Paraguay enriching experience for apple marketer
Paraguay enriching experience for apple marketer
HARTFORD, MI — Five apple seasons ago, Holly Rogers-Rios arrived at Core Farms LLC, here, via Paraguay.
The fair-haired young woman hails from nearby Lawton, MI, and in 2006 graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in agricultural and natural resources communications, and a minor in international agriculture.
She then joined the Peace Corps and moved to Paraguay for a two-year hitch, which she later modified to last for three.
Living in Aguapey, Paraguay, she learned to speak the indigenous language, Guarani. She taught school teachers how to grow sesame in gardens, so they in turn could share the information with their students.
She married a Paraguayan and the couple moved to Michigan in 2009. Rogers-Rios answered an ad for a sales position and joined company owner Roger Kropf in sales at Core Farms.
The Rioses speak Guarani at home. The couple had a baby May 12.
The low-key apple specialist doesn’t feel that her experience is out of the ordinary. “There are a lot of other people down there doing the same thing,” she said.