Developing alternative pathways for agricultural workers in the agricultural industry through Project MILPA

Agustin is currently a Project Coordinator for Project MILPA (Mision Independencia Logrando Poder y Aprendizaje) which aims to establish an agricultural cooperative and land trust to advance worker-owned regenerative agriculture in Ventura County, and is a collaborative project of the Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy (CAUSE), the Mixteco/Indigena Community Organizing Project (MICOP), and Lideres Campesinas. Prior to being a coordinator, Agustin was the owner and sole practitioner of Vias para el Desarrollo (Pathways for Development), where he sought to create and work with organizations such as worker-owned cooperatives, housing cooperatives, worker self-directed nonprofits, and other equitable organizations within the solidarity economy. He started his legal career doing Tenants’ Rights work (including eviction defense and affirmative litigation) and eventually found his way to Workers' Rights with the Legal Services of Oregon’s Farmworkers’ Rights program. In this work he primarily handled cases regarding discrimination, retaliation, health and safety, and unemployment benefits. 

At the end of a case, Agustin often saw his clients return to the same work system that had initially caused them harm, and he became increasingly interested in worker-owned cooperatives as a way to create new work systems to reduce these issues. His work in housing justice also grew an interest in housing cooperatives and community land trusts as a way to create permanent affordable housing. He believes that workers should have democratic control over their work and an equitable division of profits, that housing should be a human right instead of a means of investment, and that cooperatives are a move towards a more equitable society. While cooperatives may not have all the answers, he hopes that along this path we may find solutions we couldn’t have yet imagined.

Outside of work, Agustin enjoys playing music, getting outdoors, and spending time with his partner, family, and friends.