Taos food revival: paying farmworkers to rebuild our food system

EARTH represents a larger collective of individuals, families, organizations, and businesses that seek to fortify our local food system. Less than 1% of the food consumed in Taos County is grown in Taos County whereas 100 years ago, Taos County was a key location supplying food to Northern New Mexico. With a rich history of Indigenous stewardship from the Pueblos and surrounding Apache, Kiowa, Diné, and Comanche tribes combined with the acequia culture brought by the Spanish, we have deep agricultural knowledge to work with.

The challenge today is the food system that supplies cheaper food coming from California and other bread basket states as well as food from other countries competing with local farmers struggling to survive and needing to charge high prices for local food. This excludes the majority of New Mexico’s population from seeking access to local food because it is simply unaffordable. The aforementioned collective is working on ways to meet these specific challenges.

We have been mapping and connecting with farmers and landowners with fallow lands that have water rights towards getting more seed in the ground. We have many landowners that want to grow more food yet simply do not have the capacity or funds to pay farmworkers. We are working with community members that are envisioning creative ways to work trade for housing etc. While we appreciate all efforts, EARTH is seeking funding to pay farm workers as an investment in the revitalization of a food system.

EARTH is passionate about organic and regenerative practices in combination with the ancient practices of this region. We are always learning and sharing. With more regenerative-oriented farm workers moving between farms in Taos County, we believe there would be an overall increase in production as we would be keeping more water in the ground and developing a system scaffolding the ease of regenerative practices. With an established team of supported farm workers, we would like to offer our practices to conventional farmers as well.