The Ultimate Urban Farm

This is a story of inspiration that grew from one family’s recognition that our food supply is not secure. In 2001 there was a recall of taco shells that the Dervaes family ate. The recall was because GMO corn was used that had not been certified for human consumption. The realization that such a ‘mistake’ could take place motivated this family to consider how they could protect themselves from something like this happening again.

Some people might have been motivated to switch to an organic only food supply but this family took a different sort of action…they began learning how to supply their own food and today they are producing 6,000 pounds of fruit and vegetables a year on less than 1/10th of an acre in the city of Pasadena in California.

Their story has become a feature length movie, HomeGrown, and they have now moved beyond just producing their own food. If you are lucky enough to live in Santa Fe, next week on January 27th this film will be shown at the Santa Fe Farmers Market at 7 pm, along with the film Fresh, as the opening films for the 2010 series. It isn’t available on DVD yet but you can sign up to purchase it here. There is also a short film, 15+ minutes, called Homegrown Revolution about the Dervaes family and you can find out about it here. This link will take you to a shorter You Tube version of this short film, You will visit their urban homestead and see many of the ways that they have transformed their life in what can be considered a most radical act, changing themselves to change the world.

Their website Path to Freedom shows all of the ways that the Dervaes family is living a more sustainable life from producing their own food, to energy and water use, even beekeeping. Visit their website to learn more about their exciting adventure.   They also have a blog where you can join them in their ongoing daily experiences on this journey.

If you have a home garden or are thinking about creating one you will surely be inspired reading about what one family has done.