Greetings, my name is Bruce Bermudez and I am a 33 year old veteran farmer, excited to join the OC team as an intern for the Red Willow Farm. I was born and raised in Los Angeles, California until I was 13 years old and moved to Taos Pueblo, New Mexico with my grandparents on the reservation. Moving from a big city to a small mountain town, I gained a new perspective/outlook on life, farming the family lands with my grandparents. This is where I began to develop my passion for plants and the symbiotic relationships which we have so much to learn from each other. I am currently working towards a bachelor’s degree from New Mexico State University in Business Agriculture and Horticulture Technology. However, I’d much rather be engaged with my hands in the earth, or coming up with new methods of maximizing production while using natural resources to help sustain the growing need for local production of foods (plants and animals alike).
I enjoy anything that has to do with being outdoors and enjoying the elements. For the past 13 years I have been an avid river raft guide and ski/snowboard enthusiast . I have always had a growing interest to learn more about internalizing local production and helping communities succeed in consuming locally grown foods. Learning how to start co-ops has always been a goal for myself and the community, which I am ever so grateful to now be part of through the opportunity presented by Ogallala Commons Organization as an intern/apprentice. By serving as an intern in co-op development stages I hope to gain the knowledge and skills to assist in developing a successful functioning co-op model at the Taos Pueblo Community, gaining insight on how to achieve a lifetime goal of owning/managing my own personal farm with similar methods.