Pablo Hernandez works two jobs, in a nursery in Paris, and caring for animals and performing maintenance at Ewetopia Farm for the Alleyne family. Pablo makes coffee in his kitchen before heading to the Paris nursery.
Pablo immigrated to the U.S. from San Luis Potosí, Mexico, more than 20 years ago. Upon arrival, he worked odd jobs and picked produce. He eventually wound up in Paris, working in the farming industry, where he found more stability.
Today, Pablo lives in Paris in a three-bedroom duplex he often opens up for friends and family needing a room to rent. Currently, his brother-in-law, Luis Hernandez, and a co-worker from the nursery live there.
“I like staying always doing something, stay busy," Pablo says. "Not really about money; we need money, but I enjoy it.”
When he gets bored at his apartment, he heads to Ewetopia Farm.
Ewetopia Farm is the hobby farm of Dee and Jerry Alleyne — a couple who met training border collies to herd sheep. When they started their farm, Jerry had just retired and Dee was downsizing her business. They named it “Ewetopia,” using the female sheep term of “ewe” as a play on the word “utopia.”
In the town of North Middleton, where they previously resided, the couple was known for their liberal politics. Jerry, who sports a Bernie Sanders tattoo, was playfully dubbed “Obama” by fellow guests at the local diner, who would shout out the nickname every time he walked in. Together, Jerry and Dee grew their farm’s inhabitants – horses, border collies, sheep, donkeys, goats, and over 18 cats and dogs.
As the couple began to build their farm and its horses, border collies, sheep, donkeys, goats, and more than 18 cats and dogs, their neighbors began to ask about the name Utopia. So, they changed it to a more readable name – Ewetopia.
Almost two decades after opening Ewetopia Farm, the Alleynes met Pablo by happenstance.
Ever since they met, Dee says Pablo takes the initiative and “just shows up and knows what needs to be done,” working meticulously and with care.
“He takes care of everything around here, and he does everything to perfection,” Dee says. “He's so proud of his work; he doesn't just do stuff and earn his money and walk on.”
Pablo enjoys working part-time at Dee’s because of the tranquil environment. He can bring his radio and play music while he works.
“I call him a hero because he takes care of us,” Dee says. “He is the difference between us being seriously able to live on our own little farm and not because we can't keep up with everything ourselves.”
Pablo also likes to go to the farm at night to stargaze. “In summer, in the night, you can see the moon and the stars,” Pablo says. “It’s dark, and you still see the light because of the moon. I like it,” Pablo says his wish for the future is eventually to move back to Mexico to the house he built. “Stay close to family and find somebody maybe… I don’t have any company now,” he says. But for now, Pablo will stay in Paris, busy at the nursery and Ewetopia Farm.
Pablo pets the donkeys on Ewetopia Farm for a brief moment before he resumes repairing a broken fence. Across the farm, fences are often broken due to horses kicking them down.
Pablo carries a bucket into the garden at Ewetopia Farm to fill with picked cilantro.
Pablo accidentally knocked over a beer he was enjoying while taking a break from picking vegetables.
Pablo eats a strawberry he picked from the garden at Ewetopia Farm. Pablo enjoys nurturing plants and produce in his home garden and at the farm.
Pablo and Jerry lift a sheep euthanized that morning into a tarp to hook onto a tractor so that Pablo can transport it to the entrance of the farm to be picked up and disposed of.
Pablo Hernandez changes his oil during his day off at Ewetopia Farm. He decided to change it at the barn rather than his home because it was a flat paved surface rather than a hill.
Pablo drives his tractor by and exchanges a laugh with his coworker at a Paris nursery where he works full-time.
Pablo leaves his front porch after eating a bowl of Pozole during his late lunch break at home.
Pablo sits on his bed during a late lunch break he takes at home before heading back to Ewetopia Farm.