Washblog

A cooperative is a business owned and controlled democratically by people who use its services. To many people the most familiar kind of co-op is the consumer co-op, in which the shoppers (at a natural food store, for example) are also the owners and operators. A worker's cooperative operates on the same principle, but is owned by the workers, or worker-owners. The idea of a farm worker's cooperative would transform the traditional hierarchy of farmer and farm workers into a democratically run, egalitarian workplace.

After a season of hard work, Maria and Roberto have legally created a farm worker's cooperative. They have provided their community with thousands of pounds of fresh vegetables at the Bellingham and Fairhaven farmer's markets. It has been difficult to find other farm workers willing to take the risk involved in starting a cooperative. Maria said they may have to  hire workers during the next season, and maybe they can be employed for a trial period before joining the cooperative as worker-owners. It's understandable that other farm workers might be cautious about investing in a cooperative. According to the US Department of Labor, three out of four farm workers earn less than $10,000 annually, and three out of five families live below the federal poverty line.

Although Roberto and Maria were paid as farm workers, and allowed to take a limited amount of produce home with them, it did not provide enough a livable wage or enough fresh vegetables for the family.

As agricultural workers, Maria said, the recognition for the work they did went to their employers. With the cooperative, Maria and Roberto hope to improve their lives by providing a living wage for themselves and other farm workers in an environment where everyone's work is recognized and valued.

"Now we have food without chemicals to feed our children, and everyone sees that we grow this beautiful food," Maria said.

As the harvest season comes to a close, Maria and Roberto have begun  plowing new land for the new year. They will continue working towards more ecologically sustainable farming methods, and reaching out to other farm workers to work together as the cooperative builds momentum.  Roberto and Maria have named the cooperative "Coperativa Jacal." Jacal," the word for a traditional house in Michoacan, is also the name of Roberto's hometown. Naming the cooperative "Jacal" is a way of honoring their roots in Mexico.

A jacal is traditionally an earthen hut, with a thatched roof; like a small-scale, sustainable farm, it is created out of whatever resources the local ecology provides. Jacales are built without doors, leaving an open doorway for visitors to come and go at will. Likewise, Maria and Roberto envision Coperativa Jacal as the beginning of a new way for their people to live together with mutual trust and respect.

I work with Coperativa Jacal as a food justice intern at Community to Community Development. Working with the cooperative, as it unfolds into a powerful vehicle for change in this community, is very exciting. I am inspired by Maria and Roberto's vision of a way of life that is nourishing both for  their people and for the land that supports all of us.