In the midst of the economic restructuring generated by globalization including the loss of thousands of jobs and the resulting ripple effect across the community’s social fabric, La Mujer Obrera and El Puente have wrestled with the question of: “How do we, as low-income women workers of Mexican heritage, build sustainable communities rooted in economic justice and respect for our dignity as a “pueblo?.”

As our response, we have determined that breaking the cycle of poverty on the border requires the development of sustainable communities rooted in justice and dignity -- communities in which women and their families organize themselves, as well as their resources, assets and talents to provide each other mutual aid, while also creating an economic and social base for meeting their families’ basic human needs and rights.
To achieve this we have created a comprehensive plan, Plan Mayachen, not only to revitalize the South Central neighborhood ( El Paso’s former garment district), but also to create viable community/economic development alternatives for displaced workers and other Spanish-speaking low-income women and their families.

To demonstrate the plan’s viability, we have renovated a 40,000 square foot facility that will house the next stage of our sustainable community strategy — Centro Mayapán, a Festival Marketplace and Empowerment Center, rooted in Mexican cultural heritage. The grand opening of this vibrant community facility is scheduled for May 1, 2009.

And to build our community’s capacity, we have established a workforce training program, Center for Bilingual Development and Social Enterprise, and are working to formalize it as a comprehensive adult education and vocational training school.