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Farming is no easy occupation to get into. And for many minority, low-income people, the challenges are heightened. The Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association (ALBA), is an EPA and USDA-funded program that enables people to become independent organic farmers. The majority of people who enroll are low-income, but participants who stick with the six month program learn valuable marketing and business skills in addition to best organic farming practices. María Catalán, who sells at all three of the Berkeley Farmers’ Markets, and is considered a success story of ALBA. Now, she integrates what she learned at ALBA with her family’s own folklore and farming techniques. Click here to read more.