Thursday, July 20, 2006
SWOP homepageABQ Trib: Families on Pajarito Mesa achieve much with little
Families on Pajarito Mesa achieve much with little
By Kate Nash
Albuquerque Tribune
July 19, 2006
PAJARITO MESA - The 418 families who live perched above Albuquerque
don't have much.
In some senses, this mesa is a do-it-yourself kind of place, where the
residents have built their own city.
With no county services, many have fashioned their own systems using
gigantic barrels and car batteries that give them some semblance of
running water and electricity.
Some 130 residents formed their own Mutual Domestic Water Association in
hopes of getting a well.
Without a road crew, residents got their own grader to smooth the
community's gravel roads.
Lacking a government garbage service, one family has paid thousands to
have a mound of tires hauled from their property.
And without doctors nearby, residents recently organized to train each
other in first aid.
Those are just a few examples of what the families here have been able
to achieve through community organizing, friendship and perseverance.
They've also got outside help, from groups like the SouthWest Organizing
Project that assist with legal issues, and a church pastor who helped
them build a simple place to worship.
"I just saw people had a tremendous need," said Larry Scott, a pastor
who helped form the Pajarito Mesa Community Church of the Nazarene.
Residents say other needs remain. Streets. Street signs. Mail service. A
strong cell phone signal. More police presence.
Things beyond that, too, said longtime resident and community organizer
Sandra Montes.
"I see other communities in places where people have money and there's
two or three homes, they build their homes, and they extend
electricity," she said.
Copyright 2006, The Albuquerque Tribune. All Rights Reserved.
By Kate Nash
Albuquerque Tribune
July 19, 2006
PAJARITO MESA - The 418 families who live perched above Albuquerque
don't have much.
In some senses, this mesa is a do-it-yourself kind of place, where the
residents have built their own city.
With no county services, many have fashioned their own systems using
gigantic barrels and car batteries that give them some semblance of
running water and electricity.
Some 130 residents formed their own Mutual Domestic Water Association in
hopes of getting a well.
Without a road crew, residents got their own grader to smooth the
community's gravel roads.
Lacking a government garbage service, one family has paid thousands to
have a mound of tires hauled from their property.
And without doctors nearby, residents recently organized to train each
other in first aid.
Those are just a few examples of what the families here have been able
to achieve through community organizing, friendship and perseverance.
They've also got outside help, from groups like the SouthWest Organizing
Project that assist with legal issues, and a church pastor who helped
them build a simple place to worship.
"I just saw people had a tremendous need," said Larry Scott, a pastor
who helped form the Pajarito Mesa Community Church of the Nazarene.
Residents say other needs remain. Streets. Street signs. Mail service. A
strong cell phone signal. More police presence.
Things beyond that, too, said longtime resident and community organizer
Sandra Montes.
"I see other communities in places where people have money and there's
two or three homes, they build their homes, and they extend
electricity," she said.
Copyright 2006, The Albuquerque Tribune. All Rights Reserved.
