Nuestras Raices Farm

Urban farm project leasing parcels to start-up immigrant and refugee farmers, with on-farm sales, cultural agritourism events, and cluster of businesses for permaculture economic development. NUESTRAS RAICES FARM This is the story of how an urban community reached for self-determination through agriculture and participatory design. Tierra de Oportunidades (Land of Opportunities) Nuestras Raíces (“Our Roots”) is a community organization in Holyoke Massachusetts that has used food, agriculture, and the environment as the basis for community development projects in the urban, largely low-income Puerto Rican neighborhoods where they work. Eric Toensmeier served nine years as a Board member and five as staff, bringing a permaculture approach to a community facing many challenges. Project Goals Holyoke’s Puerto Rican residents immigrated from the rural mountain areas, and many worked in the US as farm laborers. Living in a crumbling city they were unable to fully express their culture or use their skills for community self-determination. Community gardens and other projects developed leadership and improved food security but residents wanted more business opportunities, especially in agriculture. Participatory Design In 2004 Nuestras Raíces obtained access to farmland on the outskirts of the city. Working with farmer-candidates, youth, and women’s leaders, a community-driven permaculture process was used to develop a design for the thirty-acre site. The process integrated goals set by community members, a detailed site analysis, and market research. A large portion of the farm was set aside for parcels for start-up farmers, a group which has grown to include refugees and immigrants from around the world. A smaller portion of the farm was designated to serve as an intensively-used cultural agri-tourism destination. Integrated Enterprises A set of business ideas were developed to be leased as concessions, with Nuestras Raíces developing the infrastructu