CULTURAL IMMERSION – A Puentes Experience
Since 2001, dairy producers and community members have been traveling to Mexico, principally to rural Veracruz and surrounding states like Oaxaca, Hidalgo, & Puebla, to visit families and better understand the culture of the employees that come to work on farms in Southeastern Minnesota and West Central Wisconsin. When dairy producers meet wives, parents, children, sisters, and brothers of their employees, a bond is created that often results in employee longevity and productivity and most importantly, builds strong connections between people of very different cultures, but similar wants and needs.
2018 Trip
We spent time with families in two different villages in Veracruz. Recently returned employees generously hosted their former employers in the houses they built from years working on their farms. As we told one of the employees how lucky and blessed we felt after receiving such a warm welcome [...]
2016 & 2017 Trips
In addition to visiting families in Veracruz, we were able to travel to Huachinango, in the northern part of the state of Puebla for the first time. There, we had the privilege of getting a tour of a piece of land bought by an employee [...]
2005-2015 Trips
2005-2015 More transformative experiences took place as students from the UW-River Falls Dairy Science program, public health professionals, DATCP professionals, pastors, and new dairy producers participated in immersion trips.
The Pioneer Trips
The first trips, starting in 2001, were taken with dairy producers who had the opportunity to attend a language school in Cuernavaca in the state of Morelos and later in Buenavista de Cuellar in the state of Guerrero. In addition to learning some Spanish and understanding the challenge of beginning to grasp a [...]