ABOUT US

Mission & Vision

Our mission is to promote equal access to economic opportunity. Our vision is to transform people’s lives through entrepreneurship. El Pájaro CDC accomplishes its mission through various strategies. Since its inception, El Pájaro CDC has focused on developing small businesses. We have successfully assisted hundreds of small businesses with technical assistance, loan application and packaging, business plans, marketing, management, and business technology applications.

History

Equal Access to Economic Opportunity

In 1979 a group of community members got together to organize the business owners of the Lower Main area in Watsonville in order to lobby for protecting their rights and obtaining equal access to business opportunities from local government.

The community members recognized a need among Latino, Spanish-speaking business owners to obtain help in the form of access to business loans and other aid from local sources. At the time there had been talk about razing some of the buildings on the Lower Main area in order to build other buildings and promote economic growth, but this action would have displaced many Latino business owners. Concerned community members decided to form an organization that would organize the Latino, Spanish-speaking business owners to address perceived injustices and make sure their voices were heard in local government.