Reports from the Rural Development USDA Meeting
On Wednesday, May 22nd, NABC’s Executive Director Mike Peroni, and Latinx Business Development Program (LBDP) Director, Alex Perez, had the opportunity to present to Washington’s Rural Development USDA team. Perez presented a summary of his work with Latinx Farming communities.
The presentation outlined LBDP’s outreach efforts and was well received. Following the presentation, Washington’s Deputy State Director, Rural Development, Tim O’Connell thanked Alex for his presentation. “We really, appreciate [Mike Peroni] and Alex presenting to our staff yesterday,” O’Connell wrote in an email. “We have had robust discussions as a result. Truly a learning experience for all.”
Perez provided a summary of his presentation on LBDP’s outreach efforts with Latinx Farmers, below.
On Language Barriers:
How many Indigenous languages are spoken in Mexico? Around 7 million Mexicans speak one of the 68 Indigenous languages that survive in the country, especially in the south of the country. It is important to know this since areas of the West and East of Washington have communities that speak primarily Mixteco alto, Mixteco bajo or Triqui.
The Latinx Business Development Program- Team works with Spanish-speaking community members and also with some that have other Indigenous languages as their primary language. This is important to know when helping them with one-on-one business technical assistance or support with loans and grants. The amount of effort and time needed to ensure that a client fully understands the complex and technical information can easily be tripled if not more.
Providing translated materials and having bilingual staff and or certified interpreters is key to helping bring equality and inclusion to the Latinx community. NABC – LBDP offers its services in a bilingual format and uses interpretation to Spanish and Indigenous Languages when needed in the workshops it offers.
Some steps that should be considered to build relationships with the Latino/Hispanic community:
It is important to know that the lack of building relationships and trust will limit outreach/marketing efforts. When possible and appropriate, time must be spent dedicated to developing relationships with families, individuals, and businesses. The Latinx community can notice when they are only being invited or used for a good photo. Therefore, If a good connection or trust is not built then future engagement will be limited and the interest to attend or participate in events/activities again will decline.
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NABC is so grateful for the opportunity to present to Washington’s Rural Development USDA team.
Photos by Washington state USDA Rural Development’s Public Information Officer Phil Eggman.