is to develop and use our creative capacity to express the dignity and diversity of our Mexican heritage, from indigenous Mesoamerican roots to contemporary expressions, and to develop and celebrate our community through economic development, community building, community health and civic engagement.
What we do:
Our efforts are grounded in the belief that we are a part of nature and part of a lineage of earth-based cultural practices and wisdoms that are key to restoring balance and health not only to our community, but to the soil, plants, insects, and animals with whom we share the earth.
This is why our resistance work is multifaceted and interconnected: we resist by organizing against injustice and by building alternative systems that nourish our community.
We resist a system that dehumanizes us and continuously work towards establishing an alternative model, along the way learning to heal our relationship with each other and with the land.
Familias Unidas
Our objectives are to build the capacity of low-income women workers as advocates for themselves and their communities on the border. We work to increase public awareness about development issues, education, and environmental racism to ensure we have a voice. Our organizing efforts are methodical and participatory; we develop leadership from each of the seven segments of Barrio Chamizal and welcome participation of residents of all ages.
Proyecto Verde
Proyecto Verde is centered on valuing and reinvigoration of our inherently healthy Mexican cultural expressions: traditional foodways and arts. We know that to fully embody and express ourselves as Mexican people, we need to start with our cultural traditions: connecting to land, growing and preparing fresh food, learning songs, poems, and visual arts. That is why our Proyecto Verde organizing initiative centers the wisdom of Chamizal neighborhood elders. We learn from their practice. Proyecto Verde’s cultural work is supported by local and international artists who are allies of the Chamizal, including indigenous Mexican women who practice their own ancestral artistic traditions for expression, commerce, and resistance.
Museo Mayachen
We document the history of Barrio Chamizal, including the struggle of Mexican garment workers who labored for decades in factories across the neighborhood. Being connected to history allows us to see parallels of systemic prejudice and community resilience between the past and the present. Our archive always welcome stories and artifacts of the Chamizal neighborhood; contact us if you have something to share.
Plaza Cultural
Over the past 30+ years, La Mujer Obrera has organized cultural festivals featuring the cuisine and culture of different regions of Mexico. We host El Paso’s oldest running Day of the Dead Festival, as well as Corn Festivals, Mole Festivals, and Ancestral Health Fairs. Each year, we host various film screenings, poetry and book readings, and cultural events featuring local, national, and international artists working in the intersection of art and resistance. Over 3,000 people from the El Paso/Juarez region attend our events each year.
Tierra es Vida
Stepping out of the factory, out of subservience industry and into the land, as women involved in agriculture, is a natural fit. Throughout human history, women have been the household stewards of good health and good eating. Growing food and cooking are sacred spaces in which we develop our love for the land and for our families, maintaining that critical connection to our nature as human beings and pillars of our family unit. That’s what drives our work at Tierra es Vida Community Farm, a one acre plot of land where we reclaim ancestral food growing practices. In addition to providing produce for the Chamizal neighborhood and the broader El Paso community, the community farm serves as a site for strengthening community relations and learning about traditional foods.
Connect with this program:
Volunteer Days: Sundays at 10AM – 2PM
Social Enterprises
Café Mayapán
Established in 2001, Café Mayapán is one of our cornerstone enterprises, providing traditional Mexican cuisine to the public and serving as a job and food employment training center. We have undertaken a unique course of study not found in other Mexican restaurants the food we serve is fresh, based on respect for our heritage, and prepared with respect for ourselves and our customers.
Hours:
Monday to Friday 11AM – 3PM
Saturday 8AM – 3PM
Phone: (915) 217-1126
CLICK HERE: ORDER ONLINE
Lummetik Trading Co.
We believe in the right of people to remain in their communities if they choose, to not be displaced from their lands by forced migration. Our fair-trade import company serves as a point of sell site for goods including textiles, home goods, and toys crafted by indigenous women from cooperatives across Mexico that are members of the national network Niu Matat Napawika, which we also launched to assist the women in small business development and export.
Shop at : https://laredniumatat.org/comprar/
Rayito de Sol Daycare and Learning Center
We believe children naturally see themselves as part of nature and are eager to support their innate curiosity and creativity while preparing them with the social and academic skills they will need to enter kindergarten. Rayito de Sol Daycare and Learning Center is a social-purpose enterprise founded in 2000 by the women of La Mujer Obrera as part of our vision to create meaningful employment for NAFTA-displaced garment workers based on community needs. Participating children are primarily low-income and of Mexican background, and our Spanish-immersion curriculum affirms and develops not only their language skills but also their Mexican cultural heritage.
Hours: Monday to Friday, 7AM – 6PM
Phone: (915) 351-0600