Prados Beauty: A Xicana/Indigenous brand built on community
RCAC’s Rooted Relative Fund offered Cece Meadows what traditional lenders wouldn’t: capital evaluated on community impact, not credit scores. Now Prados Beauty is the top-selling independent color cosmetics brand at JCPenney.
After the smoke cleared: How Mora, NM, forged its own path to recovery
MORA, N.M. — On April 23, 2022, smoke rose over the Sangre de Cristo range as two federally prescribed burns merged in high winds, igniting the largest wildfire in New Mexico’s history. By August, the Hermit’s Peak-Calf Canyon Fire had scorched 341,471 acres—a burn scar larger than the city of Los Angeles.
Tierra del Sol Housing Corporation
Tierra del Sol Housing Corporation (TSHC), a longtime regional nonprofit, has been active in New Mexico’s border communities since 1973, with a mission to provide safe, affordable housing through self-help home construction. In the unincorporated colonia of Vado, TSHC planned a 41-lot subdivision—Vado New Horizons 2—to expand homeownership opportunities for low-income families.
Acoma Pueblo
Acoma Pueblo is home to approximately 3,230 residents, most of whom are Native American. The community faces persistent economic challenges, with a median household income between $48,000 and $56,000 and a poverty rate near 20%. The Acoma Pueblo Housing Authority (APHA) has worked for years to improve housing conditions and expand economic opportunity across the Pueblo’s 603-square-mile reservation.
Earth & Sky Floral Designs and Gallery, LLC
Earth & Sky Floral Designs and Gallery, LLC is a 100% Native American woman-owned business located on the Pueblo of Laguna reservation. Owned by Shayai Lucero of the Acoma and Laguna Pueblos, the business provides full-service floral arrangements for weddings, funerals, birthdays, holidays and local ceremonies.
