Know Your Neighbor: Daniel Martinez says farming is ‘in [his] blood’
Daniel Martinez’s plans for 2017 include heading an exciting new project at Taos Pueblo’s Red Willow Farm.
“The project we’re implementing is part of our youth program. We’ve constructed boxes with soil and a greenhouse frame structure. The plan calls for placing plastic on the greenhouses early this month,” said Martinez, the farm manager. “The project actually upgrades small planting beds to miniature greenhouses for growing fresh salad greens throughout the school year,” he said.
Once construction is complete, Martinez plans to notify Taos Day School teachers in order to announce the date of the beginning of a new phase of its youth agricultural program. Participants will place transplants and seeds in the boxes of soil and begin cultivating crops.
Family
As a youngster, Martinez grew up on the mesa with his mother, Bertina Karcher; her husband; one of his brothers; and his sister, Sunshine. He alternated his living sites between the mesa and Taos Pueblo with his father, Anthony Martinez.
Martinez moved to Albuquerque with his mother’s family group and then eventually full time to Taos Pueblo in 2003. “We had a little garden at Taos Pueblo when I was growing up. It contained herbs, salad greens [lettuce and spinach], tomatoes and sweet yellow corn,” he said.
The youngest of nine children, Martinez graduated from Taos High School in 2007. His siblings are Analisa Martinez (Josh Concha), a jeweler; the late Loretta Martinez; the late John Martinez; Matthew Martinez; Shawn Duran, Taos Pueblo administrator; Karen Martinez, a chef who owns a catering business; Sunshine Duran; and Mark Martinez.
Work background
After high school, Martinez and his brother-in-law, the late Jed Lee, opened a landscaping business. When Lee passed away in 2011, Martinez kept the firm in operation for a few more years. He closed the business in 2014 and completed freelance contracts for landscaping and firewood orders. Martinez checked out the Red Willow Farm, applied for an open position and received the job of assistant manager in February 2016.
Working at the farm was not a far-fetched idea because, for many years, Martinez maintained an interest in individuals sustaining themselves. He considered that his past landscaping work dealing with soil care and irrigation remained very conducive to farm work.
“In farming, I feel an interest in the societal structure of growing for one’s self first and then for others. I live with my dad, and I was thinking that I was sitting on 5 acres of land. I wanted to produce something from that land. Farming, after all, is in my blood. I have access to resources, such as land and water, so working the land made sense,” Martinez said.
On the job, Martinez learned much about the operations at Red Willow Farm. His main duty included managing the summer program with youth during June and July 2016. He had not worked with high school youth before, but viewed his position working with students aged 14 to 18 as a great opportunity to show mentorship. He found the work lots of fun.
“Unfortunately, I suffered a minor back injury and couldn’t work for approximately a month. When I returned, farm manager Hillary Duran had left her position. I was promoted to the position. I started as a farmhand, planting, harvesting and working with compost. I gained administrative experience with youth. Now I communicate, but still work with manual labor,” he said.
Plans for the farm
Martinez said he’s working on how to get more involved with the community. He expressed an interest to further explore community needs to see what he may do to help. His goal is to help others become productive and enjoy fresh food. An example of possible future involvement includes the “Farm to School” program.
Personal favorites
Martinez enjoys playing music and listening to it. He prefers rock and expresses his musical tastes through playing the guitar and drums as well as singing. When asked about other music he enjoys, Martinez said that he likes all types — from samba to jazz and many genres in between. As one would expect, the farm manager lists his favorite food as raw vegetables. Martinez reads a bit, mostly educational and technical topics. Ever the avid outdoorsman, he prefers hiking, fishing, camping and hunting small game. His outdoor life exists during both summer and winter. Hunting life extends to enjoyment of eating wild game and buffalo.
Outdoorsman Martinez no doubt combines business and pleasure. He also feels fortunate to combine his interests with the ability to help others educate themselves and improve their lives. To him, that’s the very best way to usher in 2017.
