A sustainable, affordable, worker-owned housing cooperative
Cabrillo Village, a former labor camp in Saticoy, California, is an affordable housing community created and cooperatively owned and managed by farm workers. In 1975 the workers, striking against cheap labor and oppression, faced eviction from the village. Rather than lose their homes, residents joined together to fight the eviction and in 1976 were able to purchase Cabrillo Village. They rebuilt the 1936 labor camp to create an affordable housing cooperative with resident ownership and control.
Cabrillo Village was rebuilt by farm workers who decided to organize, save their homes and provide vivid evidence that low-income housing can be aesthetically appealing and reflect a strong native culture.
1989 Selection Committee
Over the next three years, the new owners renovated and expanded the existing, dilapidated cabins and built new, energy efficient single-family homes and community facilities. The 25-acre village now includes 160 new and renovated homes and a community center. Cultural, environmental, and family values were top priorities in the resident-driven design and construction of the new housing units and rehabilitation of the older cabins. The new structures incorporate passive and active solar heating systems with contemporary adobe styling.