CAFECITOS

Communities in Southern Oregon are already feeling the impacts of climate change on their health, landscapes, and local economy. People who work outdoors, many of whom are Latinx/o/a, are most impacted by these changes but are often left out of the conversations around solutions, even though these decisions will have long lasting impacts on people’s lives and health. A component of Rogue Climate’s mission is to empower Southern Oregon communities most impacted by climate change, including communities of color, to win climate justice.

The Rogue Climate Cafecitos program serves as a launchpad to center and uplift the voices of Latinx youth in the Rogue Valley in the movement for climate justice.

The Cafecitos program includes two components:

Monthly community gatherings for the Latinx community (Cafecitos).
A 10-week youth internship program focusing on developing organizing skills and leadership for Latinx youth in the climate movement (Cafecitos y Acción).
In 2019, a group of 15-20 Latinx youth came together for “Cafecitos” – a safe environment to share their experiences as Latinx youth in the Rogue Valley with each other and to explore the intersections with climate justice over cafe, conchas, and pan dulce.
It was clear that there was a need for a space where youth could gather to share stories, learn about Latinx history in regards to climate and environmental justice and to reimagine ways that Latinx communities could impact climate policies.

Cafecitos are hosted multiple times a month to continue this relationship building and
organizing.

CAFECITOS Y ACCIÓN

Cafecitos y Acción is an internship program supporting Latinx youth to listen and learn about organizing, to become leaders, and to be empowered to change policies at the local and statewide level. Participants gain leadership skills such as organizing events and running campaigns, creating and facilitating workshops, identifying personal strengths, and learning about and taking action on topics such as racism and systemic oppression.

BUILDING COMMUNITY

During the 2019 Global Week for Climate Action, Latinx youth from Cafecitos held “Unidos: Fiesta for Climate y Comunidad” in Medford in solidarity with the hundreds of thousands of youth and adults who walked out earlier that day. This was to give access to those who could not walk out of their jobs or school to still be a part of the global day of action. Over 200 people came together demanding, in celebration, a transformative action for the climate crises

During this time of Covid-19

Cafecitos has also taken on an important role of sharing and translating information about Covid-19 in culturally competent ways as the “Compartir” team. The team of 10-15 volunteers, has developed memes for social media and translated materials so that information on Covid-19, such as reopening of the state, is accessible to spanish speakers.
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