Hello.
If I may. This conversation makes me uncomfortable. Why are you (not
just you, Geoff, general You, or specifically Steve) talking about a
Mexican co-op without engaging a Mexican voice that represents this co-
op on this listserve? It feels patronizing and frankly, kind of
racist. Leave the people who are making that space happen to figure
out their own space. If the Mexicans who are involved have a problem
with the "international" travellers, I am sure they can handle it.
Or, why not invite them to take part in this conversation or a
conversation in person at Bike!Bike!? If they need your "help" I'm
sure they would ask.
I realize I may be opening a big can of worms for a larger dialogue
that I don't think is best served by an email thread on a listserve
and unfortunately, I won't be at Bike!Bike! this year to continue, but
I don't want to talk about a co-op in Mexico or any other co-op unless
it's with the people running it everyday.
This is my own personal opinion and in no way represents the Cooks of
the Bicycle Kitchen.
Respectfully,
Kelly Martin
On May 11, 2012, at 1:52 PM, Geoff Heath wrote:
Hi folks Just as an add-on to what Steve from Santa Cruz had to say about El
Machete; This past winter I went down to San Cris after replying to El Machete's request for help and donations over the thinktank list. I donated tools, stayed and helped out for a little over a month. Steve is right in that it wasn't what I expected; mostly international travellers, based out of a collective punk house, pretty disorganized. Very few bikes/parts worth salvaging from the scrapyards and no international bike donations established makes for difficult builds/repairs. But in Machete's defense, it was a very new project and none of the collective members had prior community bike shop experience (but were inspired to take this project on after bike touring canada/US and seeing our wonderful network of community bike shops). Machete may be lacking in some long term vision, organization, and quiet places to sleep, but they are trying their best, hopefully learning from their mistakes and were the talk of the town over the winter. I think their main downfall was too few people tried to do far too much, which is a common fault that many of us share. So feel free to go visit them and lend a hand. They could use your help! But don't go expecting an established project or a chill place to sleep. In solidarity, -- Geoff Heath, Mechanical Director The Winnipeg Repair Education N' Cycling Hub 1057 Logan Ave. Winnipeg, MB R3E 3N8 www.TheWrench.ca _______________________________________________ Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org To unsubscribe, send a blank email to TheThinkTank-leave@bikecollectives.org To manage your subscription, plase visit: http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o...