La Mujer Obrera

What La Mujer Obrera does

La Mujer Obrera is a community-based nonprofit organization founded in 1981 in the Barrio Chamizal neighborhood of El Paso, Texas. It serves low-income, predominantly Hispanic women and families through workforce development, community organizing, and a portfolio of three social enterprises: Rayito de Sol daycare (founded 2000), Café Mayapán restaurant (founded 2001), and Lummetik Trading Co. (an e-commerce fair-trade retail platform). The organization also operates Tierra Es Vida, a community farm supporting local food sovereignty and cultural programming.

The organization functions as a hybrid nonprofit-social enterprise model. Revenue is generated through a mix of earned income from the three social enterprises (childcare tuition, restaurant sales, fair-trade product sales), philanthropic grants, and individual donations. La Mujer Obrera participates in the Niu Matat Napawika network, a cross-border coalition of Indigenous and women-led food systems organizations spanning the Americas. The organization's core programs include workforce training in food service and childcare, youth development, ESL and adult education, and cooperative business incubation.

La Mujer Obrera operates with a small staff of 1-10 employees and relies heavily on community volunteers and cooperative member participation. The organization has no disclosed technology platform of its own; its digital infrastructure consists of third-party tools such as Toasttab and tbDine for restaurant ordering and a standard e-commerce website for Lummetik. There are no published research outputs, patents, or proprietary data assets. The business model is mission-driven rather than profit-maximizing, with surplus from social enterprises reinvested into community programs.

Name

La Mujer Obrera

Legal name

Centro del Obrero Fronterizo

Website

https://mujerobrera.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1981

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

La Mujer Obrera is a community nonprofit founded in 1981 in El Paso's Barrio Chamizal, serving low-income Hispanic women and families through workforce development and three social enterprises: a daycare, restaurant, and fair-trade e-commerce platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Community Development and Social Enterprise Services

NAICS

Community Food Services (624210)

SIC

Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

Mexican/Latin QSR (Tacos, Burritos, Bowls) (THAFAAAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Neighborhood & Community Markets/Pop-Ups (Community-Led Bazaars) (MPAGAEAJ)

Keywords

• Community development services
• Social enterprise operations
• Childcare services
• Fair trade retail
• Community organizing programs

Headquarters

HQ city

El Paso

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Café Mayapán Restaurant Revenue: Café Mayapán operates as both a social enterprise and training center, providing traditional Mexican cuisine to the public. Established in 2001, it generates revenue through dine-in service, catering, and family pack orders.
2. Rayito de Sol Daycare Fees: Daycare and learning center providing childcare services with Spanish-immersion curriculum. Founded in 2000 as part of creating meaningful employment for NAFTA-displaced garment workers.
3. Lummetik Trading Co. Sales: Fair-trade import company selling textiles, home goods, and toys crafted by indigenous women's cooperatives. Serves as point of sale site for goods from Niu Matat Napawika network members.
4. Donations and Grants: Organization accepts donations through its website with various giving tiers ($10, $20, $30, $40) and frequency options (one-time, weekly, monthly, quarterly, annual).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

La Mujer Obrera operates social enterprises and community programs in El Paso's Barrio Chamizal. Its three revenue-generating social enterprises are Café Mayapán (a traditional Mexican cuisine restaurant and job training center established in 2001), Rayito de Sol Daycare and Learning Center (a Spanish-immersion childcare center founded in 2000 serving children ages 0–12), and Lummetik Trading Co. (a fair-trade import e-commerce site selling textiles, home goods, and toys from indigenous women's cooperatives across Mexico). These are complemented by community organizing and youth/environmental programs, plus a tiered online donations channel supporting operations.

Product overview

La Mujer Obrera operates a portfolio of social enterprises and community programs in El Paso's Barrio Chamizal neighborhood. The organization runs three primary social enterprises: Café Mayapán (a traditional Mexican restaurant and job training center established in 2001), Lummetik Trading Co. (a fair-trade import company for indigenous Mexican crafts), and Rayito de Sol Daycare and Learning Center (a Spanish-immersion childcare center founded in 2000). These enterprises are complemented by community organizing programs including youth development (Sembrando el Futuro), environmental resilience (Proyecto Verde/Tierra Es Vida), residents organizing (Familias Unidas del Chamizal), and art and culture initiatives. The organization functions as a multi-initiative nonprofit rather than a technology product company.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Café Mayapán: Traditional Mexican cuisine restaurant and job/food employment training center established in 2001
• Rayito de Sol Daycare and Learning Center
• Lummetik Trading Co.
• Tierra Es Vida
• Proyecto Verde / Barrio Resiliency
• Familias Unidas del Chamizal
• Sembrando el Futuro

Products and services

• Café Mayapán Traditional Mexican cuisine restaurant and job/food employment training center providing heritage-based food to the public, along with dine-in service, catering, family packs, and online ordering via Toasttab and tbDine. Open Monday–Friday 11AM–3PM and Saturday 8AM–3PM at 2000 Texas Ave, El Paso.
• Rayito de Sol Daycare and Learning Center Spanish-immersion daycare and learning center serving children from infants (0–18 months) through school-age (6–12 years), with a curriculum that affirms and develops Mexican cultural heritage and prepares children for kindergarten. Includes before/after-school and summer programming. Operates Monday–Friday at 2120 Texas, El Paso.
• Lummetik Trading Co. Fair-trade import e-commerce company serving as a point-of-sale site for textiles, home goods, and toys crafted by indigenous women from cooperatives across Mexico that are members of the Niu Matat Napawika national network. Operates online via laredniumatat.org/comprar/.
• Sembrando el Futuro Youth Program Children and youth program developing cognitive, socio-emotional, and physical skills through community bonds, connection to the land, free play, civic engagement, culturally responsive cooking classes, garden-based art education, multi-day camping trips, and hands-on regenerative agriculture education for low-income children in Barrio Chamizal.
• Proyecto Verde (Barrio Resiliency) Community-based climate resilience and environmental program promoting alternatives to the climate crisis born from the community, including workshops, platicas, and the annual Tianguis del Chamizal celebration.
• Familias Unidas del Chamizal (Barrio Defensa) Resident-led community organizing effort responding to historical neglect, discrimination, digital divide, language barriers, and displacement threats affecting the Barrio Chamizal community.
• Tierra Es Vida Land Stewardship 1-acre urban community farm and land stewardship program using regenerative methods to restore ecological health in an industrial border environment, serving as a community gathering space, outdoor classroom, growing-assistance hub, and demonstration site.
• Art and Culture Program Cultural preservation and expression program using theater, music, and workshops to document relationships with nature, reclaim community narrative, and create spaces that value and protect the land.
• Archives Program Archiving program preserving and documenting community history, relationships with nature, traditions, and stories of resistance and resilience within the Barrio Chamizal community.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Niu Matat NapawikacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNiu Matat Napawika is a national network of indigenous women's cooperatives across Mexico. La Mujer Obrera launched this network to assist women in small business development and export. Lummetik Trading Co. serves as a point of sale site for goods crafted by cooperatives that are members of this network.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Centro de los Derechos del Migrante: Transnational migrant worker rights organization serving Mexican and Central American workers. Comparable in cross-border mission, focus on Mexican-heritage worker communities, and binational organizing approach.
• Esperanza Community Housing: Los Angeles-based nonprofit combining community organizing, environmental justice, and direct services for Latino families in a historically underserved neighborhood. Comparable on the integration of advocacy, place-based programming, and cultural affirmation.
• The Common Market: Nonprofit regional food distributor connecting local farms to underserved communities. Comparable in operating mission-driven food distribution with cultural and community-development objectives similar to Lummetik Trading Co.'s fair-trade model.
• Nuestras Raíces: Holyoke, MA-based nonprofit running a 30-plot urban agricultural farm and Latino food enterprise programs for community economic development. Directly comparable on the urban farm, cultural preservation, and Latino community economic development dimensions.
• ROC United (Restaurant Opportunities Centers): National nonprofit advancing restaurant workers' rights and operating worker-owned restaurant cooperatives. Directly comparable to La Mujer Obrera given the overlap of Mexican-heritage community focus, restaurant operations, and worker-centered social enterprise model.
• Mandela Marketplace: Oakland-based nonprofit operating food enterprises (marketplaces, distribution) in an underserved community to build wealth and health. Directly comparable as a community-rooted nonprofit running food-related social enterprises serving low-income residents.
• Brandworkers: Nonprofit supporting low-wage workers in consumer-facing industries (food, retail) to form cooperatives. Comparable in operating at the intersection of food/retail worker rights, cooperative enterprise creation, and immigrant community empowerment.

Regional players

• East LA Community Corporation: Community development corporation serving East Los Angeles Latino neighborhoods with housing, organizing, and economic development programs. Comparable in combining place-based community development, Latino cultural focus, and resident-led organizing.

Broad incumbents

• Make the Road New York: Large immigrant and working-class community organizing nonprofit operating multiple programs and social enterprises. Comparable in combining community organizing, worker rights advocacy, and direct services for Latino/immigrant communities.

Emerging players

• Cooperation Texas: Austin-based nonprofit developing worker cooperatives as a path to economic resilience for low-income workers. Comparable in centering worker-owned enterprise creation and economic empowerment for marginalized communities.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/rayitodesoldaycare
• Xx.com/mujerobrera
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/la-mujer-obrera

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about La Mujer Obrera