What We Do
We know that farm workers are and always will be the experts in farm work.
To encourage their creativity, we design activities where farm workers can develop their ideas about their work in the fields and have a voice in improving working conditions using their innovations.
Agricultural Employers: farmworkers can be an important part of the solution, We support producers by organizing innovation challenges amongst other workplace interventions (think hackathons) to generate impactful ideas to address workplace challenges. Farmworker consultants (yes, farmworkers with the demonstrated ability to consult) are also available to work with you. Let us know how we can support you.
Semillero’s primary activities include:
Some of the projects we have supported
As a field supervisor, Flor wanted to engage her team in a more efficient and supportive way. One key task she monitors is ensuring that the right number of blossoms are thinned. When she noticed blossoms being missed, she faced two choices: ask the worker to return with their ladder, costing them valuable time and possibly causing frustration, or ignore it altogether.
But drawing on her own experience of thinning, Flor empathized with the extra effort that would be required and imagined a third option: a simple tool she made using a fork and a stick, allowing her to reach missed blossoms or apples without disrupting the team’s workflow. With support from AgAID and Oregon State University, Flor collaborated with mechanical engineering students to co-create the next iteration of her idea. Flor shared that this partnership has motivated her to explore other innovations to better support her work in the field.
Other activities
