Colonias Development Council

Twenty years ago, the Colonias Development Council (CDC) emerged as a local, grassroots group in cooperation with the Office of Catholic Social Ministry to help farmworkers. The CDC became an independent 501(c)3 non-profit in 1994 to develop multi-issue, self-help community-based organizations to respond to common needs in colonia communities. Our... work is characterized by a long-term commitment to facilitating the processes for community organizing and leadership development in order to achieve social change. We work to address: Social Justice: civil rights, cooperative organization, education, human rights, immigration, infrastructure development, public health, policy change, youth engagement Environmental Justice: civic engagement for policy change, community and environmental health, school-based and community gardens and green spaces Economic Justice: job and skill training, micro-enterprise initiatives, sustainability projects, technical assistance The CDC promotes leadership development by engaging communities in civic processes. We work with residents to develop community-based solutions to common needs by using a community organizing approach that focuses on developing grassroots strategies to address resident-identified issues of concern. Civic engagement activities offer opportunities for colonia residents to learn about the decision-making processes that affect their lives, providing hands-on experience through negotiation, advocacy, research, and organizing. Why was the Colonias Development Council formed? In the late 1980s the colonia phenomenon exploded in southern New Mexico. A housing shortage had caused numerous developers to create illegal subdivisions to serve farmworkers and other low-income workers unable to afford other housing. The Office of Catholic Social Ministries of the Diocese of Las Cruces responded to this need by starting the Farmworker Organizing Project, which in 1994 became incorporated as the Doña Ana County Colonias Development Council (CDC), an independent non-profit ...Read More