Tequio or “Giving Back” Mexican Style
The tradition of "tequio" or communal work common in many indigenous Mexican communities was a big inspiration for Hometown Connect. Learn more about the tradition below.
Have you ever asked yourself about your gifts? What is a gift? Do you have gifts? What kind of gift or how many gifts do you have? And if you have ever asked yourself these questions (we all have gifts), have you used your gifts properly, generously? In the native communities in Mexico, everybody knows their gifts and uses them for the welfare of the whole community. People in these ancestral towns call this action Tequio. They think that all we are or have in the present time is thanks to the determination of our ancestors, who planned and constructed their town, schools, government buildings, churches, markets and everything that has a communal use in the town. Thanks to our ancestors’ legacy, we do not need to start from scratch, but can keep building and growing more and more. That was the gift of our grandparents for us and the future generations to come. With the Tequio the people pay or give back for their’ ancestors efforts and this is also their way to contribute for the future generations. This is their way to give back.
Each year the council of elders meets and together decides what the community needs, what they can do for that specific year in order to continue growing as a community, to make life easier or just to increase the town’s beauty. Then the people organize and everybody contributes depending of their own gifts. If someone has experience or knowledge in construction, s/he offers their expertise and directs a group to accomplish the project. If someone is good following directions, s/he becomes a helper. An enthusiastic chef can offer the food for the workers. If someone has a truck s/he offers it and their driving skills. The rich can offer money to buy the material needed or to pay somebody to do the job. Once a year everybody contributes for one week, offering their gift for the prosperity of all. They have food, music, company and a lot of meaningful work. Tequio is work with meaning.