Readers have asked a couple of questions in the comments to the previous post, Handicapped in Mexico. First: I believe the woman shown crawling in the market in Oaxaca suffers from birth defects. One arm is missing below the elbow, the other above. Her legs seem to end high on each thigh. She drags herself along with her arms, getting no help from what remains of her legs.

Second: Centro de Crecimiento was founded by Lucha Maxwell, a long-time resident of San Miguel who provided care for her handicapped husband until his death. She is a leading member of our community with a warm, unpretentious air about her. She's someone you really want to meet. And you can. One of the Crecimiento fundraisers is a tour of galleries, studios and historic sites called Saturday Adventurers. Take the tour and you'll find Lucha on the bus, bubbling over with enthusiasm and energy.

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The other day Paul (El Guapo) Latoures and I were headed out the Dolores Highway to Parripollo, planning to pig out on barbecued chicken and cecina. Paul was grumbling as he often does about all the new housing developments on the outskirts of town, when we passed this place:

"Look," said Paul. "They're even building way out here. Who's gonna live in all these houses?"

Turns out this isn't a housing development; it's an industrial one. Light industry. Very light.

Most of the buildings on this estate consist of a warehouse, some offices, and some small factories owned and operated by Charles Hall. His business, called Exportadora Camino Norte, exports Mexican handcrafted items to retailers in the United States. In recent years, Charlie has begun manufacturing some of the goods he exports, to ensure consistent and reliable supply and quality. Part of his mission is to keep Mexican handcraft traditions alive by providing a place for people to learn and practice artisanship.

You can see some of the glassware and candles he produces in this view of his warehouse.

Charlie, shown here with his chocolate lab, has one other mission: To provide employment for handicapped persons. He is particularly qualified for this, because he himself is handicapped. He has worked in corporations that, while laudably hiring the handicapped, fail to get the most out of such people, shortchanging themselves while at the same time limiting career growth of employees with disabilities.

You can read much more about what Charlie is up to in his blog.

Here's a look at Charlie's operation. This view is from the grabado (glass-carving) factory, which now employs seven, four of whom are disabled. Here, Miguel looks on while Remedios and Magdalena learn the art, carving practice pieces of flat glass.

Soon they will be producing objects like this partially-completed drinking glass.

The newest of Charlie's operations is the candle factory. Previously he bought candles from an independent candle maker, but supply issues caused him to purchase the process and begin manufacturing them himself.

Although the candles appear to be hand dipped, they are actually made by repeatedly pouring molten wax over them. Above, Rosa dips wax form the galvanized tub and pours it over a candle, rotating the circular frame to bring new candles into position as needed. The tub sits on a gas heater which keeps the wax at about 100º C.

Below, Paula, Erika, and Elia apply brand labels to the candles.

The finished Santa Rosa candles are available at a number of U. S. and Mexican specialty stores.

Today Charlie worries about the state of the economy and the effect it might have on his business. But his is a well-run, successful enterprise of which an important ingredient is something few understand: Handicapped people represent an underused reservoir of people who are every bit as productive as anyone else. The secret is to allow them to work out how to get their jobs done in their own ways. They know best how to apply their individual faculties to any task.

Government agencies and NGOs provide aid to the handicapped. But they're not enough. It takes a visionary like Charlie to bring such people into the mainstream. His workers hold desireable jobs in a country where it's difficult for anyone to find work, much less someone with a disability.

He's not cutting his people any breaks. Exportadora Camino Norte is not a charity. Charlie just makes the effort to seek out such people and gives them the freedom to do their thing. They are expected to perform as well as anyone. They have to—if the business is going to succeed.