Document Details

This participatory, arts-informed study examines the experiences of workers from Mexico that live and work in the Niagara-on-the-Lake region of Ontario, Canada under the Commonwealth Caribbean and Mexican Seasonal Agricultural Workers program (SAWP). Whereas previous literature on the experiences of SAWP workers has relied on researcher-driven interviews and observations, this study looks at how workers themselves choose to tell their stories using collage and drama in a series of interactive workshops. This document begins by outlining the research problem and goes on to review existing literature on guestworker programs like the SAWP and the global context surrounding them. An overview of the participatory, workshop methodology follows. Data collected in this study is then presented and analyzed, including a number of new findings. Finally, the effectiveness of the methodology is evaluated, along with recommendations for further research and community organizing with SAWP workers.