CATIS Development
Dear Friend
Hello and welcome from Instituto Tierra y Cal,
A.C., and Ingenieros Sin Fronteras, Mexico, A.C.!
Tierra y Cal (literally: earth and lime) is a
nonprofit organized in Mexico which provides
training in construction with compressed earth
blocks and other sustainable and appropriate
technologies. Ingenieros Sin Fronteras (Engineers
without Borders) Mexico (ISF-Mexico) is a Mexican
nonprofit which provides technical training and
assistance in a wide range of appropriate and
sustainable technologies, as well.
Our organizations are comprised of engineers and
students, architects, builders, community organizers,
and other professionals and experts in diverse
fields of sustainable development. We are
committed to participating with rural, poor and
indigenous communities – throughout Mexico, Latin
America and the globe – in developing sustainable
and environmentally friendly technologies that
maintain and restore the health and wellbeing of
community life.
To address the challenges facing low-income
families and communities, rural and urban alike,
ITyC and ISF-Mexico have entered into a
strategic alliance to promote the building of the
CATIS (Centro de Tecnologias Apropiadas y Sustentabilidad Indigena
) in San Miguel de Allende,
Guanajuato, Mexico. The CATIS
will be the physical core of a system of satellite
organizations, universities and communities that
will form a network, offering training and
educational opportunities throughout Mexico and
Latin America. Trainings at the CATIS will
provide the necessary skills for Partner Trainers
and members of target communities to develop their
own ecosystem-based enterprise opportunities;
thus acting as an intervention strategy to stem the
exodus to urban centers. Instead of accepting
the 'inevitability of urbanization', ITyC
and ISF-Mexico see the transformation of rural
economies and resurgence of healthy rural
communities as contributing factors to rural,
and consequently, global, sustainability.
Strengthening the ability of rural communities to
survive in a sustainable manner serves to protect
the land base and rural and indigenous cultures,
which are so necessary to sustain vibrant and
healthy urban centers.
We are starting our Phase 1 workshop on September
6th, 2010 which will develop the
infrastructure to house up to 25 students,
volunteers and trainees for future workshops – a
critical step in the development of the CATIS.
To fund this phase, we are reaching deeply into or
own pockets and we are asking for support from you,
our friends, families, stakeholders and those we
have worked with over the years. Currently,
our organizations are made up exclusively of
volunteers and the money you donate will result in
the direct action towards the construction of the
CATIS.
While ITYC and ISF-Mexico are registered
nonprofit organizations in Mexico, we currently do
not have 501c (3) status in the US. However,
all donations are still tax deductible if made to
one of our partner organizations:
Birambye International (http://www.birambye.org/).
Your gift is a critical part of our efforts to
improve the lives of rapidly disintegrating rural
communities of the global south.
Many thanks for your support,
sincerely, Instituto Tierra y Cal and Ingenieros Sin Fronteras México,
A.C.
JUST CLICK THE BUTTON BELOW TO DONATE!!
Though your donation will be processed through our partner organization, Birambye International, it will be earmarked for the CATIS program through Instituto Tierra y Cal and Ingenieros Sin Fronteras Mexico, A.C.