Apuntes de campo es el blog donde los estudiantes de Estudiantes en Acción con Campesinos (SAF) comparten historias de su trabajo directo en el campo con los trabajadores, el trabajo organizativo de base y las actividades de defensoría. Y también donde los trabajadores agrícolas comparten sus propias historias y esperanzas de cambio, escribiendo en el lenguaje que les resulte más cómodo a cada uno.
This Shaped Who I am Today...
My name is Jacqueline, [I am] a daughter of immigrants and former farm workers. My parents originally Mexico, later migrated to the United States. I was born and raised in North Carolina with my ten siblings. Growing up, there wasn’t always much to do [especially when] many of my older sisters often went out with their friends, and the large age gap made it harder for me to be included. [So], I spent most of my time playing active games with my brothers. Before we had access to WiFi, those games became our main source of fun and creativity. Because…
This Is Not The End
I am so grateful to have been given the opportunity to be part of the 2025 ITF summer cohort. It has been a well rounded experience full of both ups and downs. My placement was National Black Worker Center where I learned the art of organizing. It’s one thing to be part of a movement, but it’s definitely another thing to organize it. From meetings, paperwork, getting people to signup/ register, securing space, securing funding and most importantly, delivering the message to the people. These are all exciting “behind” the scenes work that I enjoyed. A very important lesson that…
Their Courage to Travel So Far From Home
[Editor’s Note: The following sentence has been added for context to clarify which experience the student is reflecting on in response to the prompt.] One day that truly stuck with me during my placement was when we visited the farmworker camps. I'd have to repeat that the visits themselves are the most memorable moments. Talking with farmworkers who just came back from hard work under the sun, some having been at the camp decades, others just days. Hearing their courage to travel so far from home in order to provide more for their families. Hearing their aspirations for the future,…
First Outreach Experience
I recently had the privilege of attending my first outreach experience with El Futuro es Nuestro (one of the coolest organizations ever!!). That day, we visited a flea market, and our job was to go up to people, introduce ourselves, and share the goals of El Futuro. Afterwards, we visited a house where multiple farmworkers live to lead a workshop on the dangers of heat. I remember the heat that day was intense, which made me even more alert and tuned in as we went through the workshop. We happened to be accompanied by the Executive Director of SAF, who…
First Week!
Hi! I’m Grace Herman, a rising junior at UNC Chapel Hill studying Public Health and Public Policy. I’m thrilled to join the SAF 2025 ITF cohort and will be working this summer with the NC Farmworkers Project alongside my intern partner, Johana. Last week, at SAF orientation, I learned about the farmworker justice movement through popular education and had the incredible opportunity to meet fellow ITF interns who I now call my friends and hear their inspiring stories. I have also spent a lot of time reflecting on my journey here and my place within this movement. My passion for health equity…
Summer Into the Fields
Hello, I am currently a third-year student at UNC Wilmington, majoring in Spanish. I’m excited to be interning with Student Action Farmworkers (SAF). I grew up in Florida a small town best known for its strawberry fields and the annual Strawberry Festival. I also spent part of my childhood in North Carolina, a small town which I often describe as living in the woods surrounded by deer. Coming from a family of fieldworkers, agricultural work was my first job as well. As a child, I didn’t fully understand what my mother meant when she said I was lucky to have the…