Biography - Carlos Pacheco

Carlos was born in Portugal in 1965 and moved with his family to Osoyoos, B.C. in 1972 at the age of 7. His parents operated a 10 acre orchard where Carlos first gained an appreciation for agriculture. He later moved to Kelowna, B.C. and went to work for Early Bird Landscaping participating in major irrigation and landscaping projects such the grounds for Chief Tomat Elementary and Glenrosa Middle school. Carlos's skills were recognized quickly and within his first year Carlos was promoted to the position of project manager.

He continued to work with Early Bird for four years at which point he deciding to further his education by obtaining an OUC diploma in civil engineering technology where he studied computer aided drafting (CAD) and hydraulic design. Upon graduating, Carlos had the fortune to get a design position with Van-Kel Distributors, a major irrigation supplier to the Okanagan Valley. Carlos provided design services to Van-Kel's clients ranging from small residential projects to large commercial, agricultural and local government projects such as golf courses, farms, and city parks.

In 2006 Carlos was bitten by the entrepreneurial bug and began offering his design and consulting services through his own company called IDM, an acronym for "Irrigation Design Management". As luck would have it, at the same point in time he was offered a position by Grower's Supply Co. Ltd. in Penticton, B.C. to manage their irrigation department. Not one to back down from a challenge, Carlos currently does both jobs. Between his two venues, Carlos has supported vineyard and orchard clients alike throughout the Okanagan valley.

In this last year, he accepted a third challenge; to teach people the basics about irrigation. Carlos felt there was a void in his clients' knowledge and began to develop a course to fill that gap. When the Penticton Okanagan College became aware of Carlos's interest, they approached him to develop and teach the irrigation portion of their Viticulture course. The success of the first course has led to a more extensive course which now has students doing an irrigation design project.

With three hats to wear and a family to raise, Carlos is busier than ever but loving every minute of it.