Alquimia: The Alchemy of Cross-Pollination in Movement Learning

Abstract:We explore the meaning, significance, and specific practices of feminist pedagogy of the Alquimia Feminist Leadership Schools. In this paper we show how these schools, convened by Just Associates (JASS) in Mesoamerica and nurtured from the experience of JASS globally, contribute to strengthening movements and movement leaders (largely Indigenous and rural land defenders). We examine how Alquimia creates safe spaces and uses feminist popular education to challenge and transform aspects of power that marginalize, demean, and threaten women and their communities, while catalyzing imagination and action for long-term social justice and change agendas.