Photos on this post courtest of Harvey Finkle

Sadly, In December the Growing Home farmers had to put their plots to sleep for the winter. I was unsure which farmers would come and brave the cold. However, the community proved to be amazing once again as over 45 people were ready to begin work at 9 am.  All of the fall greens (mustard, bhok choy, tatsoi, and kale) that had been sweetened by the frost were harvested and eagerly taken home. Tea (Chai) was brought out throughout the day and made on a stove in the garden to keep everyone warm.

Using the fall greens, many Nepali families make Gundruk for the winter – a preparation of mustard greens that are fermented in water and then dried. Throughout the winter they are used in soups, curries, and dhal. A sour taste that is hard not to love! Stay tuned for recipes! 

Due to the intensive planting and three season production the raised beds needed extra soil and compost for the next season. The community worked all day to fill the raised beds with a delivery from the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. Three generations joined in as grandmothers encouraged their grandkids to help and teens lifted the wheelbarrows for their parents.

Growing Home has come a long way from last winter when the lots were trash and weed filled! With help from dozens of volunteers and partner organizations Growing Home has been transformed to a productive urban farm and thriving community space. The space is a dream come true for the 70 families who have plots and many more who come to events and activities at Growing Home!

On Saturday October 15, the refugees took their last field trip of the year to go apple picking and picnicking! It was a huge success and a joyous day for all. 106 refugees rode together on two crowded school buses to Solly Brothers Farm in Ivyland, PA. Most of the group were regulars of Growing Home who have been a part of the urban farm since the start of the project earlier this year. However, there were new families, who have arrived over the past few weeks, that also joined the trip and connected with the community. It was a beautiful day and a great mix of families – elders and children, Nepali, Karen, and Chhin.

Although the season is not fully over, this trip represented the culmination of a great year at Growing Home and a celebration of the hard work of all those involved in the project. Adam Forbes, the farm manager for Growing Home, had visualized this trip earlier in the year.

“Since the start of the season, I’ve dreamed of taking our families to trips outside the city,” said Adam. “At the top of my list was apple picking in the fall. My fondest childhood memories are falls on the east coast and the times I got to go to an apple orchard or pumpkin patch. It was a true honor to be able to share this with our vibrant…refugee communities.”

The excitement of the participants was palpable at Growing Home an hour before the group was supposed to leave – a large crowd was already formed. The families rarely arrive so early for anything – so this meant a lot. They boarded the buses in the cool morning air and began their trip to the orchards. For many of the families, it was their first time outside of Philadelphia since they arrived in the United States. The entire bus ride they pointed out the views of the Delaware river and were so excited to see corn fields and peach orchards similar to the ones found in their homelands.

As soon as the group arrived at the farm, the families took off running. They loved the pumpkin patch but were thoroughly confused as to why pumpkins are not eaten, but are instead bought for decoration. Later, they all got to take a hayride to the apple orchard. Each person got bags to place their apples in and families worked together to climb apple trees to find the sweetest or tartest apple. Some families even found wild edibles hidden among the orchard to bring home. After Apple picking, playing in the orchards, and eating as many apples as they could – the group enjoyed a community picnic with an abundance of traditional foods.

Lunch turned into play time for both kids and adults – games from soccer to Frisbee and duck duck goose were played. Seeing the excitement of the families at the opportunity to get out of the city for a day reminded Adam how important these type of events are.

Adam elaborated saying, “While our urban farms provide a much needed green space in the city and place to relax and come together – it is not the same as escaping the city to wide open fields.”

Since Saturday, the families have been raving about the trip, some even declaring it their favorite day since they arrived. Some refugee children have been bringing apples from the trip to school for lunch.

Overall a great day and a wonderful way to enjoy each other’s company as the season winds down on the first year of Growing Home!

The newsletter article, although short, is a very good summary of the mission of Growing Home and why so many people have worked hard this past year to make the farm a reality. Through their effort, Growing Home is a space where people can cross language and cultural boundaries and come together for a common good. You can find the article here. If you are interested in knowing more about the Growing Home project or would like to support its mission, please contact the project coordinator here.

Coming Soon: The Farm Open House and Pictures!

The event will give the Nationalities Service Center and Growing Home’s farmers an opportunity to thank the farm’s supporters. Vistors will be able to tour the farm, meet the farmers, and learn about the project from participants and staff members! Refreshments will be available too!

Come out and support the farm, learn more about the project and meet the farmers! Everyone is welcome!

Check out link below for story and photos. It is definetly worth a listen!!

http://whyy.org/cms/fit/audio/growing-home/

Up until February, Adam had worked as the Farm Educator and Farm Manager for Weavers Way Community Programs. Because of his connections there, Weavers Way was generous enough to donate extra produce to the refugees. About a month ago, Adam had taken two women up to Weavers Way Farm in Mt. Airy to collect the produce from their fields. They were so happy to see trees and large farm fields. One cried with joy as she harvested and said it was just like being back in Bhutan.

Since then, Nationalities Service Center has worked to raise money to bring a larger group to Weaver’s Way and it finally happened! As soon as the bus pulled up to the farm, the families took off running. People were immediately picking blackberries, climbing trees, and exploring the fields. Seeing the farm reminded many families of their farming histories and many talked about how they use to be farmers like the ones at Weaver’s Way. The families loved the wild greens that some people consider weeds; many gardeners spent nearly an hour excitedly collecting greens to bring home.

The families had a picnic in the shade and later played baseball in the grass.

There is a community farm attached to Weavers Way Farm. There, the elder gardeners gave the farmers and Adam a tour and presented the families with many baskets of vegetables from the Weavers Way plots. It was beautiful to see the exchange and of knowledge, smiles, and hugs despite language barriers.

After the farm visit, the group went to the Wissahickon Creek, where they walked through the woods, played in the water, and even saw some horses.

This photo was recently published in the Mt. Airy, PA publication "The Shuttle." Link to come!

Over the past three months, the farmers have gathered thousand of pounds of food from local farms, farmers markets, and distribution centers. A few times, the farmers have been driven out to partnering farms and gleaned from their fields, which means they are picking vegetables that are still good but the farmer is unable to sell them or does not have the time to harvest them. They have also collected food from from the Produce Distribution Center. One day, a few weeks ago, Growing Home received 2 pallets of eggplant (approximately 30 boxes or around 600 pounds of eggplant)! Amazingly, the families took it all by the end of the day. There are also newly established fruit donations on Mondays, from the FruitGuys, which are very popular with the families too and seem to be gone in no time.

In addition to all of these great opportunities, the families are now connected with the Philabundance Fresh For All Giveaway. Every Friday, they can pick up fruits, vegetables, and bread from the South Philly Distribution site. At the health meeting held at Growing Home, Adam and volunteers help the families fill out the application. Over 70 of the Burmese and Bhutanese families have now signed up and have started making weekly visits to the distribution site for potatoes, bananas, tomatoes, and much more depending on the week.

Now, after many months, Growing Home now has a water source installed in the main garden! This a great accomplishment because the families can now use a hose anytime they want! Plus we have water we can use to drink, wash supplies, and much more!

Nationalities Services Center would like to thank Dean Carlson from Wyebrook Farm for his generous contribution to make this happen. Water is crucial to the sustained sucess of the farm, which is why NSC and the farmers are so grateful to Wyebrook Farm for their support. Please check them out!