A $300,000 federal grant will allow a Forest Grove nonprofit to expand its organic agriculture project and train Latino farmers from throughout Washington and Yamhill counties. Adelante Mujeres will use the money from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to lease 12 acres from a Forest Grove landowner, mentor farmers and expand sales of produce to area farmers markets. Adelante Mujeres is the sole Oregon recipient of the grant, which is to be distributed over three years. "Many Latinos grew up in the fields and know a lot about farming," said Alejandro Tecum, director of the agriculture project. "When they move here, they miss this contact with the earth. We see the people's happiness when they come to farm, to be able to cultivate the land once again." The project, which teaches farming basics and rents the land to practice them, began in 2005 with a half acre and a successful effort to revive the Forest Grove Farmers Market, which Adelante Mujeres now manages. The group's goal is to support small farmers who have limited resources, barriers to accessing mainstream programs and limited English language skills. Besides the agriculture project, Adelante Mujeres, which translates as Onward Women, helps Latinas and their families through English and GED classes, leadership training and early childhood education. Adelante Mujeres is teaching farming at a time when only about 1 percent of the U.S. population is involved in agricultural labor, down from about 15 percent a century ago. Although 90 percent of hired farmworkers today are Latino – some foreign born, and some U.S. born citizens – few Latinos own farm land. The group is out to change that, while teaching Latinos how to farm using organic, sustainable methods. READ FULL STORY
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