James Harris
James is a single father currently living in Fresno, CA. He started his organic farming journey a couple of years ago and now is a banker for farmers who can’t afford a loan officer. His passion for farming still continues and when you don’t see him farming, you might spot him on the dance floor.
What brings joy to your life?
I love helping people out. From a young age, I was taught by my grandparents to be kind and caring to others. I enjoy cooking for others and it would be great if I can have a farm of my own, and gather people for a cookout using the ingredients I planted.
Surrounding myself with love
It’s so important to love yourself and be surrounded with love. You have to be honest with yourself, and realize when you’re not feeling the best. Going outdoors and immersing myself with nature always helped me get centered.
When you first meet James, you instantly notice his warm smile. And after exchanging the first few words, you know that he is a person with a big heart. So I wasn’t surprised to hear that his passion is to make people happy and help others when they need one. After leaving the military, James was trying to figure out what to do with his life when he came across organic farming. As a man who loves serving others, found this a perfect way to help out the community.
After years of learning how to farm, James transitioned into banking but not just a typical one, but one that specifically helps farmers. He says not a lot of farmers are knowledgeable when it comes to organizing their finances. “I love feeding people” James tells me when I ask what is your ideal way of living. “I would love to have my own farm somewhere warm so I can grow the ingredients for cooking. It’s always a nice feeling when you see people gather around a table with a smile on their faces.”
Another passion of James, I found it surprising and yet intrigued, is salsa dancing. I asked how an ex-military man with a farming background got into salsa dancing. He told me with a chuckle, “I wanted to impress the ladies.” He was on tour when they came across a bar full of salsa dancers. Seeing that they were some ladies there, James bravely took center stage and started doing his moves. From then on, he couldn’t stop dancing. What started as a flirtatious curiosity, turned out to be a lifelong passion for him.