Farmworkers and Resilience

Abstract

In this chapter we analyzed data from a focus group with farmworkers in Central Florida to investigate disaster resilience in rural America. We identified three major themes within our coding scheme: past disaster experiences, self-organizing collective action, and challenges to self-organizing collective action and resilience. The results indicate disaster experiences can serve as a pathway to disaster resilience. In addition, we discuss significant challenges and barriers continue to be present including, language/communication issues, anti-immigrant sentiment, poor relations with the police and farm owners that serve as constant reminders of the vulnerabilities and challenges migrant farmworkers continue to face, not only in Florida, but also throughout the United States (A previous version of this chapter has been accepted for publication at the International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters).