Android - Read properties file without using context

I have a simple class which is not an activity, so I don't have access to context, but I want to read a properties file in my project (rather than on sd card).

MyClass {

    public static void readProperties(){
        Properties props=new Properties();
        InputStream inputStream = this.getClass().getClassLoader().getResourceAsStream("/mine.properties");
        try {
            props.load(inputStream); 
        } catch(Exception e){ 
            e.printStackTrace();
        }
    }
}

When I run the code though, I get a null pointer exception:

02-20 15:32:38.396: E/AndroidRuntime(27473): java.lang.NullPointerException: in == null

02-20 15:32:38.396: E/AndroidRuntime(27473): at java.util.Properties.load(Properties.java:246)

Where should I put my properties file in order to be able to read it? I tried src , the project root, assets, and also next to MyClass.java, each time getting null pointers. What am I doing wrong?

I'm using Eclipse with ADT (not on Android Studio yet).

My structure is something like this:

-src

--main/SomeActivity.java

--main/MyClass.java

--main/mine.properties

-assets

-gen

-res