Meet the Farmer

When Carlos Daniel De Jesús came to California with his wife, Griselda Crecencio, as farmworkers in 2005, his main priority was to support his children back home in Oaxaca; in fact, Carlos did not really give much thought to owning his own farm business until he heard about an organization called ALBA. Inspired by his years in the field, his community of peers, and this new opportunity, Carlos enrolled in ALBA’s Farmer Education classes, learning both about organic farming practices and farm business management. After graduating from ALBA, Carlos and his wife started Coyo Organico Farm in 2017, growing their operation from half an acre on ALBA’s property to leasing their own 11 acres in Soledad. 

Throughout their journey in owning a farm, Carlos and his wife have displayed tremendous resiliency as they’ve navigated language barriers, destructive storms, and limited capital access. In particular, Carlos has experienced a lack of accessibility of business and technical information available in his primary language, needing to translate English into Spanish, and then Spanish into his native language, Triqui. Thus, Carlos has been proactive in engaging community resources to strengthen his business, hiring a bookkeeper, and working with partner organizations such as the Resource Conservation District of Monterey County and California FarmLink.  

After thirteen years of tireless work, Carlos and his wife finally felt established enough to bring over their three children from Oaxaca and reunite in the U.S. Now, the family tends to the fields together, working to grow the business that sustains them.