Out in the Mountains Lesbian Feminist Collective in El Salvador (Continued from page 1) to our amazement 100 of the 600 women at the conference chose to attend this‘ workshop—the majority of whom were poor women from the countryside. There was a short presentation and then the fa- cilitators opened it up for questions. The first woman raised her hand and said, “There’s this couple in my village, two women,...”; a little while later, “I know this lesbian...” and “These two women Hardwick Chiropractic Dr. Grace Johnslone An integrated approach to health care. 1 Mill ST., Hardwick 472-3033 Where to Find OITM Bennington Bennington Free Library Bennington College Bennington Library Record Rack Southern Vermont College Brattleboro - Brattleboro Food Coop Cahoots Common Ground Everyone's Books Burlington Burlington College Chassman & Bem Fletcher Free Library Onion River Co-op Partners in Recovery & Growth Peace & Justice Center Pearls Planned Parenthood Castleton STEP Learning Center Chester Misty Valley Books Chester Craftsbury . Craftsbury Public Library neighbors of mine have lived together for ten years...” There was no greater tes- timony to the statement , “we are every- where” and no more succinct an answer to the woman’s question of the day be- fore. Poor women from the countryside are more than ready to deal with the issue of homosexuality, they’ve lived with it in their communities their whole lives. The Salvadoran Lesbian Feminist Col- lective of the Half Moon was born after several of the members attended the 1992 Central American Women’s meet- ing in Nicaragua. Inspired by conversa- tions in Nicaragua, two members at- tended the Latin American lesbian conference in Puerto Rico. In its first 8 months of existence the group remained clandestine, group members fearing re- percussions if their sexual orientation were‘ revealed. In these months the group mainly functioned as a support network and gave members time to share difficulties about families, work, or with partners. They also discussed the topics of sexuality and expression and maintained contact with a range of inter- national groups and publications. Through international support and sol- idarity one of their members was able to attend the US. March on Washing- ton in April. Now officially “out of the closet” as an organization, the group has several pro- jects on the table. They would like to Center Rutland Rutland Area Gay/Lesbian Connection East Barnet Innwood Manor East Hardwick Greenhope Farm Fair Haven Fair Haven Free Library Hardwick Buffalo Mountain Coop Galaxy Books Lyndonville Jon's Automotive Project EXCEL, Lyndon State College Manchester Center Northshire Bookstore Middlebury Middlebury Natural Food Coop Montpelier Bear Pond Books Horn of the Moon Cafe Rivendell Books Woman Centered Morrisville Morristown Centennial Library Newfane Moore Free Library l put out their first leaflet on the history i and philosophy of the group as well as to finally open an office space. Up until » now the group has met in group mem- bers’ homes, in the park, or wherever they could find anonymity. Because the only gay bars in El Salvador are male- dominated, one of the group’s dreams is to open a women’s cafe and office space with the money they’ve raised through T- shirt sales. Other ideas include fund- raising, education on women and AIDS, and the continuation of workshops for other women’s organizations on the topic of lesbianism. Through the last 10 years of war Sal- vadoran society has become polarized with the right-wing government fighting to maintain power and a left—wing co- alition working to create a social revolu- tion. Lesbians exist in every strata of this society and, unfortunately, they are at risk of repression from the left, the right and all those in the middle. COFESMEL is working to educate those around them and defeat injustice done to any person. For donations, communication or re- quests for T-shirts, in English or Spanish write to: COFESMEL, Apartado Postal 3361, Centro de Gobierno, San Salvador, El Salvador. V (Stephanie Lind has just returned to Ver- mont after a 7 month stay in El Salvador) Northfield Brown Public Library Norwich Social Alternatives for Gay Men Plainfield Woman's Study Program Putney . Putney Library Randolph Kimball Public Library Rutland PFLAG Rutland Free Library St. Johnsbury LUNA/NEVGALR c/o Umbrella Natural Provisions Regional Library St. Johnsbury Athenaeum Stowe Food for Thought Waterbury Video Exchange White River Junction WRJ Books Upper Valley Coop Williamstown, MA Wild Oats Co-op Or by Subscription mailed right to your door!