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Current Collaborations
CADA operates on the collective effort of like-minded individuals who believe in the foundation’s current ability to look into the possibilities of shaping local platforms towards global needs and concerns. It also places utmost importance into fostering the right partnerships that create short and long term value, with individuals whose talents and connections may create a network of opportunities for the community members and their products.
As researchers and design practitioners, we thus recognize the importance of including the artisans in the dialogue of a design process. This means that we consider artisans’ design practices, products, and ideas as their own, and for their own means.
As researchers and design practitioners, we thus recognize the importance of including the artisans in the dialogue of a design process. This means that we consider artisans’ design practices, products, and ideas as their own, and for their own means.
Openbox
Access Here Openbox is supporting CADA in producing a documentary called “Proximities of Design” based on the work developed in the Community of San Pablo Tijaltepec, Oaxaca, Mexico. It is also based on the material for the book “Collaborative Social Design” by Carmen Malvar, and a reflection on the impact of debates on decolonizing design practice. Featured below is a trailer of work by Openbox; “The New Bauhaus”.
Maddalena Forcella x DEED Lab
Access HereIn response to the community's request for equipment & training, the DEED Lab together with Maddalena Forcella Studio and CADA Foundation are working on funding to initiate a new collaboration with Epalchén/Chamula indigenous weavers in the Chiapas Highlands (in the territory now known as Mexico), with a focus on improving the wool production supply chain. We are raising funds to provide equipment & training to the weavers, as well as to
conduct primary & secondary research regarding indigenous craft, material culture, and artisan supply chain production. Our goal is to document the project to disseminate it as a published case study and resource for other indigenous communities.
Xochitl Erendira Zolueta Juan &
Laura Margarita Quiroz Ruiz
Legal WorkshopWith a Master in Law from the Faculty of Law of the UNAM Specialist in indigenous law, human rights and environmental law, Xohitl has experience in civil, criminal, family and amparo litigation. She has collaborated with national and international non-governmental organizations, teaching workshops, courses, diplomas and seminars such as Global Diversity Foundation, IPAS-Mexico, Contemporary Social, Historical and Cultural Research (ISHCC), among others. She worked at the National Indigenist Institute and the National Institute of Anthropology and History and has teaching experience at the Faculty of Law-UNAM, the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences-Mexico headquarters, the Institute of Professional Training and Higher Studies of the Attorney General's Office of Justice of Mexico City and the University for Well-being Benito Juárez. Currently, she also collaborates with the collective “Chimalli, Cultural Rights” dealing with issues of defense of cultural heritage, collective intellectual property, among others.
Laura Margarita Quiroz Ruiz, known as "Lita" in Mixtec, is a designer, professor, researcher, and cultural manager from Oaxaca, Mexico. She specializes in textile arts and community development, working with Colectivo Ñaa Ñanga and Fundación CADA. Her work blends traditional techniques like backstrap and pedal loom weaving with contemporary approaches. Recognized at the 4th Ibero-American Design Biennial, she also trains artisans and produces documentaries on Mixtec textile traditions. With a Master’s in Agroecosystem Productivity and a Ph.D. in Agroecology, she promotes sustainable development by integrating traditional knowledge with modern technology.