14 String hammock

14 String hammock
A day laborer begins making a Mexican-style string hammock at the site where workers wait for contractors to come hire them. He's teaching other workers at the site a traditional skill from his home town, something they can do to make a little extra money. The site, administered by the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, is an alternative to the shape-up, where workers wait on a corner for a contractor to come by and offer them work.

photographs and stories by David Bacon © 1990-1999

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