“When I was a kid, I lived near some strawberry fields and I would frequently sit and stare at the endless rows of strawberries. With this art I wanted to capture that memory and the moments when I saw my mother leaving for work in the early morning.” Artwork by El Kiloz.
Many youth and their families grow up around agriculture fields in the Eastern Coachella Valley (ECV). The beauty of the land, fruit and labor is undeniable. However the exposure to pesticides is an unhealthy reality of this beauty, and farmworkers are at the frontline of health risks caused by exposure.
AB 617 is a recently introduced bill that recognizes the ECV as having some of the worst air pollution in Southern California. Youth identified pesticides as one of the main causes of air pollution during an air quality investigation. To learn more about air pollution read, our latest zine called ‘Take a Breath for the Future’ created by Coachella Unincorporated.