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The Lake Chapalla Society: An Overview

Ajijic, Mexico is Home to the World's Largest Expatriate Community

Nov 3, 2008 Rosanne Knorr

From AA meetings to Yoga classes, the Lake Chapalla Society offers a host of activities and services for English speakers and its Mexican neighbors.

The Lake Chapalla Society provides information and services for American residents of the area, travelers and the Mexican community. It is also been recognized as a legal, charitable organization in Mexican law.

Begun in 1955 by English-speaking residents who wanted a social and cultural club, The Lake Chapalla Society now numbers about 3,700 people from 24 nationalities, although the majority of them are American and Canadian.

Ironically, the Society’s premises are not in the town of Lake Chapalla but in the smaller town of Ajijic nearby. It is centrally located in downtown Ajijic with a lovely expanse of gardens which were donated by Neill James, a generous philanthropist who loved Mexico and provided the property as a permanent home for The Lake Chapalla Society.

The beautifully-landscaped gardens are threaded by paths that wander among small ponds and flowering native plants. An informal outdoor cafe with small tables and benches provides a congenial spot to enjoy quiet conversation over a cup of coffee, tea or a snack.

The series of buildings and a large garden gazebo host classes, social activities and services.

Life-Long Learning

Life-Long Learning enables expatriates, whether residents or visitors, to gather and explore a wide range of interests. The list is lengthy but these few examples show some of the variety: racquet club, film studies, line dancing, ham radio, gardening, needlecrafts, photography, Spanish, writing, and geneology.

Lunches, dinners and parties are common. Trips are often arranged for groups to enjoy other cultural and recreational activities throughout Mexico.

Library Services

The LCS English language library includes over 20,000 volumes in fiction, non-fiction and reference plus DVDs and audio tapes. It is also the only library outside the U.S. to offer a Talking Books program arranged via the U.S. Library of Congress for U.S. citizens with fiction and non-fiction on tape for the visually-impaired. Additional tapes are available for other nationalities.

Outside the library, a message board is crowded with personal offers related to jobs, items for sale, rentals, and house and dogsitting offers. An annual LCS Directory helps members contact each other.

Low-cost Medical and Postal Programs

Prevention services such as innoculations and hearing screenings are often scheduled at LCS at low cost. Mail programs to and from the U.S. provide lower cost and reliable mail delivery.

Services for Mexican Neighbors

The Lake Chapalla Society benefits its Mexican neighbors by providing additional educational opportunities for Mexican children through art and scholarship programs plus educational and informational programs for local Mexican adults. English language classes help locals learn the language and a bequest from Ed Wilkes of his property at 18 Galeana, became the WilkesEducationCenter for Mexicans with a Spanish Library and classrooms.

For more information contact the Lake Chapalla Society.

The copyright of the article The Lake Chapalla Society: An Overview in Latin Am/Caribbean Travel is owned by Rosanne Knorr. Permission to republish The Lake Chapalla Society: An Overview in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Ponds & plants in the LCS garden