Erika Takeo Abroad: Reflections on my Internship & Summer with Adelante Mujeres

La Esperanza Farm in mid May

La Esperanza Farm in mid July

Hello everyone,

Greetings from Ohio, where I arrived yesterday and got to taste my first sun-ripened tomato for the summer! For those of you who don’t know, I’m back in Northeast Ohio to start work on my senior thesis (I’m evaluating urban agriculture projects in Cleveland based upon various standards of sustainability and success). I finished up my internship at Adelante Mujeres about a week ago. Before I get too busy with my next project, however, I wanted to provide some reflections on my summer internship. I learned a lot both about myself and about larger societal issues, so I will just mention briefly a few of the things I took away in both categories.

Personal-level reflections:

Some early season transplants of brassicas.

At mid-season, the greens are growing like crazy.

1. I am fueled by physical work and sunlight (but am humbled by those who do hard labor for a living). My favorite week of work was when it finally became summer in Oregon (mid-July) and I spent a lot of time out at La Esperanza Farm weeding, seeding, and doing other farm tasks. It’s also nice to feel like I’m accomplishing something when I do this work (growing good food for others).

2. It’s important for me for my work to reflect my values and passions. This might seem obvious, but I know a lot of people who don’t like where they work- and of course it’s idealistic to assume that it will be easy for me to get a job in something that I truly support. I found this summer that my work was also my play, and that I was doing similar activities (growing & eating food, learning about agriculture, and attending farmers markets) both during and outside of work. It was such a privilege to have this luxury, and yet I feel that everyone should have their work be something that they enjoy.

3. I need more training- specifically agricultural and intercultural training. I really enjoy and am challenged by farming, but I would never make it on my own at this point. Thankfully, there are many programs popping up throughout the country that are training new farmers in sustainable growing techniques and small business development (here is one such example). Another important skill for me to continue developing, since I want to continue to work with diverse populations in the realm of social (and environmental/food) justice, is my intercultural communication skills. This is much harder for me to learn, except of course by continuing to work with and learn from a variety of populations.

Societal-level reflections:

The demo plot at La Esperanza farm, at about the time
when we finally began to get on top of the weeds.

1. It’s very difficult to become a farmer. Not only is it hard to access training for sustainable agriculture, but it’s also hard to get start-up loans and to find land to lease or buy. For Latinos in Adelante Agricultura, it’s even harder because of other barriers like language, race, and access to markets. Thus, even with agricultural skills it’s so hard to make a living as a farm.

2. We need to have more programs so that low-income individuals and families can access and afford fresh, healthy, local, and sustainable food. (Making this a true reality would require completely re-doing our food system, so in the meantime other reforms are needed.) Hunger is not the only food issue around, it’s also being able to get affordable healthy food. Incentive programs for food stamps and WIC recipients at farmers markets such as the one I helped run this summer are extremely important in allowing individuals to come get tasty, local produce. There should also be more sustainable agriculture training courses and community gardens which any individual can attend so that all can just be able to not just purchase healthy food, but learn how to grow it themselves should they have interest. Continuing and expanding funding of programs such as these are very important in the renewal of this year’s Farm Bill, especially as more and more individuals and families continue to have incomes which do not meet their needs.

We use these tokens at market for our food stamps and WIC incentive programs.

The farmers market can serve as a place for kids to learn about
food, such as with this market produce tasting activity.

3. Immigrant life is not easy. I mentioned barriers that Latinos face when starting their own agricultural business. These barriers extend to many other parts of life, including getting a house or getting another job. I don’t mean to be patronizing, I just mean to say that the United States (especially the government) marginalizes and silences immigrants and that’s not fair. There are struggles in all parts of their life, and giving opportunities to populations like immigrants (and others who have been denied opportunities because of their background) is important in working towards a more just society. Adelante Mujeres is just one of the many organizations in the Portland area that are working to provide important services to these community members.

Lastly, here's a few of my favorite moments this summer and final photos:

Learning how to drive the farm tractor
Explaining the WIC and SNAP incentive programs at the Forest Grove Farmers Market in both English and Spanish (and learning about federal nutrition benefits in general)
Improving my skills with power tools (namely my friend the cordless drill)
Harvesting the kale and chard which I helped plant in May
Seeing some of the new farmers sell their produce at the market for the first time
Seeing the finished harvest guide that I helped write for the launch of La Esperanza Distributor
Getting my family involved in my interests of food and agriculture (my dad helped build the Esperanza Farm washing station & expand our backyard garden; my mom and I went berry picking and made jam/yogurt/cheese together)