Austin Tan Cerca De La Frontera
About Austin Tan Cerca De La Frontera
Austin Tan Cerca De La Frontera helps people in Austin understand the lived realities of social and economic injustice along the Texas/Mexico border, especially for displaced and disenfranchised communities. It does that through solidarity delegations, the Women and Fair Trade Festival, and Border Talks, all grounded in popular education, the arts, and fair trade. For donors, the appeal is simple: this is hands-on transnational solidarity that keeps labor justice and border justice in the same frame.
ATCF does not just talk about the border from a distance. It brings Austin communities into direct contact with workers, organizers, and community members through delegations, public events, and educational gatherings. The work is shaped by transnational solidarity, popular education, and cultural work, with a clear focus on labor and gender justice.
Programs
The concrete work this nonprofit runs. Each program may later become a fundable project.
Solidarity delegations to the U.S.-Mexico border
Small-group delegations that travel to maquiladora communities and meet workers, organizers, and community members to learn about labor conditions and border justice.
Women and Fair Trade Festival
An annual festival in Austin featuring fair trade vendors, educational and poetry presentations, artistic and cultural workshops, and live Latin American music.
GEMA, Gender & Empowerment of Women towards Action
A program with six modules per year for women maquiladora workers in three border towns in Coahuila, Mexico, supported by ATCF volunteers who provide translation, interpretation, communication, and writing support.
Border Talks
Educational and artistic gatherings that bring together organizers, creatives, cultural workers, and communities around trade, border militarization, and related justice issues.
About this work
In their own words — what they do, who it reaches, and what your dollars actually fund.
Mission
Austin Tan Cerca de la Frontera raises awareness about conditions of social and economic injustice along the Texas/Mexico border, particularly as they affect displaced and disenfranchised communities, and supports community-driven resistance to injustice through transnational solidarity, the arts, and fair trade.
Who they serve
Displaced and disenfranchised communities along the Texas/Mexico border, especially maquiladora workers, women workers, immigrants, and community organizers.
How your donation helps
- Sustaining solidarity delegations to the U.S.-Mexico border
- Supporting the annual Women and Fair Trade Festival
- Supporting Border Talks and other educational events
- Sustaining community-driven, transnational solidarity work and border partners
Our story
Austin Tan Cerca de la Frontera began in 1999, when members of United Students Against Sweatshop and future founders gathered in front of a GAP store on Austin's Drag to protest human rights violations. Members of the Comité Fronterizo de Obrer@s joined them, and the effort became a program of the Austin office of the American Friends Service Committee later that year. In 2010, it became an independent nonprofit, with Quaker values of peace and justice still guiding the work.
Stories
The people behind the work.
In their words
"If multinational corporations can erase the national borders to make more money by enjoying the privileges created for them by free trade law and policy, then American consumers can also join in solidarity with workers in other parts of the world to produce a more just globalized economy."
"I always remember the ATCF trip as one of those formative experiences in the way I think about immigrants, trade policy, labor rights, and all that stuff that I'm still working with today."
"What touched me most was that this city of sweatshops lies closer to my house in Austin, Texas than does the city of Dallas."
Events
Women and Fair Trade Festival
annualAn annual weekend festival with artisan cooperatives, live music, fair trade vendors, educational presentations, and cultural workshops.
Border Talks
occasionalEducational and artistic gatherings on trade, border militarization, and solidarity, including the 2024 event From Palestine to Mexico.
International Women's Day Celebration
annualA yearly celebration with local musicians, spoken word performances, a community altar, and a lotería game.
Ways to help
Concrete needs and volunteer roles Austin Tan Cerca De La Frontera has shared.
Current needs
- Monthly donors
- Volunteers for the Women and Fair Trade Festival
- Support for solidarity delegations and Border Talks
- Donations that sustain community-driven organizing and border partners
Volunteer opportunities
- Help with the Women and Fair Trade Festival
- Translate and interpret on delegations and workshops
- Provide video, photography, and writing support for GEMA workshops
- Support Border Talks and other community education events
Recognition & press
In the media
- The Texas Observer, coverage of cross-border trade and labor justice through ATCF
- Texas Tribune, coverage of workers' rights groups and ATCF's NAFTA advocacy
- Spectrum News Austin, coverage of ATCF's critique of NAFTA
- KXAN, coverage of ATCF's work on issues faced by people along the U.S.-Mexico border
- The Daily Texan, coverage of the Women and Fair Trade Festival and labor injustices
- Yes! Magazine, coverage connected to ATCF's Women and Fair Trade Festival and a tamale cooperative
- Austin American-Statesman, coverage of a maquiladora workers event in Austin
- KOOP Radio's People United, interviews and festival coverage featuring ATCF
Press & mentions
Partners & funders
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about this nonprofit and how its work happens.
What are the solidarity delegations?
They are small-group trips to the U.S.-Mexico border, usually three to four times a year with about 10 to 12 participants. The delegations are hosted by the Comité Fronterizo de Obrer@s and include an interpreter, facilitator, and driver.
What happens at the Women and Fair Trade Festival?
The festival brings together artisan cooperatives, educational and poetry presentations, artistic and cultural workshops, live Latin American music, and fair trade vendors. The profits from those vendors go directly to the cooperatives.
What is GEMA?
GEMA stands for Gender & Empowerment of Women towards Action. It includes six modules each year for women maquiladora workers in three border towns in Coahuila, Mexico.
Are ATCF events offered in more than one language?
Yes. Some events include both English and Spanish interpretation.
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