By Donne Gonzales, NMAA Farm Trainer
On September 27th, Sembradores graduates from the past and the present cohort of 2025 gathered. Our purpose was checking in with one another, considering what young farmers need to flourish, and sharing about our garden plots and acequia use this year as we reflect on another season. (We all saw how the grasshoppers and gophers took over).
We talked about what we’ve learned; like planting things closer together for better pollination, or how to practice dryland farming. We also shared some challenges that still need solutions;
like — how can every young farmer that wants to farm access land?
As the Farmer Trainer I’m really inspired by each of these homies. Their ideas and dreams are among the most beautiful because of the blending of tradition, sustainability, and what each of them has to bring to the table as individuals...I’m so proud and so in love with this work that creates connection, community, and sacred health among a young network of land lovers and caretakers.
These Sembradores want real, human, genuine interactions. We want to help one another. We want to help the entire ecosystem! We understand the bigger picture.
We’re contributing to all those beautiful spaces our elders held near their hearts. We have been in service to families, friends, and communities.
We have cultivated people, feeding the community, caring for elders, caring for sacred seed, tending the land with so much joy and hope for the future. It brings so much peace to our hearts. It feeds our soul to see growth in many different forms.
Elder farmers, I ask you to hold our hands.
Teach us your tricks. Share your seed (we promise to take care of them)!
We don’t want to recreate the wheel… We want to receive your wisdom.
Be gentle with us. Be open-minded.
Young farmers, I ask you to hold the hands of our elders and teachers.
They know all the old tricks.
And when we’ve got new-age hacks — let’s teach those gently, too.
We need to count on each other. We need to be in community. We need to love, apologize, and keep learning. We need to have respect for each other and all these marvelous living things in our world.
It is our right to have clean water. It is our right to have sacred seeds. It is our right to be healthy. It is our right to have happy babies. It is our right to have a thriving family. It is our right to have FARM HOMIES FOR LIFE!!! It is our RIGHT to LIVE A GOOD LIFE!
The Sembradores Program at NMAA continues its commitment to creating a safe container for young farmers to grow in their knowledge of self, connection to community and capacity to grow food. We will continue to host annual gatherings of all of our graduates to continue learning from each other and support one another.
We are here, young farmers…
Rising to meet the moment.
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