The future is now
by danica drezner
Jamiah Hargins and his organization, Crop Swap LA, are ripping out lawns and installing community microfarms. The first of their endeavors is the Asante Microfarm in View Park. Currently, their plan is to grow more than six hundred organic vegetable plants all while using a recycled water system. As Crop Swap’s website further explains:
Crop Swap LA™ plans to donate 10% of the harvest to the community and to sell most of the rest within just a few miles of the microfarm, to neighborhoods that are home to people most affected by food apartheid.
While incredible in action, there is something about the pulse of Crop Swap LA’s mission that stems from the heart of Jamiah.
Jamiah’s magnetic presence is felt instantly upon meeting him. He is optimistic, joyous, and very passionate about what he does. Simply put, he makes it very easy to get excited about his mission with Crop Swap LA.
“The future is now,” was Jamiahs’s message in this episode of Food Diplomat. He makes me truly believe that we as individuals have the power to make a change through the actions we take within our communities. The work Crop Swap LA does is more than what we see on the surface; they are thinking holistically about the community with food being the centerpiece.
Crop Swap is asking how we can think sustainably within pockets of communities throughout Los Angeles. We all eat, so, in a place where food can grow in our front yards, they’re taking the initiative to make it happen. It may be environmentally sustainable to save water and grow our own food, but it also feeds into social sustainability. Jamiah is thinking about how the community can invest in their neighborhoods by choosing to get their food locally. Furthermore, he’s thinking of the families that will have access to affordable fresh foods as a result.
What Crop Swap LA is doing is very powerful. It is not just the tangible gardens and urban farms they are creating throughout our neighborhoods, but it is the building of bridges within our communities to address larger systemic problems. This is a prime example of people taking power back within their communities, and it is mesmerizing.
Keep an eye on Jamiah, because what he is doing is more powerful than what appears on the surface.