Meet the Farmer

Herlinda Huipe can trace her love of the land to her childhood in Santa Cruz Tanaco, Michoacán, Mexico. She can still remember the days of helping her dad grow and harvest corn, beans, pumpkins, peas, and fava beans for the family to eat. She knew, at a young age, what it meant to grow food that would nurture other people. 

After moving to the U.S. in 2000, Herlinda worked hard to make ends meet. During one particularly challenging time, she worked at a farm during the day and a fast food restaurant by night. At one of her jobs, cultivating strawberries, she met Carmelo, her husband. She was raising two kids on her own at the time, and searching for stable income to support her family. Carmelo and Herlinda learned about the Agriculture and Land-based Training Association (ALBA) from a fellow farmworker. In 2021, they started their farm business and by 2024, they completed the Organic Farm Incubator program.

Herlinda says that even though the work can be tiring, farming is what she loves to do. It clears her mind and she feels proud to see the fruits of her labor—without anyone else pressuring her to work at a specific pace. She often shows her kids what’s growing on the land, and watching them learn more about the earth keeps her motivated. Her son, Ivan, participates in the farm by handling some of the administrative work. Herlinda hopes this tradition can continue for generations to come.