Using chiles and comics to address the physical and emotional wellbeing of farmworkers in Vermont’s borderlands

Teresa Mares (), Naomi Wolcott-MacCausland, Julia Doucet, Andy Kolovos and Marek Bennett
Additional contact information
Teresa Mares: University of Vermont
Naomi Wolcott-MacCausland: University of Vermont Extension, Bridges to Health
Julia Doucet: Open Door Clinic
Andy Kolovos: Vermont Folklife Center
Marek Bennett: Comics Workshop

Agriculture and Human Values, 2020, vol. 37, issue 1, No 14, 197-208

Abstract: Abstract In Vermont, approximately 1000–1200 migrant workers from Latin America are helping to sustain the state’s dairy industry. These dairy workers, the majority of whom are from Mexico and Guatemala, experience significant mental health impacts stemming from a combination of stressors due to leaving their home of origin and challenges related to working in rural Vermont. This article employs a framework of structural violence and structural vulnerability to situate the lived experiences and health concerns of migrant farmworkers in Vermont’s dairy industry. It presents two case studies of applied projects that have been utilized to address these health concerns, a gardening project called Huertas that addresses issues of food insecurity and barriers in access to fresh and culturally familiar produce, and a participatory comics project called El Viaje Más Caro that aims to address mental health concerns through engaged storytelling and comics production. The authors of this article have designed and carried out these projects with the goal of interrupting the forms of structural violence and structural vulnerability that negatively impact the wellbeing of farmworkers in the state’s dairy industry. This article describes the successes and limitations of these projects with the hope they can be adapted and replicated for other farmworker communities facing similar health barriers.

Keywords: Farmworkers; Wellbeing; Food security; Mental health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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DOI: 10.1007/s10460-019-09960-z

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