Floricel Martinez, Farm Worker

FLORICEL MARTINEZ and her partner Arturo are seasonal farm workers, raising their two sons on wages from cherry and grape picking. In between jobs it could be hard to pay their electricity bills, which averaged $210 a month. They built their own home in Madera, CA through Self-Help Enterprises, and couldn’t believe they would also qualify for solar. “We always had to really pay attention to our expenses and got stuck a couple of times with really high bills,” said Floricel, “but now with solar and the training around being more efficient, we know our bills are not going to be so hard to pay.”