187
in their homes. The tasks demanded by the group have become part of their daily
routine, even when it can be complicated at times to fulfill them:
Porque salí embarazada cuando recién inicié, entonces todo el embarazo me la pasé… salía
con mi panza, pero salía, pero ya los últimos meses fue cuando yo empecé a trabajar nada
más aquí, a capturar toda la información que me traían… ya después cuando nació la niña
que me la tenía que llevar también a campo…
(I got pregnant just when I started to participate, but I participated the whole period in
all activities with my pregnant belly; during the last months of my pregnancy I worked only
here at the office and began to capture all the information they brought me. Once the girl
was born I had to take her with me to fieldwork...).
Even with financial limitations, the group has continued with bird monitoring, constantly looking for alternatives to fulfill this responsibility:
Pero ya nos habían advertido esto, que iba a tener un tiempo en que no iba a llegarnos nada
y era como que tu prueba de fuego, si le sigues o te paras…
(We had already been warned that there were going to be times when money would not
come, so it was like a fire test: whether you continue or you stop…).
For the group, the ability to act (agency) is not understood as individual skill, but as
a shared possibility (to be able to do) (i.e., Ema 2004). The capacity of agency is
manifested in the actions that seek to contribute to the community, either through
environmental education in schools or actions of care for the environment and the
place where they live. The action of organizing a community bird monitoring group
reflects this capacity:
No pues, poder dejar algo, como enseñarles un poquito de educación ambiental, de enseñar
algo a la comunidad…
(I want to be able to leave something for the community, to teach them a little bit of
environmental education, to teach something to the them).
Teamwork is recognized as one of the strengths of this group, which is linked to the
built communication since its formation. Teamwork is associated with the support
and empathy that are offered when working together:
Y adaptarnos a los problemas que se nos presenten a cada familia, porque muchas pasaron,
por decir las compañeras, una que se fue y la otra y ellas, fue el tiempo que le dio cáncer a
su papá, se perdieron de cursos, se fueron a Ensenada, falleció, o sea fueron muchas cosas,
nos tenemos que adaptar, ellas no podían, pero estamos nosotras que podemos representarlas en una junta o algo…
(We have adapted to the problems we face within each family. One woman’s father got
cancer, went to Ensenada to get treatment for him but he died. She lost many training
courses. Many things happened, but we have to adapt; for example, if some women cannot
attend, then we represent them in a meeting or other activity)
These solidarity actions and support among the women are also associated with the
sorority they have created between them:
-Aguantarnos nuestro genio, o también hemos aprendido al tiempo de ella, de ella, o sea,
¿tú qué vas a hacer? y ¿tú que vas a hacer? si a veces hasta yo si veo que es más complicado
lo de ella pues yo me adapto a lo mío
-Sororidad también, diría alguien por ahí…
-Es la palabrota… es nuestro lema
-Luego estamos así ¡Sororidad, sororidad!
(-We have to tolerate our way of being, we have also learned to do the activities when
our times coincide by asking what the daily activities of each other are.
11 “Women with Wings”: An Experience of Participatory Monitoring in a Natural…
in their homes. The tasks demanded by the group have become part of their daily
routine, even when it can be complicated at times to fulfill them:
Porque salí embarazada cuando recién inicié, entonces todo el embarazo me la pasé… salía
con mi panza, pero salía, pero ya los últimos meses fue cuando yo empecé a trabajar nada
más aquí, a capturar toda la información que me traían… ya después cuando nació la niña
que me la tenía que llevar también a campo…
(I got pregnant just when I started to participate, but I participated the whole period in
all activities with my pregnant belly; during the last months of my pregnancy I worked only
here at the office and began to capture all the information they brought me. Once the girl
was born I had to take her with me to fieldwork...).
Even with financial limitations, the group has continued with bird monitoring, constantly looking for alternatives to fulfill this responsibility:
Pero ya nos habían advertido esto, que iba a tener un tiempo en que no iba a llegarnos nada
y era como que tu prueba de fuego, si le sigues o te paras…
(We had already been warned that there were going to be times when money would not
come, so it was like a fire test: whether you continue or you stop…).
For the group, the ability to act (agency) is not understood as individual skill, but as
a shared possibility (to be able to do) (i.e., Ema 2004). The capacity of agency is
manifested in the actions that seek to contribute to the community, either through
environmental education in schools or actions of care for the environment and the
place where they live. The action of organizing a community bird monitoring group
reflects this capacity:
No pues, poder dejar algo, como enseñarles un poquito de educación ambiental, de enseñar
algo a la comunidad…
(I want to be able to leave something for the community, to teach them a little bit of
environmental education, to teach something to the them).
Teamwork is recognized as one of the strengths of this group, which is linked to the
built communication since its formation. Teamwork is associated with the support
and empathy that are offered when working together:
Y adaptarnos a los problemas que se nos presenten a cada familia, porque muchas pasaron,
por decir las compañeras, una que se fue y la otra y ellas, fue el tiempo que le dio cáncer a
su papá, se perdieron de cursos, se fueron a Ensenada, falleció, o sea fueron muchas cosas,
nos tenemos que adaptar, ellas no podían, pero estamos nosotras que podemos representarlas en una junta o algo…
(We have adapted to the problems we face within each family. One woman’s father got
cancer, went to Ensenada to get treatment for him but he died. She lost many training
courses. Many things happened, but we have to adapt; for example, if some women cannot
attend, then we represent them in a meeting or other activity)
These solidarity actions and support among the women are also associated with the
sorority they have created between them:
-Aguantarnos nuestro genio, o también hemos aprendido al tiempo de ella, de ella, o sea,
¿tú qué vas a hacer? y ¿tú que vas a hacer? si a veces hasta yo si veo que es más complicado
lo de ella pues yo me adapto a lo mío
-Sororidad también, diría alguien por ahí…
-Es la palabrota… es nuestro lema
-Luego estamos así ¡Sororidad, sororidad!
(-We have to tolerate our way of being, we have also learned to do the activities when
our times coincide by asking what the daily activities of each other are.
11 “Women with Wings”: An Experience of Participatory Monitoring in a Natural…