One of the most influential and provocative documentaries I have ever watched is The Garden. The Garden which premiered in 2008 focuses on telling the story of the community which rose to defend the 14 acre urban farm and garden it had cultivated and fostered for years against a money grubbing, power mad landlord. The film tracks the stories of several of the garden’s most influential and devoted members. Tezo or Tezozomac was one such garden member, wholeheartedly devoted to keeping the Garden afloat Tezo felt an especial connection to the land since his father was a founding member and de facto leader of the garden when it had been created following the LA riots in 1992. Tezo felt an almost religious affiliation with the garden calling it’s possible demolition akin to someone “coming to your city and tearing down your church or temple”. The garden was indeed depicted as temple-like by film maker Scott Hamilton Kennedy. A quiet and beautiful oasis in the middle of evident urban decay and neglect in one of Los Angeles’ most impoverished neighborhoods, the garden stood as a reminder of what pride, hard work, and a love of the earth could accomplish. Yet, the garden was more than a place of great verdant beauty it was also a primary source of supplemental nourishment for neighborhood members and participants who grew a wide variety of edible crops both local and exotic on the land. All of the gardeners were community members who had lived through poverty all of their lives, many were either Mexican immigrants, second generation Mexican Americans or African Americas…all historically disenfranchised members of American society. These people had banded together to gift themselves with food and foundation when the system would not. Utilizing their rich agrarian past the farmers sowed, tended and harvested the fruits of their labor not for others in far flung locations as many migrant workers are forced to do but for themselves. However, the land’s owner Horowitz a developer who had discreetly purchased the city land years before suddenly decided to evict the farmers in a bid to build warehouses on the acreage. The farmers banded together with celebrity supporters like Danny Glover and Darryl Hannah and lawyers to save their little piece of paradise from the greedy developer but did not triumph resulting in the farm’s subsequent demolition. Maddeningly, the land remained razed and undeveloped even years after it’s initial demolition; making it an even more apparent affront to the pointlessness of the eviction.
The lessons and heartache I gleaned from watching The Garden earlier this year found a poignant connection in the final project my group worked on this year. For our project we (Aviva, Dan and I) filmed an interview and visit with local restauranteur and farmer Ernesto Tello. Ernesto Tello owns and operates Tello’s Green Farm Latin Restaurant in Red Hook which serves classic Mexican cuisine. He also supplies his restaurant with produce and fresh eggs raised on his farm in Coxsackie, New York just 30 miles north of it. Tello’s Farm to Table structure is almost as local as it gets. In our interview and farm visit with Mr. Tello we gleaned many compelling facts and opinions about his journey from veterinarian in Colombia to Farmer and Restauranteur in upstate New York. Tello cited his growing up in the city of Cali in Colombia and frequent summer vacations to the rural village of his mother’s relatives as the foundation of his interest and talents for food and farming. When Tello immigrated to America from Colombia 20 years ago he missed the land and felt incredibly lucky when someone told him about a program designed to help immigrants with an interest and past in agriculture re-cultivate such abilities here on land that they themselves would own and operate. In an article from The Villager- a local newspaper- Tello notes the presumed rarity of non-white independent farmers saying, “People are taught to think that the business belongs to a white man. But when they realize that you are the owner, they are pleased. It’s nice, because some buy because they like the product, others because they want to support us,The two things go hand in hand.” Tello further expounded on the tenets on which he runs his farm and restaurant businesses; a strong belief in integrity, equality and biodynamics motivates Tello to deliver the best quality goods to his clientele whether they be customers at his restaurant or his green market stand at Farmer’s Markets in New York City. Talking about competition on the Farmer’s Market front Tello gave the example of having to take a hiatus from one of his usual markets in the city and coming back to another Farmer’s attempt to undercut his egg sales by offering eggs for $3.50 instead of Tello’s $5 base price. Tello said that he was unmoved by the display instead choosing to stick by his price of $5 which to him was not only fair but justified for the quality, effort and flavor he was offering. To Tello the product speaks for itself. He relies on word of mouth and a strong and satisfied base of loyal customers to keep his business going. He also refuses to spike prices based on the income margins of the communities he sells in, wanting to keep the prices level in all of the locations he sells in. Tello also raises his chickens hormone and chemical free allowing them to forage in mobile chicken coops which he and his two workers move around the farm to allow the land to recoup accordingly. The importance of ownership and pride of product deeply resonated in me; though I am also very interested in cooperative community owned farms and gardens.
On February 25, 2013, I joined Bard students, faculty, staff, and community members packed into Jim Ottaway Jr. Film Center to view Deborah Koons Garcia’s documentary 
Marnie Macgregor is a junior at Bard College studying Anthropology and hoping to continue research on rural communities, food and agriculture. Marnie also works at the Bard Center for Environmental Policy as an outreach assistant. 
Food Praticum 