Nuestras Raíces: Urban Agriculture, Culture, and Community in Holyoke, Massachusetts

Who We Are

Nuestras Raíces is a community-based nonprofit organization founded in 1992 in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Our work centers on urban agriculture, food justice, economic development, education, and cultural empowerment, with deep roots in the city’s Puerto Rican and Latino community.

Our History

Born from the Land and Community (1992)

Nuestras Raíces began when a group of migrant farmers from Puerto Rico arrived in South Holyoke and found a city filled with vacant lots and limited job opportunities. Drawing on their agricultural knowledge and strong community spirit, they organized to transform their surroundings and create new opportunities for their families.

La Finquita: The First Community Garden

The farmers identified an abandoned lot filled with trash, needles, and criminal activity. Through collective action, they reclaimed the land and created La Finquita, Holyoke’s first community garden. This effort sparked the city’s urban agriculture movement.

Our Impact

Through our programs, the Holyoke community:

  • Gains access to fresh and healthy food

  • Builds agricultural and entrepreneurial skills

  • Develops local leadership

  • Launches small businesses

  • Strengthens cultural identity

Our Mission

Our mission is to create healthy environments, celebrate agri-culture, and strengthen the Holyoke community through urban agriculture, education, economic development, community organizing, and social justice.

Get Involved

  • Join a community garden

  • Attend a workshop

  • Volunteer with us

  • Support our mission

What We Do:

Community Gardens

Building from La Finquita, Nuestras Raíces developed a network of community gardens in Holyoke that has become a powerful driver of health, leadership, and social cohesion.

Today we coordinate a vibrant, citywide network that includes:

  • 8 active community gardens

  • More than 300 families growing food from their own plots

  • Dedicated spaces for culturally relevant crops

More than places to grow food, these gardens serve as hubs of urban agriculture and community life. They strengthen physical and emotional health, create opportunities for local leadership, encourage civic participation, and keep Puerto Rican and Latino agricultural traditions alive. Each garden is a place where families reconnect with the land, build relationships, and transform their neighborhoods from within.

Nuestros Arboles Nuestra Salud

Nuestros Árboles, Nuestra Salud is a community-driven program advancing urban forest equity in Holyoke through an intergenerational coalition of residents, youth leaders, and faith partners who play a vital role in mobilizing and strengthening the community.

The initiative supports implementation of the city’s Urban Forest Equity Plan, focusing on predominantly Latino neighborhoods most impacted by extreme heat and environmental health challenges, including Downtown, Churchill, South Holyoke, and The Flats.

Through public events, education, and hands-on training, community members gain the tools and support to plant and care for trees, improving neighborhood health, climate resilience, and local leadership.

Mobile Market

The Nuestras Raíces Mobile Market is more than a traveling market — it is a vital fresh food access program for neighborhoods with limited access to supermarkets and healthy produce. By delivering local, nutritious, and culturally relevant food directly into communities, the program reduces economic and transportation barriers, strengthens food security, and improves the health of hundreds of families.

The Mobile Market also supports the local food economy, partnering with regional farmers and creating a sustainable cycle that benefits both producers and consumers. With affordable prices and stops across Holyoke and surrounding towns, this market on wheels has become a model for food equity, ensuring fresh food reaches those who need it most while promoting a fair, dignified, and resilient food system.

La Finca

La Finca is the agricultural and cultural heart of Nuestras Raíces — a place where families, farmers, and youth grow food, learn new skills, and deepen their connection to the land and their heritage. Across its 30 acres, La Finca advances sustainable agriculture in Holyoke, supports beginning farmer training, and creates economic opportunities for the community.

Its impact is felt throughout the city:

  • Expanded access to fresh, culturally relevant food

  • New pathways for leadership and entrepreneurship

  • Preservation of Latino and multicultural farming traditions

  • Welcoming spaces for gathering, health, and community

La Finca shows how land can heal, unite, and transform a community.

Educational Programs & Workshops

Nuestras Raíces promotes lifelong learning through year-round educational programs and workshops in Holyoke, designed to strengthen entrepreneurs and small businesses.

Our mission is to provide practical, accessible education that builds knowledge, skills, and confidence, contributing to personal growth, economic mobility, and community development. We believe education is a powerful tool to cultivate leaders, drive opportunity, and support informed and responsible decision-making.

Through our programs, we are building a more just, informed, and sustainable community — where knowledge becomes the foundation for collective progress.