-to-campesino” methodology and their vision to generate sustainable alternatives through their Comprehensive Sustainable Development Model. Following Karen, Eduardo, a 6th generation instructor from Francisco Serrato indigenous community, greeted the audience in Mazahua and shared his experiences working with Alternare. He described how he has become a community leader teaching others in his community and other indigenous communities the ecological tools he has learned from Alternare, complementing the existing traditional knowledge within the communities.
Congratulations to Alternare and all the communities that share their forests with the amazing monarch butterflies! Alternare's ongoing work towards sustainability is ensuring the overwintering monarchs are greeted by a healthy forest and healthy communities every year. You can see the video of the speeches below (in Spanish).