Juan and his brother, Sergio, came to work at Gaia together. Story has it that when the Luciano brothers arrived to the United States and were asked where they would be working, they just said, “cucumbers”, in response. So now the two are nicknamed just that, ‘pepinos’! These days, they’re familiar with all sorts of herbs and vegetables, but Echinacea purpurea is Sergio’s favorite because of the plant’s beautiful blooms and its health benefits.
Sergio likes to swim at Maya Luna, the lake near his home, and spend time with his family during the off-season. The second-to-youngest child of nine, he knows how to get along with others, a skill that helps him work well with the Gaia farm crew. When he’s not helping his father building commercial businesses in Mexico, he takes care of over 20 roosters and 15 laying hens. He’d like to operate his own farm one day, perhaps growing a variety of chili peppers. The Luciano brothers are hard workers and Jorge, our farm crew manager, is glad to have these cucumbers on the farm.