Chambas
by *Eleva Mobility

From the Central Valley to Silicon Valley...and Back

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I was born in the northern California town of Colusa to hard-working Mexican immigrants who eventually settled in the state's Central Valley. Throughout my early years, our family worked in fields harvesting fruits and vegetables (primarily grapes, tomatoes, and garlic) near rural farming towns with names like Five Points, Huron, and Tranquility. 

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We often encountered entire families that had traveled for hours to work for the summer. Some would then travel over 800 miles north to Yakima Washington after the grape harvest to follow the season and continue with apple picking there. Many of them had no idea if they would actually find work or even where they would live once there.

 

I eventually traded a life in the Central Valley for a career in Silicon Valley after earning a degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Berkeley. Throughout a career that included stints at Stanford Research Institute, NeXT, AMD, Microsoft, Two Sigma Investments, and most recently as VP of Engineering at Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook Inc). I have seen technology transform many aspects of society, especially in helping connect people. 

 

On a recent visit to my hometown, I realized that the discovery process for one particular "social" network remained unchanged: the slow, complex, and manual process by which farm workers and farmers find one another. 

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I believe three key factors explain why technology companies have neglected this space:

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1. Seasonal farm workers are perceived as a non-viable market due to low technology adoption.

2. "Out of sight out of mind" - consumers don't really give much thought to how food ends up on their table. As a result, the pivotal role farm workers play in our food supply is largely unknown or at best misunderstood.

3. Technology providers do not know how to reach farm laborers and farm workers in a manner that adapts to their unique needs and builds trust.

 

Recent data show up to 60% smartphone adoption among migrant farm workers, many driven by the fundamental human need to connect with loved ones, especially via social media.

 

Access to professional services

 

Seasonal workers struggle to find adequate healthcare, and according to several research studies, providers of various services in turn have difficulty reaching the farm working population. Many workers do not remain in any one region for very long as necessity compels them to seek new employment opportunities with shifting harvest seasons. A customized, smartphone-based, location-based approach could be life-changing for such workers.  

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A better way...

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Chambas creates a digital marketplace between farmers and service providers on the one hand, and farm workers on the other. Our approach is to design customized technology that:

 

1. Is accessible to farmers and workers alike. 

2. Builds trust with an approach that honors the unique needs of the population with dignity and respect.

3. Provides ongoing support for the well-being of workers and their families.

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By delivering on these goals, we can help farmers surmount existential threats from hiring challenges and improve the lives of seasonal workers with greater access to jobs and critical life services.

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Clyde Rodriguez

Founder, Eleva Mobility