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 Courtesy photo. New Report: Healing Land, Collective Power is the culmination of two years of research and visioning on developing farmworker cooperatives
OXNARD — On June 25, 2024, CAUSE, MICOP, and Lideres Campesinas — longtime farmworker rights organizations in Ventura County — brought local stakeholders and leaders together to release a new report, Healing Land, Collective Power, which laid out a vision for advancing farmworker-led cooperatives and land trusts in local agriculture.
The three organizations came together in 2022 to begin studying the potential to develop farmworker cooperatives in Ventura County. The multi-year research, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, included surveys and focus groups with farmworkers, interviews with alternative agriculture experts across the country, and a map of farmland ownership in Ventura County.
Local farmworker advocacy organizations have long heard agricultural workers’ desires for healthier working environments, a greater share of economic benefits, and more voice in the companies they work for. Many of them also aspire to farm their own land.
The research indicated that 99% of farmworkers surveyed were interested in owning their own farm, while 93% stated that they’d be interested in being part of a farmworker cooperative. However, incomplete immigration status, lack of land access, and language barriers were cited as barriers preventing farmworkers from achieving this.
“Many times we stop ourselves due to our immigration status, lack of economic resources, and information, and the very truth is that my dream is to have something of my own. For myself and my three children.” stated farmworker leader Guadalupe Abasolo.
During the report presentation, policymakers, representatives from the agriculture, labor, environmental, public health sectors, and farmworker leaders packed the Lideres Campesinas’ office.
“We’re inspired by the outpouring of community support for building farmworker cooperatives and innovation in Ventura County agriculture. The past two years of research have laid out a vision for stewarding our land for a healthy environment and sustaining the livelihoods for those whose labor feeds the world,” said Lucas Zucker, CAUSE Co-Executive Director.
The report makes the case that Ventura County should use current farming challenges as opportunities for change to create a restorative and just agriculture industry through the development of farmworker-led cooperatives and land trusts. This vision for a more just agriculture industry could be accomplished through the policy recommendations laid out in Healing Land, Collective Power.
“Even though we are facing obstacles, this is an exciting time for our efforts. We have strong engagement from our farmworker leaders and promising possibilities for the future from state and local entities in 2025 and beyond. There is critical energy around our work to change and influence land use through farmworker-led cooperatives.” said Genevieve Flores-Haro, MICOP’s Associate Director.
Read the full report here. Photos can be downloaded here.
CAUSE is a base-building organization committed to social, economic, and environmental justice for working-class and immigrant communities throughout California’s Central Coast. We build grassroots power through community organizing, leadership development, coalition building, civic engagement, policy research, and advocacy. For more information, please visit https://causenow.org/
The Mixteco/Indigena Community Organizing Project (MICOP) aims to support, organize, and empower the indigenous migrant communities in California’s Central Coast. We operate over 20 programs across Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo counties, offering a range of social service and community organizing programs, Indigenous Language Interpretation Services (ILIS), and Radio Indigena 94.1 FM. For more information, please visit mixteco.org
Líderes Campesinas is a statewide network of powerful advocates based in sixteen farm-working communities where we impact thousands of women and their families. We organize to create healthier working conditions, safer environments and engaged women leaders. Líderes Campesinas focuses on the inherent power and leadership of farmworker women because when we invest in them, we take care of entire families and communities. Learn more about our work: https://liderescampesinas.org/
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