democratic musings

Here again, seated in mi cuartito en the community of El Roblar. Today I had the opportunity to attend my first meeting of one of the cooperative groups, that being all the members of the ecotourism project here in this community.
From that meeting I have really remembered that that is what I am here to study. How people who have agreed to work together are doing so, what topics and problems and issues they have, as well as what successes. Today’s meeting was very interesting, because it was about choosing two fincas to be the fincas modelos. Two of the six members were absent, and what came up was a brief discussion about responsibility and accountability amongst the members. The ever-present problem of how to take into account the opinions and ideas of someone that isn’t there, of the necessity of having everyone present in a democracy.
So it seems that it is really a project about democracy on a small scale, and in places where the everyday negotiations may or may not be thought of in this light. I am trying to discover how cooperatives help people work together in a way that is supportive and inclusive, that recognizes the diverse experiences and humanity of all involved. How it is that coming together aids this process, or doesn’t, and what other factors contribute. Interestingly enough, the meetings seem to remind me in many ways of the Womyn’s Center, or ICWES, of organizations in which I have taken part that seek to identify and tackle problems in a democratic way. People may be reticent to say what they think, but everyone is respectful, and trying to ensure that everyone understands why particular things are happening in certain ways. There are also a few people, for example Pedro, who seems to be here to facilitate the present group in reaching their own decision, something that definitely seems to be stressed in this process.
It is interesting to note that looking at the cooperatives cannot be an isolated thing, which I think I thought it would be more or less. But here, as everywhere, there is a multitude of factors and experiences that shape people, from their parents to NGO’s to their everyday lives and their own personalities. Is it a particular kind of person that chooses to join the cooperative? Are those people often involved in other positions of power within the community? How do they foster qualities of leadership in other members? How much does social change have to with the actual, physical environment and how much with the people present? How does all this relate to the power of the human spirit when placed under difficult conditions? To different kinds of knowledge, since many of those that lead and organize here have not even finished elementary school? There are so many questions to which I don’t have answers, and to which I know there are a multitude of answers, it is hard to know how to get at them all. I guess that I will just have to go with what I can here, which is talking to as many people as possible and figuring out what the best questions to ask are as I go.