Agricultural Roots

Much of the farm industry’s growth in the valley continues to rely on the contributions of Asian immigrants—their early stories often untold and unseen.

Client: Veggielution, County of Santa Clara
Community Partners: Japanese American Museum of San Jose, Yu Ai Kai, California History Center & Foundation Deanza College, Filipino American National Historical Society

What does “The Valley of Heart’s Delight” mean to you? Whose narratives does this phrase include? Many elder locals who grew up here can often be heard reminiscing of those times where “back in the day, this region use to all be filled with nothing but dirt roads and orchards.” Undepicted, past the imagery flowering orchards and pastoral settings are the working hands and faces of the Japanese, Chinese, and Filipino immigrant farmworkers who were brought over to the United States and have significantly contributed to the growth of the Valley’s farm industry.

AgriCultural Roots is a storytelling project that will highlight and memorialize the collective contributions of Asian immigrants through artifacts, first-person narratives, and storytelling circles hosted by community partners. With the help of Art Builds Community and the project community partners, these gathered artifacts and stories will later be interpreted into signs and placed around the grounds of Veggielution Community Farm.