Actually, it’s my neighborhood that I love so much. I have the coolest neighbors. They are from such different places and perspectives but we seem to share a desire for connection and community. Now that I am such a chai drinker I love sharing it with others. It is a courtesy both Dipak, and my father-in-law, Kumar have impressed upon me. Accordingly, I recently had a neighbor, Angie, over for chai. I learned she is from Bolivia. And then I learned where exactly in South America Bolivia is.

Our conversation ambled comfortably along the path of new friendship. We talked about the urban farm. We shared our families stories of self sufficiency and good food. I shared that I recreated my experience out of need to express my identity. She misses her foods and culture and wants to grow and prepare food to reawaken this, and most importantly to share it with her young son.

I happen to have some lumber lying around, some landscape fabric that I got for free and a Saturday to help out. What more need be said?

This project is going to take several days to complete but the hardest parts are prepping the ground and hardscaping. I think these before and after photos convey the amount of labor we all put into the day’s effort.

Before

Step One: Weed Removal

As we launched into the massive project of pulling weeds, another neighbor, Susie, and her daughter came to help us (thank you so much!!). Then, several neighbors passing by offered to let us use their green bins (garbage cans for compostables) as they saw we would quickly fill our three. We ended up using six or seven. Everyone was so kind and generous.

Wrapped in the warmth of healthy work and a supportive neighborhood, we spent the day of intermittent rain digging and talking. It was a pleasure. I learned that Susie’s parents migrated from Germany and that they too grew their own food. Then, Angie’s mother-in-law joined us and I learned that her parents were farmers that ran a 40-acre farm in Mississippi. In fact, they grew their own food on the 5-acres they lived on. Their crop included cotton, peanuts, collards, and all other manner of food. I am excited to learn more about the culturally specific foods my neighbor’s families grew and prepared. My block is like a living encyclopedia of food heritage, not to mention a group of folks that are not afraid of rolling up their sleeves and turning the soil.