SAFE, CLEAN, AND AFFORDABLE - CALIFORNIA FARMWORKER HOUSING NEEDS

Informal interviews were conducted with seasonal agricultural laborers in San Joaquin County, California, a rich agricultural area of Califo rnia's Central Valley, to ascertain their comments on housing and othe r facility needs for their population group. Evaluation of the intervi ews led to the opinion that farmworkers are not a monolithic body, but in fact are composed of several sub-groups, each with different housi ng needs. Farmworkers' housing ideas range from a need for affordable and decent rental housing, to temporary labor camps, to simply a place to take a shower. An overriding concern expressed by the farmworkers was a need for safety in their living environment and the desire for c lean, decent shelters. They spoke frequently about their willingness t o pay a fair price for housing and other services based on their incom e from agriculture, and about the tremendous abuses they suffer from e xorbitant rents and unsafe, unhealthy living conditions. Conclusions s uggest that policy makers and communities should accurately assess the numbers and types of farmworker subgroups in specific areas of the st ate in order to plan for effective short-term and long-term solutions to the severe crisis in farmworker housing. Many of the farmworkers' p roposals were less costly and more easily-accomplished forms of shelte r than the traditional approach to permanent low-income housing projec ts. Prototypes designed around the ideas of the farmworkers need to be developed to provide the range of housing circumstances needed by the farmworker population as they progress through the agricultural labor market.