By: Ruben Estrada

 

On the outskirts of Eugene a half completed chicken coop sits on a flatbed trailer in a muddy field. Behind the chicken coop lays a large area of cropland. In the spring and summer it is filled with berries, lettuce, corn and a variety of other produce. But in late October a few sporadic strawberry plants and decaying corn stalks are all that remain.

The land is home to an organic, Latinx operated farm called The Small Farmers’ Project. Usually members are out tending to the land but today only one person can be seen hard at work. As president of The Small Farmers’ Project Margarito Palacios spends most of his time in the fall preparing for the cold season ahead. As winter approaches he puts together a new coop by hand for the organization’s chickens. Using construction skills obtained during his first job in this country Margarito makes the solo job look easy. As an immigrant from Mexico he has moved several times before choosing to settle down in Eugene a little over a decade ago.

Farming was not a profession Margarito expected to enter when he arrived in the United States as a young man. After working in Los Angeles for three months in construction all he knew was he disliked his job and the big city. When his wife Tina joined him in Los Angeles a few months later the two decided to join her uncle in a city in the pacific northwest called Eugene. As soon as they arrived Margarito knew he had found a special place. “I really liked it here, in Oregon, and I stayed.” Soon after moving, Tina’s uncle changed their lives by introducing them to an organic, Latinx operated community garden called Huerto de la Familia. Coincidentally, it was at this time when Huerto de la Familia began a partnership with Heifer International to create a farm based business operated by low income Latinx families. Despite growing up on a farm Margarito had never had a job in the agriculture industry. Nevertheless, Margarito and Tina had quickly proven themselves passionate members of Huerto and joined the group of families who would go on to start the farming business soon to become The Small Farmers’ Project.

Since then the project has grown into a successful business working with local vendors, operating a U-pick berry farm over the summer and providing the community with 100% organic produce.

As the leader of the operation Margarito is continuously planning ahead. The group spends a large amount for the land each year and must dedicate countless hours to its success but for Margarito the farm is worth the sacrifice. “You can’t imagine how much joy it brings me to see my kids running around my farm.” With no end in sight for Small Farmers’ Margarito hopes he can raise his kids on the land while continuing to serve the community with organic produce for years to come.