Ricardo Arana studied Communications at UABC, Tijuana and Global Environmental Education at the Civic Ecology Lab at Cornell University.
He fuses his talents as an environmental activist, educator, and trainer through multiple bi-national projects: La Cooperativa Orgánica, Cultivation Communities for the Border Project of Environmental Education A.C.; Lead Instructor for the San Diego Museum of Natural History PROBEA Spanish Education Program.
Ricardo’s excellence shines in his ongoing community-building projects for sustainable urban farming in Tecate, Mexicali, Ensenada and Tijuana. When he is not leading Crossing Borders programs, Ricardo works as the operations manager of Cultiva Ya! while assisting the University of California, San Diego Barrio Santuario program for Socio-environmental Restoration.
Ricardo’s life’s creed is to:
“Sow in community, cultivate with your talent and reap more than food”
In his TEDx Tijuana appearance, he speaks about Bordofarms: a self-employment and self-cultivation project for migrants, deportees and homeless people. https://youtu.be/ys8CBZ5BQe0
Between teaching creativity workshops for college-aged learners during the academic year, and leading Casa de Cultura Playas de Tijuana Summer Camp sessions for kids, Ricardo donates his time to helping those harmed by injustice.
Since 2005, Ricardo has volunteered at the Binational Friendship Garden and Huerto El Nido in the Embajadores de Jesús Temple, the largest shelter for migrants and people seeking asylum in Tijuana. Ricarbol makes his home in both Tecate and Playas, Mexico with his wife and daughter.
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