“From the depths of need and despair, people can work together, can organize themselves to solve their own problems and fill their own needs with dignity and strength.”
— César Chávez

At the end of her last work day, a proud Yolanda Garcia stood back and admired the fine work she and the other crew members had done on what was soon to be her new home. The humid Texas heat could not dampen the happiness she felt in knowing she was able to provide a decent home for her children. As she walked toward her car, she stopped, turned back, and took a second look as if to make sure the house was still there. Her proud smile turned into tears of joy as she drove home to tell her children, Fernando (16), Bridgette (6), and Brittany (5), that they would soon be moving in. That day, she called her family and friends to invite them to the house blessing and pachanga that accompanies the completion of work on a home at Proyecto Azteca.

Ms. Garcia was born in Raymondville, Texas. She married very young and did not finish high school. When her marriage did not work out, she suddenly found herself with the responsibility of raising three children with no family nearby to help her. She took a job as a waitress to support her family. She and her children lived in a dilapidated mobile home in a colonia outside of Alamo, a small border town in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. Earning less than 30 percent of the area median family income (less than $9,000), Ms. Garcia had little chance of ever becoming a homeowner. Her income would be considered too low and, because of the nature of her unstable employment, she would not be considered creditworthy.

The Self-Help Program
With the assistance of Proyecto Azteca, a nonprofit organization, and its sister organization, Azteca Community Loan Fund, Ms. Garcia was given the opportunity to participate in a self-help housing program that enables extremely low-income colonia residents to become homeowners. Ms. Garcia and nine other families came together, working cooperatively to build their homes with the assistance of Proyecto Azteca construction trainers. The ten houses were completed in six weeks. With a mortgage payment of only $100 a month, Ms. Garcia can be a homeowner without having to sacrifice the welfare of her family every time a payment is due.

Based in San Juan, Texas, Proyecto Azteca was founded by the United Farm Workers of America in 1991 with assistance from the Texas Low Income Housing Information Service and Texas Rural Legal Aid, Inc. Proyecto Azteca’s executive board is composed of colonia residents who believe that members of the low-income community have the responsibility and the obligation to organize themselves and, through their association, to begin to address their housing needs. Such belief is rooted in César Chávez’s teaching that it is necessary for people to take ownership of their organization by investing their own efforts and resources. The people’s participation in building their own homes, and the responsibility that comes with it, form the philosophical foundation of Proyecto Azteca.

The Cultural Element
In the construction of the homes, the families and trainers work together in a cultural atmosphere that promotes responsibility, self-development, and a si se puede (yes we can) attitude. The ten families (tanda) begin to bond as they work together on each other’s homes, share their food during breaks and lunch, and then help each other with other family needs. Families, including the children, trainers, and staff, get together every two weeks to celebrate the progress that has been made. Marked by food, singing, and storytelling, each of these gatherings is a time of sharing and gathering strength for the work that is yet to be done.

At the completion of the homes, careful preparation is made for the blessing and pachanga (fiesta) that is to take place. Friends, suppliers, contractors, and funders are invited. The usual crowd of nearly 100 will gather where each family is given the key to their home after a traditional Mexican blessing, accompanied by the singing of “De Colores” and lots of hugs and kisses. The families will talk about the meaning of building their homes and what they represent to the children. There is much food, games for the children, mariachi music, and platicas about life.

As Ms. Garcia explained, “Building my home has greatly improved my confidence and has given me the strength to believe that I can do better for the sake of my children.” Ms Garcia was recently hired as a trainer at Proyecto Azteca and is now working with other families in the construction of their homes. Ms. Garcia wants to enroll in nursing classes so that she no longer has to rely on public assistance to support her family.

Self-Help Is About Dignity and Respect
Self-help housing is not simply about reducing the cost of housing. It is about the transformation that occurs in the process of building your own home. By involving colonia residents directly in addressing their housing needs, Proyecto Azteca provides a social experience that changes how they view themselves and their community. The construction of the homes is driven by the residents’ efforts and the recognition that, when given the opportunity, people have the power and ability to impact their own lives. Proyecto Azteca’s organizational design requires people to rise to a level of expectation that they may not have otherwise believed possible. Outsiders are often surprised that Proyecto Azteca is not seen by the people as a low-income housing program but, instead, as a means to address a necessity through collective action and determination.

David Arizmendi is executive director of Proyecto Azteca in San Juan, Texas.

Article reprinted from the Housing Assistance Council’s publication, Rural Voices, Fall 2003. For more information about the Housing Assistance Council, http://www.ruralhome.org/pubs/ruralvoices/VoicesFall2003.pdf

Proyecto Azteca is an acronym:
A semblea de
Z onas de
T rabajadores con
E qualidad para
C asas con
A mistad