As workforces shift and people move out of long held job positions and re-enter the job market, the option of becoming a farmer has emerged as a viable option. Organizations around the country—like ALBA in Salinas, California—provide the necessary tools to prepare these “Green Collar” workers.
[This image was made possible with generous funding from Google.]
31 August 2010
Alba Organic Farm
at Triple M Ranch
Las Lomas, CA
Workers retrained to work in agriculture = “reconvertido profesionalmente en la agricultura”
ALBA= AGRICULTURE + LAND BASED TRAINING ASSOCIATION
This group provides land and guidance for aspiring farmers (like Maria Bravo) and farm-workers interested in growing and selling their own organic crops. Farmers are trained in:
1)organic farm production
2)marketing
3)record keeping
4)labor practices
5)pest management
(and other skillsets required for running a small farm business)
MARIA BRAVO WAS AN OFFICE WORKER AT BIRDSEYE FOODS FOR 20 YEARS BEFORE THE PLANT CLOSED IN 2003. Maria Bravo’s grandfather was a farmer and her father spent part of his life as a sharecropper. After 20 years working in one job, she couldn’t imagine herself embarking on a new career, but then she heard about ALBA. They gave her a half acre plot. With help from her father-in-law and daughter (she helped seed), Maria Bravo put her faith in Mother Nature and became a farmer.
