This episode explores how a Hispanic led cooperative farm in western North Carolina emerged from a community food distribution effort and is now building long term land security, shared governance, and culturally rooted agricultural production. It focuses on: (1) the cooperative’s land journey, beginning with informal shared space on a flood prone field, followed by a small leased church plot, and culminating in the 2024 purchase of a nine acre property supported by Equity Trust and the Persimmon Collective Fund; (2) the worker owners’ shared identity and values, shaped by their leadership in the Abundancia food distribution program and their commitment to creating stability, mutual support, and culturally relevant foodways for their Hispanic community; (3) the cooperative’s business model, which blends diversified crop production, sales to farmers markets and food access programs, technical assistance and Spanish language workshops through Transplanting Traditions, and a fiscal sponsorship arrangement that compensates the farm for food distributed through Abundancia; (4) the governance structure, where an LLC partnership operates with cooperative principles, democratic decision making, consensus based meetings, and intentional practices to help members find their voice and build trust; and (5) the challenges and lessons emerging from the cooperative’s growth, including the difficulty of sustaining fair compensation, the need to refine ownership and retirement models now that land is secured, the importance of supporting women in farming, and the long term goal of creating a stable, intergenerational farm that can one day be passed on to younger growers.

• Transcript of complete interview
• Tierra Fertil website