Learning

I have so much to learn from the brave farmers of Fresh Start Farms. Nine farmers graduated from the training program on Friday and as each of them walked across our make-shift stage to receive their diploma, I was struck by how much each of them has learned in the three years I have known them. 

Approximately half of them have made it through the rigorous process of becoming US citizens by way of passing a test about American history and laws that the average educated American adult would be hard pressed to pass without some serious studying. All of them have learned to grow many new vegetables, are figuring out how to navigate the world of wholesale produce sales, and are improving their ability to tell their customers about their farms and how to cook their vegetables.  

They are learning the best place to take their vehicles for an oil change and that they prefer the quality of red rover radish seeds from one seed company over another. They are learning how to tweak their farmer's market stands to capture the American aesthetic and that celery spaced at 12 inches produces a much better head than celery spaced at 10 inches. 

They have learned so much. But what amazes me the most is the increase in literacy among this graduating group of farmers. As an educated, white American who was raised by very educated parents who enrolled me in Montessori School at the 18 months of age, I can not even begin to wrap my head around the mountainous task of learning a written language as an adult with a family in a new country and a foreign language. The vast majority of the farmers we work with are not literate in their own language. They are learning literacy in English. If you are reading this blog post, chances are, you, like me, cannot even begin to understand how challenging that is. And yet, they are doing it. Because they are determined to. Because they are 42 years old and dream of going to college someday. Because they are 47 years old and want to fill out their own tax returns someday. Because they are 60 years old and want to be able to read a check that a customer pays with. Because they are 38 years old and want to be an independent business owner someday, with no help from anyone. 

Yesterday I met with Seynab Ali, pictured above in white, for an annual fall meeting to talk about how the season went and to begin some one-on-one planning for the 2014 growing season. I started the meeting with Seynab with a 15 page skills assessment: 144 skills that a farmer would need to farm independently in Maine. I ask each farmer, through an interpreter, to rank their ability to perform or understand each skill ona scale of 1 to 4.  I put the thick packet of paper in front of Seynab and the interpreter started to translate the first question. Seynab stopped him. She was going to read it herself. 

An hour and a half later, she had read and answered every single one of those 144 questions. There were certainly words that she needed help with, but she was reading. And more than just reading, she was understanding what she was reading. Her reading comprehension skills absolutely blew me out of the water. I had no idea that her reading had gotten so good last winter when she was taking ESOL classes nearly every day of the week. I told Seynab how amazed and impressed I was. With a big smile, she pulled a brightly colored book out of the crack in the couch cushions and said "I am practicing every night. Library book." The book in her hands was an ESOL practice book full of short stories and questions to test comprehension. She has been using that book all summer, late at night after the harvest is done, the meal is cooked, the kids are in bed, and the morning's market prepared for, to practice her reading. 

To all of the farmers of Fresh Start Farms: you inspire me.

Omasombo's Eggplant

Omasombo Katuka was an elementary school teacher in Congo before being displaced by war. He also had a great love of growing good food for his family in their large garden. Omasombo and his wife and children made their circuitous journey to Maine nearly two years ago and immediately began the work of becoming part of their new home. The entire family has the biggest, brightest, readiest smiles I have ever seen and those big open smiles have helped Omasombo and his family create their own marketing opportunities this year.

2013 was Omasombo's first year in our farm training program and he threw himself into the learning with gusto. His quarter acre plot was so abundant and beautifully maintained this year, that visitors to the farm lit up with delight upon seeing it. Omasombo decided to focus on growing and marketing for the Congolese community in Portland and Lewiston. He acquired some very hard to come by seeds of a few Congolese crops and combined his new-found knowledge of how to grow heat-loving crops in Maine with his crop-specific knowledge attached to those precious handfuls of seeds. 

Omasombo's most successful Congolese crop this year was a variety of eggplant that is grown as a perennial in Congo. This year, Omasombo was able to harvest basket-fulls of these pale green, egg sized fruits for about 5 weeks before the plants succumbed to cool temperatures. Every Sunday for 5 weeks, Omasombo loaded up his mini-van and headed to one of Portland's African churches that has many Congolese members. He said that the first time he displayed his eggplant to the congregation, people literally danced and clapped with the joy of seeing a food that many had not seen for years. He sold out in 5 minutes. In fact, he sold out within 5 minutes 5 weeks in a row. 

As the season winds to an end, Omasombo is already thinking about next year's growing season and how he can better supply his community with the foods they miss the most. He is hoping to expand the amount of land he grows on, build a small hoop house to extend the production of his famous eggplant for a few extra weeks, and experiment with growing more vegetables that are loved by him, his family, and his community.

We are many and one!

Among all of the reasons to connect with Fresh Start Farms, many of you noted our social justice component as one of the most important. We are working toward a world where everyone belongs, where everyone has the opportunity to make a living wage and have meaningful work - no matter where they came from.

As you may know, most of the farmers in Fresh Start Farms live in Lewiston, ME, which has been a hotbed of activity surrounding cultural intolerance and exclusion, specifically aimed at Somali refugees. However, we are heartened by recent efforts: the Many and One and Welcoming Maine campaigns, which work to bring people together and build understanding across cultures.

Watch this video to learn more, and please share widely: 

Commemorating the Many and One Rally: What's Next?

Thank you for taking part in a local food system that builds bridges in our community.

Save the date: Harvest Festival!

Hello friends!

You are all warmly invited to our annual Harvest Festival on Thursday October 24th at 7pm. This year, we're hosting it in Portland (instead of at the farm in Lisbon) so it's easier to attend!

Come to Mayo Street Arts, right around the corner from our Boyd Street Urban Farm to:

• celebrate the Fresh Start Farms growers (Esperanza, Batula, Seynab, Mohamed, Jabril, Hawa, Khadija, Mekhan, and Hussein) who are graduating from our farmer training program this year;
• view a photo exhibit of Fresh Start Farms growers' portraits, taken by professional photographer Amy Temple during her years of volunteering at the farm;
• meet our Youth Growers and Culinary Crew members: high-schoolers who are learning how to be growers, leaders, chefs, and contributors to our community;
• get a sneak peak at the Grow Cart: a tricycle-powered mobile farm stand built by MECA graduate, Hannah Merchant, which will debut next spring;
• purchase Cultivating Community's brand new cookbook, "Beyond the Vegetable" hot off the press for our official book release;
• sample a delicious multicultural feast and enjoy music and dancing!

A more formal invitation will follow. Feel free to bring family and friends. We hope you can come!

Learn a little bit more about Jabril, one of the graduating farmers, and visit Jabril on Thursdays at the Redbank/Brickhill farm stand in South Portland (584 Westbrook Street).

JABRIL ABDI

“I was a farmer when I was young, and now I am a farmer again. I will always be a farmer. If anybody says that farms and farming is no good, they are wrong, and they will know that when their stomachs are empty.”

        Jabril has been farming his whole life. When he arrived in Lewiston, he was told about the project and joined some of his friends out in the field. He already had knowledge, and familiarity with farming, it seemed natural for him to start planting seeds. Although the soil that he digs in here is different, and more consistent than the soil in Africa, which, in places, is red, white & brown.”

Although he has sold his product before too, here it is different: “Here you put everything out on the table, you have to advertise yourself” instead of just letting your product speak for you. That makes it hard to market here, but his children are involved with his business, especially the marketing end of it. When I asked him what his favorite part of his business is, he saw it all as interchangeable. He plants the seeds, he invests so that he can give at the markets in exchange for financial support. “I am happy to be at the market selling, it means that my investment is working, and people are lining up to support me.”

Lettuce, spinach, broccoli, potatoes, tomatoes, are his favorite, and most are new to him, but he knows that if you don’t have those on your table, customers won’t come by. “If my customers come to my farm, I know they will be happy with what they see. I would love it if my customers would tell their friends about me, and about our program. Let people support us, because even if you have nothing, you can put seeds into the ground.”

A Weekend at Farmers Markets

On Saturday morning, I had the pleasure of rising early and setting out to visit six different farmers who had already been up for hours, and were just putting the finishing touches on their displays as i walked up to say hello. The morning was stunning, with perfect light and just the slightest chill in the air. The displays were even more beautiful, carrots and radishes and bell peppers piled high. I left each market feeling in awe of each farmer in the program.


Sweet, crunchy carrots at John Yangas Portland Farmers Market Stand




Christines table cloth adds a personal touch to her display at the Portland Farmers Market




Fennel! This flavor can bring the most mundane of stir fries or fish dishes to a whole new level




Ground Cherries on the left, Tomatillos on the right. Ground Cherries are such a delicious suprise everytime you pull back the husk and pop one in your mouth! Tomatillos make great salsa verde to accompay tacos or enchilladas.





Jabril takes a moment to admire his display at the Saco Farmers Market

 



The sun shines through these bunching onions at Husseins Kennebunk Stand




French Breakfast Radishes and Kale at Jabrils Saco Market




Seynab piles her beets and carrots high at the Kennebunk Market!




Seynab greeted old friends and customers at the Kennebunk Farmers Market



Farmer Story ~ Seyanb Ali

      Seynab knows that everything is harder without English, and when she came to the US, her English was “zero.” She didn’t know what she would do, but she soon found common ground when she heard about this program; farming the land was a language she knew. Seynab has been at the core of the program since the beginning and is a role model for farmers new to the program.   Although farming is a common language, Seynab noted that while her English was improving, she was also learning new ways to work with this new land, new climate and new marketing opportunities.

      The language of this earth had new subtleties. In Somalia, people don’t get trained in farming, they “know what farming is, they wait for the rain, for the river to flood the banks, and they know when it is a good time to plant. There is celebration to mark all these passages, before planting and after harvesting”. This is something that has carried over, and the traditions continue. Another difference in the languages of these two countries is the markets, the way things are sold, what costumers expect. “In Africa, they put a couple tomatoes on the table. Here they have to pile the tables high!” She shakes her head in amused confusion.

        Seynab has become used to new vegetables here: beets, arugula, spinach, radishes and lettuce. And she eats everything, except the radishes, and she knows there are people out there with a similar aversion! (We laugh together). Parts of her business are still very difficult. Though she knows countless ways to cook delicious kohlrabi and collard recipes (she is a fantastic cook), she has a hard time communicating this at the market. She wants her costumers to know that her process of farming, though difficult and challenging, is simple without any sprays or pesticides: “we start the vegetables in the greenhouse, then at the end of April, we put the vegetables in the ground, and harvest for our costumers when they are ready”. Everything is grown organically, the way it was done in Africa, and the way it should always be done here.

The miracle of growing food on our farm, for your home...

The miracle of growing food is so beautifully illustrated in This wonderful video of Rosy. A documentary student came to our farm in Lisbon a few weeks ago to get to know Rosy, and through this video, shows the spirit of what it is the farmers do.

The obstacles facing us sometimes seem like mountains that are too hard to overtake, and yet what Rosy is saying here is that we do overcome them, everytime we show up at the farm in the morning, and each time one of you brings our vegetables into your home. The word 'miraculous' is very aptly used here, though we so often forget to see the miraculous.

We are now into our fifth week of CSA, and the bags are starting to hold new colors and textures as August's bounty makes its way into our lives. The long anticipated summer favorites will be arriving soon, cucumbers, tomatoes, corn and eggplant. It is often funny to see the eagerness around the newly arrived small zicchini, or tomatoes. In four weeks time, we will be trying to auction them off at any price, hoping to see less and less of the brugeouning shapes and colors.