The indigenous Mixteco people · Tezoatlán, Oaxaca

Their hands make beauty. Yours make it possible.

In the mountains of Oaxaca, families weave baskets just to survive. We turn that skill into a living wage, and give their children a future in music, preserve their language and culture, and receive an education.

● Tax-deductible · 501(c)(3) ● Volunteer-led & low-overhead. Your gift goes straight to the work

The First 100

One hundred neighbors. Two thousand dollars a month.

Real change needs steady support, not one-time bursts. 100 neighbors giving $20 a month builds a dependable $2,000 every month, enough to keep our programs running and plan for growth instead of just getting by.

Neighbors so far

5 of 100

$100 of $2,000 monthly · every new Neighbor makes this work more sustainable.

The moment it began

A mother, a sick baby, and a basket.

“I have nothing else to sell, but I know how to make baskets. My son is very sick and he needs medicine.”

A young mother in Tezoatlán, Oaxaca

She marketed her baskets as loudly as her voice would allow, her baby still and feverish in the carrier beside her. In a place this poor, an untreated illness can be permanent, or fatal.

Our founders met her on a trip to the Mixteco highlands. They couldn’t just help her once. That day the dream was born: not charity, but opportunity: a way for these families to earn, to heal, and to keep their culture alive on their own terms.

Today that idea has a name: Foundation Mixtecos Unidos.

“Here I was, worried about my car payment. And these families don’t even have clean water to drink. Your idea of a ‘minimal’ life changes completely when you stand out there.”

Victor Paz Jr., on his first visit to Tezoatlán

Start your $20 a month and become one of The First 100.

◆ Every $10 = one day’s wages for an artesano

Beautiful things, made by hand. Sold at cost.

Each basket, bag, hat, and wallet is woven from palm by hand. We sell them at cost, so nearly every dollar goes straight back to the maker. No two are exactly alike, because a real person made yours.

Buy one, gift one, or sponsor a batch for an event. It’s the rare gift that feeds a family and carries a story.

Baskets woven by our artesanos

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Countries united: Vista, CA & Oaxaca

School of Music for the community’s kids

Volunteer-run: a lean, low-overhead team

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MEANWHILE, BACK HOME · NORTH SAN DIEGO COUNTY

Our story began in Oaxaca. But home gets the same heart.

We’re a North County family. The same values that move us to help artisan families 2,000 miles away start with the people right next door, so we invest in local youth and families, and help preserve the culture and people around us. Not one culture. All of them.

ONE COMMUNITY, MANY ROOTS

Latino heritage Payómkawichum (Luiseño) Kumeyaay Mixteco friends & neighbors

GIVE MONTHLY

Pick a level. Change a life every month.

Monthly gifts are the heart of everything, here at home and in Oaxaca. Start where you can; you can change or cancel anytime.

MOST CHOSEN

$20/mo

Neighbor

Helps sponsor a child through our Stoic resilience program, covering their materials and a seat in the room.

or give $20 once →

$50/mo

Hometown Hero

Sponsors a child entirely through the Stoic program, start to finish, all year.

or give $50 once →

$100/mo

Guardian

Feeds our scholarship fund, helping an outstanding kid in need get a real shot at their future.

or give $100 once →

Secure checkout by Stripe · tax-deductible · cancel anytime. Or give any amount once →. Prefer Venmo or Zelle? See all the ways to give →

WHY IT MATTERS

We’re not only fighting poverty. We’re keeping cultures alive.

The Mixteco are one of Mexico’s oldest indigenous peoples, with their own language and dialects. As families migrate to survive, that heritage is at risk of fading, just as the Native and immigrant cultures of our own North County deserve to be honored and preserved. Our language classes, School of Music, and youth programs make sure the next generation grows up proud of exactly where they come from.

THE DISPATCH FROM TEZOATLÁN

See exactly where your dollars go.

Once a month we send one honest email: photos from the community, here and in Oaxaca. A story from an artesano or a kid in the program, and a plain accounting of what your support paid for. No spam, no guilt. Just the work.

We’ll never share your email. Unsubscribe anytime.

Extend a hand. Change what’s possible.

Books, instruments, your time, or twenty dollars a month. Every bit gives these families a fair chance to build a life, here at home and in Oaxaca. Be one of The First 100.