Imperial County

Imperial is the youngest and poorest county in California and one of the mainproducers of winter vegetables, salads, grain, and alfalfa in the United States.The demand for water is enormous—oldwater rights ensure Imperial Countyvast quantities of water from the Colorado River. Here, hard-workingpeople,especially Hispanics, labor in the fields to the point of exhaustion, while thehomeless, the displaced, and the downshifters live the flip-sideof the AmericanDream. Berlin-basedphotographer Lars Borges dedicates his book project tothese people in an effort to point out the effects of unbridled global capitalismon humans and nature.