Hands That Feed Us: Migrant Families of North County San Diego
The Coalition of Indigenous Oaxacan Communities (COCIO) was proud to collaborate with Cal State University San Marcos, the National Latino Research Center, and the Fallbrook Latino Heritage Foundation on a project documenting the work, life, and community histories of farmworkers in North San Diego County.
Through this collaboration, students in CSUSM’s ANTH 440 Farmworker Health Ethnography course worked directly with local farmworkers and community organizations to better understand who North County’s farmworkers are, where they come from, the work they have contributed, and the roles they continue to play in our communities.
COCIO helped connect the project with Indigenous Oaxacan farmworkers whose stories reflect deep cultural, linguistic, and community ties to southern Mexico. Through personal interviews, participants shared their experiences of migration, labor, family, community involvement, challenges, accomplishments, and hopes for the future.
The project resulted in a book profiling 22 current and former farmworkers from North San Diego County. Their stories span generations, from individuals who came to the United States through the Bracero Program in the 1950s and 1960s to Indigenous workers from Oaxaca and other regions of southern Mexico who continue to maintain their languages, cultural traditions, and connections to their communities.
The completed book and community presentation brought these stories together and created a space for farmworkers to share their experiences in their own voices. The project also highlighted their labor, knowledge, resilience, cultural heritage, and lasting contributions to North San Diego County.
For COCIO, this collaboration reflects our ongoing commitment to strengthening the visibility and voice of Indigenous Oaxacan communities and ensuring that their histories and contributions are documented, respected, and shared with future generations.
