Like every other Sunday of the month, the Alma Backyard Farms urban farm in Compton opened its doors yesterday for the public to purchase locally grown organic fruits and vegetables, as well as breads, pantry staples and household items made from sustainable wood. All at a very affordable price.
The purchases were accompanied by very good live music, as well as an atmosphere of unity and inclusion for children and adults of different ethnic groups.
Among the visitors was Mrs. Gregoria Rivas, who came from Echo Park to do her shopping and enjoy the nature of the garden.
“I have cured myself with the food from here because all the illnesses that it gives us sometimes are from food,” said Rivas. “I also like to come to buy organic tea and soap.”
Another visitor was Bethany Hernández, who found out about the garden some time ago through social networks and came to do her shopping from the city from Bellflower.
“I like that the food is organic and locally grown. Today we bring oranges, beets, peas, celery and flowers,” said Hernández, who was accompanied by her daughter.
The three-quarter-acre urban farm was established in the 2013 on a school lot. It has 50 raised wooden beds, 36 rows on the ground, 12 trees of fruits, 8, square feet of pollinating gardens and a learning garden for children.
The garden not only sells and shares organic products, but one of its primary goals is to help formerly incarcerated people give back to the communities they once affected or were removed from.
Erika Cuellar, co-founder of the garden, said it initially took interest in creating this space when he began working for the Homeboy Industries organization that works with people who have been released from prison. There he understood that people were willing to give back in a positive way to the community as long as there were opportunities.
“We discovered that urban agriculture could be the vehicle that enables those opportunities as seen today. Here there is no divided area as if the people who went to prison are here and the people who were not are here,” Cuellar explained. “Everything is integration and, therefore, growing food and nourishing our bodies allows us to unite.”
Enjoying volunteer work
Armando Padrón, from 45 years old, found out about the garden while participating in a reintegration program with the Coalition Against Recidivism (ARC) after leaving from prison a little over three years ago.
“I come here because I like to see the spirit of the community, while I learn about farming and I have a lot of energy that I can share with the world,” said Padrón, originally from Pacoima with Mexican parents.
Padrón, whose regular job is construction, is already an expert in gardening and everything what is grown there. He explained that prior to the garden, his experience was very limited only with what he saw that his mother planted
“Also what he saw with my father because he worked in the fields and brought the food and nothing else. But I think we all have that passion inside,” said Padrón, who enjoys spending her free time in the garden.
Another participant is Isabel Ríos from 47 years. She has participated in the program for three years and, like Padrón, was referred by ARC.
Ríos said that she began building the wooden beds while learning about of the agriculture of fruits, vegetables, as well as their care so that they grow.
“It became like a passion for us because it was a positive way of giving something back to the community,” informed Ríos. “In my case it was also like finding a purpose in life at a specific moment and I found it here.”
Ríos, with Mexican roots , said that he likes the feeling of an extended family and above all that there is such a nice and different place in the neighborhood.
“You feel serenity and it allows you to be in contact with nature, listen to the birds, see the butterflies and the hummingbirds, something that is not usually seen here and you would have to go to other places to enjoy it”, explained Ríos.
The work continues
Cuellar, who grew up in neighboring Compton area Watts said as a child she saw all the problems they now address in the urban farm mission; incarceration and gangs, the lack of good food and the lack of green spaces.
“Through Alma we create opportunities for those who were locked up, we grow good food and distribute it in the community to very good prices; In addition, we create green and safe spaces for children.”
Cuellar explained that they currently have three community gardens and plan to expand. One is literally a backyard in East Los Angeles, an urban farm in San Pedro, which is currently on hiatus, and the urban farm in Compton.
He stressed that they mainly look for places that are in communities where there is food insecurity, which limits the available and affordable food. Cuellar added that this effort helps the cause also because people who get out of prison are usually in these communities looking for support.
“The garden becomes that space that creates those opportunities, not only for education and employment, but also for good food” he stresses.
Richard Garcia, co-founder of the garden, said that in all this time he has seen what urban agriculture causes in people.
“ There is a relationship between this space that we inhabit and although we say: ‘Hey, I’m going to cultivate the space’, I think that the space cultivates us and I have witnessed that with the kind of transformation that it has caused in people’s lives. Garcia explained. “We have given people a sense of purpose and help them fulfill their passion of feeding and nurturing others.”
Currently the garden has about 20 formerly incarcerated volunteers who donate their time throughout the year.
García indicated that the idea is eventually to reopen the San Pedro urban farm, which was paused due to the Covid pandemic-19, and open another farm in Riverside.
Your next event in Compton will be on 29 of May. For more information you can visit www.almabackyardfarms.com or through Facebook and Instagram at @AlmaBackyardFarms
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