ABSTRACT
On a dusty street in the Colonia Ladrillera, inside the border city of Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico, murals stretch across the outside of the DouglaPrieta Works (DPW) community center. A longstanding fair trade sewing project, the co-op makes quality hand-sewn products and supports a community center that teaches self-reliance and promotes food security. By engaging a system where people learn and apply skills, DPW is changing the paradigm for its members, as well as for the extended community. On an adjoining property, pepper plants are loaded with fruit and cucumber vines snake through a series of DPW garden beds. The Gloo Factory, a union print shop and DPW’s main customer, stocks products to be embellished with custom designs. DPW has taught and inspired many people on both sides of the border through the modeling and application of projects that build economic self-reliance.
