Mujeres Movimiento: Empowering Local Women
Kathy Nicoletti came to Sayulita in 2012 after accepting a position at Costa Verde International School (CVIS). Before too long, Kathy had fallen in love with the town and its people. At CVIS, Kathy met long-time Sayulita resident and CVIS parent Cheri Hasburgh. They became fast friends and soon found themselves working together on activities designed to strengthen the ties between the Mexican and non-Mexican parents at the school. Through these collaborations, the two women came to appreciate how challenging life could be for local women. In response, several years later, Kathy and Cheri began to work with local women to create an organization that would support them in meeting these challenges. That organization became Mujeres Movimiento, a 501(c)3 in the United States.
Guided by the wisdom and participation of local women and the support of board members Liz Price and Gloria Serrano, Mujeres Movimiento (MM) has helped women create programs and activities that assist Mexican women in the areas of education, health and wellness, and finance.
In the area of education, MM sponsors English classes for women on Tuesdays and Thursdays as well as classes in personal finance. Additionally, MM supports local girls with grants for tuition and school-related expenses. At the request of local moms, MM joined forces with Escuela Cooperativa de Sayulita to sponsor an afterschool English program and a Saturday ballet program for children. All the aforementioned classes are taught by local women and supported with MM funding.
In the area of finance, MM assisted women in creating an online Spanish language program that employs 13 local women and serves more than 140 students. You can find out more about these classes at https://www.mujeresmovimiento.com/register-for-classes. Additionally, MM helps local women obtain work cooking and giving workshops in making Mexican crafts to tourists in Sayulita. This year, with the help of MM, women created a Speed Spanish program. In this program, Spanish learners can enjoy an hour of practicing their Spanish face-to-face by conversing with several different local women in increments of 5 minutes. It is an incredibly fun activity! If you are visiting Sayulita or live here and want to participate in any of these activities, check out their website (www.mujeresmovimiento.com) or email them at mujeresmovimientocentro@gmail.com for more information.
If you would prefer more time to practice your Spanish, from October 31-November 4 of this year, the women of MM will host their first Day of the Dead Spanish Language Immersion Retreat at the Nomada Boutique Hotel in Sayulita. If you are interested in a unique opportunity to learn or practice your Spanish, immerse yourself in the rich traditions of Day of the Dead, enjoy an amazing array of Mexican food while supporting Mexican women, please check out this retreat https://www.mujeresmovimiento.com/experience. Only a few spaces left!
In the area of health and wellness, MM supports retreats designed to teach women how to better cope with a range of emotional issues. This year, the women have added art therapy sessions and pickle ball every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday night at Primaria Damián Carmona. At the end of September, visitors will be invited to join the women in pickle ball. So, if you like pickle ball, this could be your chance to play in Sayulita! Check them out on Facebook (Mujeres Movimiento) and/or follow them on Instagram (mujerescentro) for updates and more information. The women plan to expand the wellness program to include physical therapy, strength and resistance training, and workshops on nutrition.
The mission of Mujeres Movimiento is to assist local women in all aspects of their lives and to do so in partnership with others in the community. This work would not be possible without these partnerships. MM thanks Escuela Cooperativa de Sayulita for providing classroom space, volunteers, and resources for the English classes and retreats; Primaria Damián Carmona for allowing them to create pickle ball courts on their campus; Nomada Boutique Hotel for providing space for Speed Spanish and the Day of the Dead Spanish Language Immersion Retreat as well as their pledge of donating 10% of their net profits from their room rentals to MM. MM would also like to thank local businesses who supported them with financial donations on International Women’s Day in March. 100% of these donations went to support the education of three local girls. These businesses included Avela Boutique Hotel, Belle Curves, Chocobanana, Coffee on the Corner, La Tía, Matiz Mariscos, Mugre Animal, North Side Cafe, Orangy, Pizza Venezia, Tiburón, and Tropical House. If you own a business, consider joining the growing number of local businesses supporting Mujeres Movimiento!
Mujeres Movimiento is an organization formed to support the backbone of this town: WOMEN! You, too, can support these women by donating through the MM website or participating in their many projects and activities.
