Past, Present and Future Activities of Border Partners

Border Partners (BP) was organized in November, 2008 in response to the poverty in Luna County, NM and in Palomas, Chihuahua, MX across the border. The region has a high unemployment rate and the jobs that exist are low-paying. Utilities in Mexico are very expensive. “Drug wars” brought violence to the Mexican side of the border for months during the preceding year and many young people were killed. Others, while grieving for lost friends and relatives saw their jobs disappear as families with money left town.

The founders, Peter and Polly Edmunds, after meetings with a group of families in Palomas to discuss the most urgent needs in that community, wanted to do something to help improve the lives of the people in the area. They decided to form a group that could encourage the development of businesses by providing education and resources to individuals and small groups. These businesses would be managed by the workers themselves and provide good work with decent wages. In addition, they wanted to teach people about healthy lifestyles and promote the use of sustainable technologies (like solar power, water re-use, home gardens etc.) that would save people money and use less water.

The first activities were research into very low-cost, solar cooking units and development of a sewn product that could be made at home by women in Palomas.

BP volunteers, finding that there was no appropriate, very low cost solar cooker available to purchase, developed their own unit, using recycled cardboard and used glass, that can be built in 2-3 hours by an unskilled student for a cost of about $5. Five workshops have been held in the region to teach people to build these cookers for use in their own homes. Materials are provided. Three people who attended one of the first workshops are now working with BP to become “Solar Promoters” in Palomas and teach others how to make the solar cooking units. They visit the homes of former students to make sure that the cookers are working properly and to give advice about their effective use. Several demonstrations have been held in other communities as well, to show people how various solar cookers work.

At some of these workshops, a dentist has spoken to the participants about good dental hygiene and a nutritionist has given a talk about basic healthy eating habits. These talks will continue and expand. Because of high interest in both topics, the nutritionist will present a series of five short talks for the public beginning in the fall, 2009.

Future plans on the topics of sustainable energy use and technologies include teaching groups to make a low-cost solar water heater and a wind generator for electricity. A bicycle repair cooperative will open in the fall of 2009.

Also in the fall of 2008, BP volunteers began working with two women in Palomas who were part of a cooperative there, knew how to sew and needed more income to support their families. The idea was that oilcloth products were popular in the USA and these women could possibly make some money by sewing unique, well-crafted products made of oilcloth.

By February, 2009, the number of women in the group had grown to seven and BP volunteers began to teach them some of the business skills necessary to manage a business themselves. Five of the seven women have only completed the equivalent of seven grades of school. One has completed high school. All of them knew how to sew and some had sold small items before, but none had worked with a group to run a business and no one knew accounting or had the financial resources to develop a line of products that could be sold to stores.

By June, 2009 the women, along with BP volunteers, had developed several other products and were learning all aspects of running a business themselves. BP volunteers have worked with the group to develop high-quality, well designed products, find good materials at good prices, provided loans to purchase materials, designed marketing materials and found outlets to purchase the products.

Future plans include additional sessions on cost-accounting and bookkeeping and expanding the number of women participating in the business either by expanding the present group or starting another group.

All money from sales to date has gone to paying the women for their work and for expenses of materials.

In April, 2009, three people in Palomas met with BP founder, Peter Edmunds, to begin planning for a woodworking shop. They are learning how to use various tools and equipment and making prototype products that it may be possible to sell. This woodworking group will participate in building a small children’s climbing/play structure at the BP building in Palomas in August, 2009. Production of a solar cooker/water pasteurizer that can be sold will begin in fall of 2009.

During the next year, 2009-10, BP will begin promoting the use of home gardens which will include gray water reuse and rainwater catchment. Participants will learn about planning, planting and growing vegetables and medicinal plants from local gardeners. Ongoing classes will be held to expand their knowledge. Gardening “promoters” will be trained to assist the home gardeners and assure that they are successful.

In the future, Border Partners will continue to foster the development of small, worker-owned businesses in the region. A microloan program will be developed to encourage individuals and small groups to pursue their ideas for businesses. Banks in the region and especially in Mexico, do not generally make small loans to individuals. Worldwide, microloans have helped alleviate poverty for the poorest of the poor. Working in groups, small loans to individual members provide the capital needed to start businesses that can provide enough income to feed the borrower’s family or build a house where they had none. Donations will be solicited to start the fund which will eventually be self-sustaining as loans are paid back. Participants will learn good business practices as part of their contract to receive the loan.

In addition to the above activities, during the first months of 2009, volunteers have prepared the documents necessary to organize as a tax-exempt organization, developed bookkeeping systems and found people to serve on the Border Partners’ Board of Directors.