Featured Farmers - Nelida Martinez and Lisette Flores at Viva Farms

Nelida and Lisette, the mother-daughter team that farms together as Pure Nelida, are energizer bunnies in disguise. I met them on July 1st, a sunny and warm day, and they were working hard at seeding their land at Viva Farms, happy and beaming smiles so wide you'd think they just won the lottery or something.

They grow over 70 varieties of vegetables along with NW and Oaxacan herbs and other crops. You can see them also at the Mount Vernon and Bow Farmers' Markets. Nelida used to farm other people's soil in an environment thick with toxic chemicals, now she farms her own land at Viva Farms using organic and sustainable methods.

My gut told me there was something special about these women, just a feeling I got standing with them. A couple days later I came across a story about Nelida's history that Sarita Schaffer had posted on Puget Sound Food Network's blog. After reading it I understood my intuition. You must read Nelida's story (click here), INSPIRATION IS GUARANTEED.

In this video Lisette tells a sweet story of family, hard work, and blessings.

Viva Farms is a joint venture of WSU Extension & GrowFood.org, an international non-profit dedicated to helping new farmers get started by providing land, equipment and infrastructure, education, training and technical assistance (bilingual- Eng/Esp), marketing and distribution support and start-up loans.

We can support Viva Farms with tax deductible donations, subscribing to getting CSA food boxes, and volunteering all of which can be done at their website.