Rising Stars: Meet Randall Julio and Chambers Vargas

Today we’d like to introduce you to Randall Julio and Chambers Vargas.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I was born Bolivian-American. I have yet to meet another Bolivian organically. My mother would make these funny-sounding dishes, and I would think she made them up! She would make our packed lunch every day. One day, my friend was asking (I was probably in 1st grade) what I was having for lunch. I said in my little boy’s voice “Plato paceño and llajwa.” He made fun of me.

After school, I went to my mother and said. “Mom, I want cheese and crackers and a cheese sandwich like my friends!” Bless her heart she made me a cheese sandwich. Neither of us knew what grilled cheese was. A big part of anyone’s identity is the food they ate, the food their mother made, while growing up. We grew up Bolivian in a place where there aren’t any! There are many fantastic foods in the Andes region of South America, and my brother and I just want to share them with everyone. My brother and I decided that bottling these and mass-producing these would be a great Idea. Cedric Chambers.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The main struggle is finding funding for such a mission. You don’t think I’m going to bottle a salsa and have to spend $20,000 on a bottling machine. Bottling a dozen jars is 4 hours of work! However, you can only really charge say $6 -8 for a jar of salsa. Time is also an issue. Cedric and I both have demanding full-time jobs and school, and he has kids!

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Cedric and I are bringing authentic food from the Andes to America. Which has never been done before. The problem with a lot of these companies is that they are repeating the same pattern as it has been for hundreds of years in Latin America. It’s capitalist Americans exploiting us and exploiting our products.

Everything people put in smoothies is from South America. More even! Yerba Mate, Quinoa, Stevia….. and yet, are our countries reaping the benefit of it? No. It’s just Americans exploiting us again. Cedric and I intend to create a non-profit that genuinely helps our country and our people. NOT like a store like Patagonia does, where they pay the woman $1.50 instead of $1.00 for the product. Real change. Real improvement.

Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
Integrity. The genuine need to improve the lives of our native country.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.altiplanofarms.com
• Instagram: Instagram.com/altiplanofoods 

Image Credits
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cd1jAy_O86m/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=