March 24, 2025 • 46 mins
In this inspiring episode of And Now, Love, Cynthia Marks sits down with Richard Garcia, co-founder of Alma Backyard Farms, to explore the transformative power of urban agriculture and community. Rich shares his personal journey from a calling toward priesthood to discovering his true purpose—creating a space for formerly incarcerated individuals to heal, reconnect, and contribute through farming. The conversation dives into how Alma Farms offers job training, education, and meaningful connections, serving as a restorative space for both people and the land. Rich reflects on generational responsibility, childhood lessons, and the importance of recognizing our own capacity for growth, much like the plants they nurture. Together, they explore themes of original love, trust, and creating spaces where everyone—especially those society often overlooks—can thrive. This episode is a beautiful meditation on second chances, the healing power of nature, and how we can all grow something good.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:04):
Hi, I'm
Cynthia Marks, and I head up the HolisticPsychoanalysis Foundation
established by my late husband,the wonderful doctor Bernard Bail.
Welcome to And now, Love.
Today I am happy to have Rich
Garcia with us along with his wife.
(00:24):
He is one of the two co-foundersof Alma Backyard Farms.
Their nonprofit entity is doing so manygreat things for so many different people.
The individuals working the farm,those who come for the fabulous
organic vegetables, the kids who come forworkshops and summer camp
(00:45):
all come away knowingthey're part of a loving community,
and many of them come away
knowing more than they didbefore setting foot on the farm.
By the way, alma means soul in Spanish.
So rich,thank you very much for being here.
And let's talk about this. Yes.
(01:07):
So first of all,I want to know a little bit about you.
Were you always pursuingsomething of this nature?
Did you fall into it?
I've always been in discernment
about what brings me joy,
and that discernment has always been a.
Something relational.
It's always in relationshipto someone or something.
(01:31):
You know, full disclosure, I'm a believer.
I, I believe in a higher power.
You were on a path to the seminaryfor a period of time.
I was on the path towards priesthood.
And that in large part was because of oneparticular example
is Father Greg Boyle,the founder of Homeboy Industries.
What about him was intriguing to you?
(01:54):
Well, I'll tell you the moment.
I was a junior in high school,
I attended a local Jesuithigh school called Loyola High.
In Los Angeles.
Los Angeles as a high school junior.
The worries that that existare things from acne
to whether or notyou're being paid attention to by, by
(02:15):
girls, that sort of thing.
It was an all boys high school,but the moment I met
and came across GregBoyle was during mass.
It was a liturgy
and it was in celebrationof a particular feast day.
The feast day was calledOur Lady of Guadalupe.
There's about a thousand young menin this hall attending mass.
(02:38):
And then Greg Boyle proclaim the gospel.
And and in that scripture passage,
I felt as if those wordswere directed to me,
as if no one else was in the room.
And it's it's this.
I'm paraphrasing the passage,but it goes something like a voice
pierced through the cloudsand said, you are my beloved son.
(03:02):
I remember my heart racing at that momentas if,
you know, I kind of looked aroundwondering like what is going on?
Because I feltas if those words were spoken to me.
And then he he talks about his storiesof working with young men and women,
hoping to redirect their lives
and leave the gang lifestyle behind,or how he's intervened in their lives.
(03:24):
That left an impression on me,where I said to myself,
I'd like to be like him one day.
And so that was a kind of an eyeopening moment that led to,
of course, what we do today because it'sI think whether it's homeboy Industries,
it has numerous enterprises like a silk
screen, a cafe, a bakery.
(03:45):
We all my backyard farms has urbanagriculture as its vehicle
to arriveat that destination of feeling beloved.
So I think my personal experienceof having felt this reality of I'm
a beloved sonis something we hope to radiate out
(04:05):
through urban agriculture.
So that's that's kind of a seed storyin regards to how I perked up
and thought I could spendthe rest of my life doing something.
That being held and being loved.
And I say this because one,one of the first things to that,
that Greg Boyle said,and it's been a mantra of mine
(04:27):
and of course, some of this,this faith journey precedes this.
But I think
I was more cognizant as a 17 year oldabout what's being spoken in front of me.
He says, we have a God that loves uswithout measure and without regret.
We have a God whose joy it is to love us.
And I, I never heard words spoken
like that about the higher power,if you will.
(04:48):
So that'skind of guided our movement as a farm.
So don't really then as a young man,you kind of knew
your path was going to have somethingto do with community
and holding people and making a spacefor people to feel loved and important.
I mean, that's just the pathyou've been on then, it seems.
(05:09):
I think so, and I think, you know,my mom told me once
as a young boywho grew up in a Filipino household
with with the mom of the strict, firmbut but also gentle
and my mom died in 2022.
Not a day goes by without methinking about her.
But one of the stories she told meas a kid growing up was that I would.
(05:32):
The reason why she just kind oflike a farming gardening analogy.
You cut and you prune and you shape plant.
And she said to me that one day you willyou will grow into a big tree
that canprovide shade for a lot of people.
So the image of shade also is somethingthat, you know, runs in my mind.
(05:55):
And I think the the farm, the spacewe we've created with the farm
is, is sort of like a shadethat's created to provide
some restoration for peoplealong this journey of life, if you will.
We're just a stop.
So for some,you're kind of a resting place in a way
where people can feel safe enough to rest.
(06:18):
Yeah, to rest and listen.
The next step on the path.
You came about alma, several years agobefore Covid.
2013.
So, interestingly enough, the desire to
to be a priest like Greg Boyle.
I'm not a priest.
I'm happily married and a father of two.
(06:40):
But but to go back to thatfor just a minute, that
that's what you sawfor yourself at one point.
Do you mind sharingwhy you took a fork in the road?
I think because it's not so muchthe destination,
but the question that I would poseto myself of how I could be
the most loving version of myself.
(07:02):
I. See,and in this case, circumstance and,
a real deep dive
into listening,if you will lead me to discern
that the better version and more lovingversion of myself is who I am.
Outside of the priest.
Outside of that. Yeah.
I like that. You say, listening.
(07:23):
So were you were you listening
to what your heart was sayingor listening to the people around you?
Or, I guess, a combination of all?
I think a combination of all.
And I think sometimesI think it's so blatantly obvious.
You know, what's before us.
And in terms of where we ought to be,there's other pressures that.
Steer you away. Steer you away? Yeah.
(07:44):
Yeah, I think so, too.
And I and a lot of Doctor Bails work,which I know you're not that familiar
with, is, is to that point, you know,we all kind of
have a path that we're meant to walk.
But through the course of our lives,even before we're born,
we are delivered this sort of package
(08:05):
of uncomfortable stuffthat we have to carry along with us.
And in a way, you know, that cloudsyour vision of what your real journey is.
And I think, sadly, a lot of usdon't get to go on our real journey.
And you know, what you're doing hereis helping us
see that it's fantastic to be able
to kind of clear awaythat and forge this path.
(08:29):
Yeah. And I think it's not even that,
you know, there are painful moments,I think, because,
you know, especiallygrowing up in the Filipino household.
And when you say growing upin a Filipino household, what about that?
Is there a certainkind of set of parameters
that is typical to a Filipino household?
(08:51):
I think generally.
So, you know, my mom is a pioneer.
She always understood what she did
as the first one in her family to
to brave North America as a young nurse.
It was a big deal because she feltthat she was going to create
a path for a better lifefor the rest of her family.
(09:13):
That being said, there isthere is a the pressure to succeed
and in some cases, success,maybe in the completion of.
So if I pursued becoming a physician.
The success wouldbe in the completion of those studies
and then an eventual careeras a physician.
Yeah.
(09:33):
And in my caseit was an initial pursuit of priesthood.
So the success would be deemedhaving completed that
and then moved on to ordained ministry.
And I think that's the sort of weight
that my, my, my mom and dadwho would would feel with regards
(09:54):
to, you know,they're the first person in their family
coming to the Statesto make something of themselves.
They've got to be successful.
You got to be successful.
You know, like for the longest timeyou know we're talking about high school.
It felt as if I was just tryingto get good grades to make my mom happy.
Sure.
You know I think that, that that's,that's pretty evident
until I came to the realizationof learning for the sake of learning.
(10:18):
Lucky you.
A lot of us don't get there. Yeah.
We're so busytrying to perform for our parents.
You know, I got to get this a so my dadwon't even remember I exist, you know.
Right.
The whole process of discerning priesthoodand and then coming to the realization
that I'm going to engage fullyin urban agriculture because it's kind of
(10:39):
what I've discovered to be,
in my DNA, if you will.
That wasn't the prettiest process,
because my mother wantedto be very supportive of this.
But at the same time,she was kind of upset that
that that things didn'tgo the way she thought they would go.
The thing with the Filipinohousehold is the funny obsession
(11:01):
with, like, the benefits that workbrings you, right?
Your employer benefits.
The urban farm is kindof an entrepreneurial thing where, yes,
we're a nonprofit organization,so we had to essentially
beg for money in a way.
And in the beginningthere was a lot of rejection.
It wasn't easy to convey to my momthat this was something I could,
(11:21):
I could, I could dothat would sustain myself.
So if you, if you look at thisfrom another perspective, it's
like my mom worksso hard, paved this path.
And then to kind of see her childin a situation
that she thinks will not sustain him.
I think it's concerning.
(11:42):
I think it would be for any parentfor sure.
I can see that connection.
So that that that explains some of it.
But that I'll just say, see this much.
I think my mom and Ihave very similar personality.
So, so it would it could very well
easilybe a hot tempered situation quickly.
You know, there was kind of a crackin the door when,
(12:05):
when the work we were doingstarted to get some external recognition.
That still wasn't enough to convincemy mom that I was doing the right thing.
But because that that tension existed,I felt like
I really was doing the right thing.
Are you saying that because youthere was a tension, because you were
you resisted the paththat was in her mind, the desirable path.
(12:28):
And you you went your own way? Yes.
And that you were able to resist and stickwith what felt like you inside.
The more tension there was, the more yourealized that you were on the right path.
To some degree,because I also was in the process
of all of this, guided by good mentorsand spiritual directors.
(12:49):
So you were seeing signs of that were
sort of enforcing for you that,yeah, this is this is a good thing to do.
Look, there's doorsthat are going to open here. Yes.
And then I had to have the crazy beliefthat the doors would open.
Yeah.
Because it didn't seem likeit would for a long time.
Early on with the farm,you know, we're taking a risk.
(13:11):
One shovel scoop at a timeto see if this will even work out.
Luckily it has.
It still requires a lot of work.
I think that's ongoing for you. Yeah.
I don't think that'll stop.
Now, but I think some of the thingsthat are most transformative for us
as individualsand as community require the most work.
But once you start to see some success,whatever that means,
(13:35):
you're empowered to keep going.
I mean, that'sjust kind of the journey of life in a way.
Yeah.
Thank you for sharing some about youbefore you got to the farm.
And so the farmthen you sort of started up in
did you say 2013? Yes.
So from the back end from now,what is the farm?
(13:57):
We've been talking all around it.What is the farm?
Who do you serve? Who works for you?
Lots of questions.
So a lot to to be described in our name.
And I think I'll give you that overview.
All my backyard farms.
You said earlier, alma translatesfrom Spanish to English. So
we grow food not just to nourishthe palate.
(14:21):
It's more than just about food security.
We grow food to satisfy the deeperhunger of the soul.
That deeper hungerwe understand as connection.
You know, people connected to each other,
to plants, to the place they inhabit.
So there's kind of that triad of people,plants in place.
(14:41):
That we hold sacredin terms of a soul connection.
That's why we grow food.
Food's merely this vehicle to that end.
And then backyard.
We started in backyards in Los Angeles.
Literally in people's backyard.
Literally in people's backyards.
Now in 2013,we were young and dumb and passionate.
(15:04):
It all seemed like a great idea.
It all seemed like a great idea,
not knowingthere had to be some agreements in place.
I mean, this is just the way things work.
And then,you know, fast forward to the day.
We're older, not so dumb, butand then we're still passionate.
But backyard is not just the place where,
(15:26):
we started.
It's also kind of a play on the challengeswe we face
reentry, people leavingprison, reentering into society
that often is met with anot in my backyard attitude.
I see this reentry.
What part do they playin all my backyard farms?
(15:49):
We offer job training and employmentfor folks reentering
after prisonor wanting to redirect their lives
from incarceration or
transitioning into new life.
So again, that could be a place of rest
for a moment as you considerwhat the possibilities are.
(16:11):
Right.
And while you're there restingyou're doing something for the community.
Learning some skills. Yes.
So we train folkswho have experienced incarceration
in all dimensions of urban agriculture,from the planting and harvesting side
to the actual distribution of it at ourfarm stand, which is one of our programs.
(16:32):
We work with folkswho've been incarcerated or helping them
build their tools and skills to navigatethrough life, post incarceration.
But we also do sobecause of having listened
carefully to to their desireof wanting to give back.
And so growingfood is a way of giving back,
and most especially in communities,that have great need for nourishment.
(16:57):
That's one way of reconnecting people.
We use farms, pluralfor alma backyard farms
because we growsignificant amount of produce.
I think the USDA standardsays something like,
if you go over 1,000 pounds of food,you considered a farm.
We have multiple sites.
We started off in East L.A.,which is my backyard.
(17:18):
We're still growing there,but our flagship farm is in Compton,
and we have another comparablesized urban farm in San Pedro.
Most of our programing,our food distribution,
our brunch happens outout of our Compton location.
I visited your Compton location.
It's awesome.
And you serve the publicor your community?
(17:42):
Two Sundays out of every month?
Yes, the first and thirdSunday of each month
from eight in the morning to 12 noon.
And and one can come there and buy
for a small amount of moneyrelative to the grocery store,
some organic vegetablesthat were grown on site. Yes.
And you could also have brunch,which is largely made up
(18:04):
of what you'reproducing there on site. Yes.
That's pretty awesome.
So the the idea is that the experiencewe provide is a dignifying one.
Of being able to source beautiful produce
and have have a beautiful mealin a beautiful space in a way.
So even those people who are coming
(18:25):
who benefit from what you're producing
have that experience of people, plantsand place. Yes.
Yes. And the people
that are coming to work for youthat have been incarcerated
also have that newfound experience
of people, plants and place. Yes.
(18:46):
And they can see how those elementstogether
benefit them and benefitthose around them. Yes.
And I think I might have mentioned thisbefore that,
but the farm,you know, the these, different realities
of what people in prison callpeople outside is people on the outside.
Right.
(19:07):
I believe that the urban farm is the space
between where that integrationand that meeting could happen.
People from the outside could meet peoplefrom the inside where food,
I think, in its essence,brings people together more than divides.
ThoughI think there arguably is a possibility
that food could be divisive,but I think more so.
(19:30):
Food could be a uniting thing.
And from my perspective,what I see happen when folks
who have been locked up and donetime are on one side of the produce stand,
and then folks fromthe neighborhood are on the other side
of the produce table,and the conversation is around food.
The conversation is around recipes.
(19:51):
The conversation is around,how do you prepare this?
How do you enjoy this?
I think helps everyone in the spaceto recognize how human we all are.
It's a common ground, isn't it? Yeah.
That's pretty fascinating.
So I would think then in that case,everybody's
almost putting asidetheir preconceived notions
(20:11):
and really just participatingright on right at that moment.
Yeah.
I think often it is the casethat I don't ever hear concern of people
really wondering what, you know,
this person's criminal history iswhat happens more often is an expression
of gratitude to folks who work with us,who have been incarcerated,
(20:35):
which helps helps themreally feel at home.
Yeah. You know,and I think that's been conveyed to me
multiple times.
Well, there is a senseand I've only been there
once when I walked into your space.
There was kind of this immediate,all encompassing
feeling that everyonethere was sort of simpatico, like
(20:58):
everyone was weaving amongst each other,not separate from each other.
And that you could walk amongstamongst your your groves, your vegetables
really feel that that was kind of the baseof how everything got there.
It it created a lot of curiosity for me
about the whole worldthat you have there, that how everything
(21:22):
kind of maneuvers togetherto, to produce this beautiful outcome.
I'll share this one story with you.
Like how did we get to actually focusingon, on on like urban agriculture?
I was working at Homegirl Cafewhen, when we started some mini farms.
There's some version of growingI think early 2000 is the farm to table
(21:45):
thing was a was a big read, you know.
So if if local restaurants could sourceor even grow
locally or grow their own salad, mix itit was like.
A big deal, a big. Deal.
And so we were experimenting with thatfor the cafe.
We had a couple mini farm plots.
I so happened to be withwith one of the homegirls.
(22:09):
Sarah, who was on our farm team.
And can you just in a few secondsdescribed what
Homeboy Industries is?
I think some of us may not know.
Oh yeah.
So HomeboyIndustries is known as the largest
gang rehab,if you will, providing opportunities
for folks who have been incarceratedor involved in the gang lifestyle
(22:32):
to gain real skilland become a part of a community
that could assist inand their well-being and transformation.
They have a number of enterprises,from a cafe to some school.
So we were at the cafe,one of one of the enterprises, and Sarah,
who was with me on the farm team, were onschedule en route to farm a plot of ours.
(22:54):
We're leaving Homeboy Industriesin Chinatown to get into Boyle Heights.
The mode of conversation is usually banterand a lot of humor,
and so it was very noticeablethat as we went from Chinatown
into this particular part of BoyleHeights,
Sarah was surprisingly quiet.
(23:15):
And I remember driving down
Gless
Street and I could see herlooking out the window,
which made me pause because she's pausing.
When we arrived at the mini farmand we were offloading
seedlings, soil bags or whatever it was,we were going to use the plant.
I had to ask her,why are you so quiet today, Sarah?
(23:36):
It's not like you.
And she said the last time
she drove downthat street was with some homeboys,
because they were lookingto do a drive by shooting.
And then when she had seedlingsin her hand and she says to me,
I can't believe I'm planting new lifewhere I was going to take it. Oh.
(23:58):
And so that opened my eyesto urban agriculture
as you learn so much from the dirt. Yeah.
And so I held on to that story,and it was kind of a lot of the energy
that went into alma, because we recognizedthat we could inhabit
old spaces with new perspectiveand as a new person.
(24:20):
So that insight was like,
all right, you know, likewe're doing that at the farm in Compton.
It was an abandoned softball field,
turned into an oasis.
We were inhabiting an old spacein a new way.
And so, you know, I appreciate Sarahfor sharing that with me then.
And she would always say thatfarming brings me peace.
(24:43):
Now, it's not like the work is idyllic.
You sweat.
You lift,you're in uncomfortable positions.
But there's real payoff in that.
Because maybe those are moments
where we're just connecting to ourselvesinto to what's underneath us.
And just being ableto watch something grow
(25:04):
and to create something from almostnothing to, you know, and share
that experience with other peoplethat are helping you, of course.
But to go from nothing to somethingfabulous.
What I hear often, too, is like, and I'mjust sharing with you what what folks
who have been incarcerated have sharedwith regards to their experience.
We approach farming.
(25:25):
Not not that, not as is rocket science,but something that's really, you know,
you take compost for instance,what's what's discarded
vegetable cuttings, crabs, plant debris.
And too often it's just disposed ofas opposed
to recognizing the energythat's still present there.
And when you have the right ingredientsmixing and compost for instance
(25:49):
there's a heating up processor something else starts to develop.
Right.
You're developing
a nutrient dense materialthat you could return back to the soil to,
to feed it.
It's almost like you'retalking about a human life.
Yeah.
And so folks incarcerated or not,when they come into contact with compost,
(26:10):
they start recognizing the parallels
this process has with themselves.
I can see how that would give usall a sense of hope.
Especially when you see the heatrising out of the compost.
But they will tell me themselves thatthey're learning this lesson that, that,
you know, this thing has to be processed,it has to be turned.
(26:31):
What might seem like trashmight actually be treasure.
It is it's slow work. It's fast work.
But a lot of what we learnis from the soil.
And then we have a modelfeed the soil to feed the soul.
That's been our motto.
And I think that gives youa little background.
Oh. Yeah. To alma. Yeah.
Thank you very much.
And in additionto what you've so far described,
(26:54):
you also have you provide services
for kids to come and learn about farming.
I think you have a summer camp in additionto some smaller
educational opportunities. Yes.
In fact, our pod squad.
So our program for children is calledpeas in a pod.
We decided to call it that
because post pandemic, post Covid,
(27:18):
I think a lot of educatorswere experimenting
with pod learning stylewhere you had small groups stay together.
We compare our small groupsto like five peas in a pod.
You know, that's a group of five kids,sticking together, learning together.
You know, a lot of our workwith, with young children
was actually encouraged by some,some of the folks who were incarcerated
(27:42):
because they were very concerned that
not only do we spend time with them,
but that our influencecould reach future generations.
So they would always tell us
you all should spend this sort of time toowith children.
Eric and I always envisioned the farmas a classroom for kids.
Eric, who's your wife? Eric is my wife.
(28:03):
We wouldn't be where we are without her.
So her background is in education.
She actually went to schoolto become a teacher, similar to me.
Like pathways.
Kind of went went into new areas.
So she helps to coordinate this effortof connecting kids with.
It's more than just connectingwith their food.
It's like where it comes from.
(28:25):
It seems to meit's more important now more than ever for
for young childrento have a sense of the outdoor space
where we could alsojust revitalize the sense of playing.
You could be entertained with dirt.
You'd be fascinated by the wormsin your hand.
In particular, for me,this is the space where I find
(28:47):
a lot of joy is when children pull out
root veggies, because it's like an moment.
Yeah I. Bet.
You know,when you pull that carried out and you.
You had no idea it was there.
Or especially if you planted
that seed and then you revisit this thing.
But that's the sort of energyI would want to keep on feeling.
(29:10):
You know, like, wow,I can't believe that happened.
Yeah. So to me,that's kind of like a miracle.
And then I'm I'm a pretty basic guy.
I still wake up amazedthat hot water comes out of the faucet.
You know, I really do.
I it's it's like a gratitude dance for mebecause I go, like, I can't believe that
(29:32):
all I have to do this, turn this,and we get hot water.
Yeah.
Because so much had to happen before that.
You know.
And it just comes so easyin the end to us.
I think it's it's pretty interesting
that this idea of having our childrenbe able to connect
with Earth or with a process
(29:55):
having to do with growing things
or playing has become something, you know,
really precious. It when it used to be,that's what you did.
That's what you had. That's all you knew.
So I love thatyou're giving this moment back
to kidswho would probably not have it otherwise.
(30:16):
You know, it reminds me.
So my parents helped meland a home in East L.A.
because they were just kind of insistentthat I at least have a house to live in.
So they're like, you need to buy a house.
And so I was very much into the farming,
so I converted the backyardinto like a farm.
And I'll share this with youbecause, you know,
(30:36):
my mom did not get to meet hergrandkids. No.
But she did say to me,where will the children play?
If all you have are raised beds?
And I would say to her, they play here.
And because she was like,they need area to run.
Thankfully you know, I bring,
(30:56):
you know, little Lorenzo to the farmand there's a lot of place to run. Yes.
I thought I might just share that with youbecause it's kind of a thing like now
with with kids, it's like they just needa place to run, to not feel limited.
Yeah. You know.
Right. Or trapped.
And really, at your farm.
(31:17):
I mean, you would.
I have the sense that as a kid,it's it's just freedom.
Yeah.
That's pretty, pretty wonderful.
The school kids who we provide lessons forand and workshops for.
We're on the propertyof a school and church.
So the kids that go to that schoolcome over to you. Yes.
And they will always ask during recesswhen is farm class?
(31:41):
So they they they call it a class,but it definitely is a classroom.
And you know, what I've noticed toois I think, like,
teachers have a concern that they'll bewhen the kids are outside,
they'll just be so distracted,which may initially seem to be the case.
But what I've found more oftenis that they seem more focused.
(32:04):
So I think that stems from a fear of whatthe outdoors may bring.
Fear meaning a lack of understanding.Yeah.
I think the outdoor space actually bringsa lot more focus.
You know, so that's just my observation.
For the children you
they might just initially come outand think, wow, there's a butterfly.
And what are those seeds for?
(32:26):
And all kinds of things.
But then they they kind of find their way.
They'll find their way.
I think it takes it's just like settlingin when you go over to somebody's house,
you kind ofhave to settle in a little bit.
And then then dinner's servedand you're at the dinner table.
So it's kind of like thatwith with the class, you know.
We have an outdoor classroom,
so there's a little bit of an activityto gather the kids.
(32:48):
And then, you know, the lessons rangefrom compost to good
bugs, bad bugs, pollinators.
You know, and to be in a spacewhere young children could observe
what's around them.
I think part of the program,it is our intention to, to give pause.
So in observing things, evenscientifically you have to give pause.
(33:12):
To observe.
And I think that's kind of one of the,the lessons.
Will you, you could even think about it.
Well you mentioned a ladybugthe other day.
Yeah.
But for a kid to understandthe importance of a ladybug.
Yeah.
And you know, to just think of this thingthat is just this cute
little bug that bounces around andand not go beyond that.
(33:36):
That's fun.
But then to think, wow, this little cute
thing has this sort of awesomeresponsibility, right?
And needs the help of these other thingsin order
to perform her jobor needs to be in the right home.
I think that would help our kidsunderstand so many things in life.
(33:56):
It's not just what you see,it's way bigger than that.
I just want to dispelthe the mystique around growing food.
Right.
And I always tell people it's not rocketscience.
It's a relationship.
We, we call what we do relational farming.
So the hope and intentionis that the children develop
(34:17):
a relationship with the outdoors,the plants, the little bugs.
And developing those relationships means
recognizing how you are in relationto that other thing outside of yourself.
It's the same things that folkswho are incarcerated.
It's developing new relationshipswith people they're unfamiliar with,
(34:38):
with themselves in a new space,even planting.
There's relationships with plants where
you will have better yieldsif you plant in relation to this plant.
You could deter pestsif you have this relationship here.
So I think, you know, our approach,whether it's the work with kids
(34:58):
or the works with folkswho have been incarcerated
or even if it's just the farm stand,it's really relationship.
Because the unsaid thingabout relationship and growing in it
is that it's a commitment of timeand trial.
You got to just do itover and over and over again.
(35:20):
So if you're ever with meand I'm teaching you how we approach
planting, I will always say to you,you're going to get better over time
and you're going to be ableto grow this plant.
Really well if you grow in relationshipto it because it requires a visit.
It requires some sort of conversation.
(35:41):
You have to check up on it.
You have to touch the dirtto see if the moisture level is right.
So it's very tactile.
You have to have a relationship.You have to have a relationship.
And sometimes it doesn't govery well you know like.
But there's a next time. Is next time.
What a great message to start with for
kids or peoplewho haven't gotten this message yet.
(36:03):
To start there with something so basicthat provides us all
with somethingwe have to have in order to live.
And then, you know, to kind of take thatforward in your relationships with people.
What a nice grounding experience,what you know, to start with.
Well, the ground,the soil, I mean, and to build from there.
What do you see happening foryou guys in the future?
(36:26):
Is is it more of the samebut on a bigger scale or,
or is what you're doing now
really as a whole as it needs to be?
I've never heard that more of the sameon a bigger scale.
Meaning your square footage,the amount of people that you have.
Would you be wanting to expandthat like you have to San Pedro?
(36:48):
Is there more of this
coming in your future?
So more of the same on a bigger scale?
I think more of the sameon a bigger scale.
Absolutely.
I think the farm is a living,breathing thing.
You know, I think James Brown was likethe self-proclaimed godfather of soul.
And so I in that spirit, I make a selfproclamation and alma Backyard Farms,
(37:12):
I know there are other farmsin Los Angeles, but we are LA's farm.
That's kind of my perception right.
And and I say that in this lightthat during the pandemic
we responded, partook in this conversationabout how
does a farm continue to nourish people,
especially now in this kind of forcedisolation, whatever was happening
(37:34):
then, people who are or fearful of a lotat that point? Yes.
So we've navigated fear,I think, and we learned
that, you know, nothing ventured,nothing gained.
So we'll continue to explorehow alma partakes
in the conversation of Los Angeles today
(37:55):
that's been recently devastated by fires.
I think we want to enter the future,participating in this conversation
of how alma could continueits work of restoration.
So in terms of more of the same
on a larger scale, more immediately,
(38:16):
you know, we'll continueto make food available
in our neighborhoodsif there's ways we could restore land by
growing seedlings of plantsthat could help heal land.
Plants are very capable of remediatingand pulling out toxins,
and they could be plantedin contaminated areas.
(38:37):
Then he land.
Those are some more immediate experiments.
That's exciting. Yeah.
So we want to do more of the same thingon a on a larger scale,
where we also want to explorenew possibilities of land.
We want to explore, hopefully one day
having a long term lease agreementor a purchase of land.
(39:01):
We could call our homefor a very long time.
And I'll say in this line, an urban farm.
We're not developerslooking for a land grab.
That's not our intention.
It's more of this.
On one of my early drives, whereeverything is supposedly 20 minutes away.
Yeah.
I so happenedto be listening to a story on NPR.
(39:21):
I think it was NPR on the Queen's Garden.
And how for generations,
hundreds of years, the royal familygot to eat out of the same garden.
And then I started thinkingabout urban farms
and how urban farmstend to be at the mercy of the landlord
when there is a better opportunityfor the landlord to make money,
(39:42):
then it's likely that the urban farmhas to pack packets, bags and leave.
Having listened to that storyabout the Royal family
eating out of the same gardenfor generations, I thought if a place
like all my backyard farmscould be in the neighborhood of Compton
for generations,would people in the neighborhood
be able to recognize their own royaltyand nobility one day?
(40:03):
That's the questionI posed with the hope of a future farm
that could be in existencefor generations.
That's the hope.
So it's it's more of the same thingon a larger scale for a very long time.
Maybe that's what I'd add. Yeah, I see.
So that idea of royalty for the community.
(40:24):
Do you mean to say that that community.
Absolutely recognizesand knows how important they are,
how how they are ableto nourish themselves?
Yeah, that there's a that there is a powerthey possess that there is, a power
in knowing their purposeto exist for a long time also.
(40:46):
That there is a power in knowing thatif they were to exist for a long time,
they have this great responsibilityto hand over
to the next generation something good.
And I think,
you know,
what you said is, is like in relationto, to the imprint,
we're handed traumasconsciously, unconsciously,
(41:08):
and at the same time we're handedsome really good things.
Absolutely.
And so on my drive here, I just kept onthinking about the flip side of things
that that if you have a perspectivethat is a long generational one,
there may be somethingpleasantly awaiting us on the other side.
If we could look beyond the smoke.
(41:29):
But it got me to thinking about traumasthat I have experienced.
We've been told stories as a Christian,someone discerning priesthood, you know.
And even if you weren't, you'd hearabout the story of the fall from Paradise.
I like the creation story.
And and then then there'sthere's an obsession with original sin.
(41:52):
In my life, I've come to discoverthat there's something that preceded
that, though. What would be original love?
Right. So I,
I think there's a lot of work
whereif the predominant story has been one
where we're known to have been born
with original sin, if that's kind of atheological sometimes, is
(42:13):
there's still is the truththat we also were born with original love.
So there's there's kind of,
there's always more than justwhat seems to be before us. Yes.
Because, like, at the end of the day,if you ask me
and I could tell you, hey,Dennis learned how to use a circular saw,
which is basically the pressing,the safety,
(42:36):
pulling the trigger,making your measurement, making a cut.
But if you ask me what's behindall of that, which I think is more towards
the original love, it's that this personwas entrusted with a tool,
with the hope that he recognizes
the hands that may have caused harm,
still have capacityto create something new.
(42:59):
So like for me, training with tools
is really a practicein re instilling trust.
Anyone could learn how to cut.
Anyone could learn how to shovel dirt.
But but for me the lesson is, you know,like I'm handing this tool to you
because you're going to do something goodwith it.
There's going to be result at the end.
(43:21):
You would also have the opportunityto do something bad with it.
We're there to see.
So but you've created a space where you,this group of people come together
and they're going to use these tools,this information
that could become something negativeor become something positive.
But you've created a situationwhere positive is the go to.
(43:42):
Right.
And and I totally am on boardwith what you're saying about all of us,
you know, sort of originating froma seed of love, if not more than a seed.
Right. And that's who we really are.
And the sinor the trauma is on top of that,
and does not at all have to bethe thing that carries us through.
(44:06):
Shouldn't be the thingthat carries us through where it gets us.
Nowhere. Right.
But love,that's the thing that carries us through.
And we've all got it.
And we're all entitled to it. And that is
the divine.
I mean, that's that is the connectionto spirit or is spirit?
And I can't tell youhow much I appreciate what you're doing.
(44:28):
And we all do in your community.
And I wish all communitieshad someone like you.
So grow.
Thank you. Thank you.
And I appreciate your listeningand inviting me to this here.
Well, what you're doing is really unique.
I, I wish it weren't so unique,
but please tell us how people can find outabout you.
(44:51):
You have a website.
You're on Instagram?
Yes. Check out our website, alma backyardforms.com.
It's an upgraded website,so if you haven't visited us
online, do thatto know what's happening with alma.
Instagram.
Our handle is that alma back at farms.
You'll know the latestif we're giving away food for free.
(45:12):
We'd post it there if and when we reopenour farm stand in San Pedro.
You'll know about itthere. That's pretty much.
Great. And
I'm sure there are plenty of
people outside of your communitythat are interested in visiting.
Is that okay?
Yes. Come by first and third Sundays.
(45:33):
You sell out fast.
We sell out fast.
Which is, making us strategizeon how to grow more.
Yeah, we're really strategizing nowand then.
You know, we serve brunch
so you can enjoy a warm mealin the beautiful space of our urban farm.
And it is beautifulwhen you're enjoying brunch
or just sitting inand amongst the planting beds.
(45:56):
Yes. Yeah. That's very cool.
Thank you so much, Rich.
Thank you. I really appreciateyou being here. Thank you.
Thank you, everyone for listening to us.
And please visit Rich and the farm.
Hi, I'm
Cynthia Marks, and I head up the HolisticPsychoanalysis Foundation
established by my late husband,the wonderful doctor Bernard Bail.
Welcome to And now, Love.
Today I am happy to have Rich
Garcia with us along with his wife.
(00:24):
He is one of the two co-foundersof Alma Backyard Farms.
Their nonprofit entity is doing so manygreat things for so many different people.
The individuals working the farm,those who come for the fabulous
organic vegetables, the kids who come forworkshops and summer camp
(00:45):
all come away knowingthey're part of a loving community,
and many of them come away
knowing more than they didbefore setting foot on the farm.
By the way, alma means soul in Spanish.
So rich,thank you very much for being here.
And let's talk about this. Yes.
(01:07):
So first of all,I want to know a little bit about you.
Were you always pursuingsomething of this nature?
Did you fall into it?
I've always been in discernment
about what brings me joy,
and that discernment has always been a.
Something relational.
It's always in relationshipto someone or something.
(01:31):
You know, full disclosure, I'm a believer.
I, I believe in a higher power.
You were on a path to the seminaryfor a period of time.
I was on the path towards priesthood.
And that in large part was because of oneparticular example
is Father Greg Boyle,the founder of Homeboy Industries.
What about him was intriguing to you?
(01:54):
Well, I'll tell you the moment.
I was a junior in high school,
I attended a local Jesuithigh school called Loyola High.
In Los Angeles.
Los Angeles as a high school junior.
The worries that that existare things from acne
to whether or notyou're being paid attention to by, by
(02:15):
girls, that sort of thing.
It was an all boys high school,but the moment I met
and came across GregBoyle was during mass.
It was a liturgy
and it was in celebrationof a particular feast day.
The feast day was calledOur Lady of Guadalupe.
There's about a thousand young menin this hall attending mass.
(02:38):
And then Greg Boyle proclaim the gospel.
And and in that scripture passage,
I felt as if those wordswere directed to me,
as if no one else was in the room.
And it's it's this.
I'm paraphrasing the passage,but it goes something like a voice
pierced through the cloudsand said, you are my beloved son.
(03:02):
I remember my heart racing at that momentas if,
you know, I kind of looked aroundwondering like what is going on?
Because I feltas if those words were spoken to me.
And then he he talks about his storiesof working with young men and women,
hoping to redirect their lives
and leave the gang lifestyle behind,or how he's intervened in their lives.
(03:24):
That left an impression on me,where I said to myself,
I'd like to be like him one day.
And so that was a kind of an eyeopening moment that led to,
of course, what we do today because it'sI think whether it's homeboy Industries,
it has numerous enterprises like a silk
screen, a cafe, a bakery.
(03:45):
We all my backyard farms has urbanagriculture as its vehicle
to arriveat that destination of feeling beloved.
So I think my personal experienceof having felt this reality of I'm
a beloved sonis something we hope to radiate out
(04:05):
through urban agriculture.
So that's that's kind of a seed storyin regards to how I perked up
and thought I could spendthe rest of my life doing something.
That being held and being loved.
And I say this because one,one of the first things to that,
that Greg Boyle said,and it's been a mantra of mine
(04:27):
and of course, some of this,this faith journey precedes this.
But I think
I was more cognizant as a 17 year oldabout what's being spoken in front of me.
He says, we have a God that loves uswithout measure and without regret.
We have a God whose joy it is to love us.
And I, I never heard words spoken
like that about the higher power,if you will.
(04:48):
So that'skind of guided our movement as a farm.
So don't really then as a young man,you kind of knew
your path was going to have somethingto do with community
and holding people and making a spacefor people to feel loved and important.
I mean, that's just the pathyou've been on then, it seems.
(05:09):
I think so, and I think, you know,my mom told me once
as a young boywho grew up in a Filipino household
with with the mom of the strict, firmbut but also gentle
and my mom died in 2022.
Not a day goes by without methinking about her.
But one of the stories she told meas a kid growing up was that I would.
(05:32):
The reason why she just kind oflike a farming gardening analogy.
You cut and you prune and you shape plant.
And she said to me that one day you willyou will grow into a big tree
that canprovide shade for a lot of people.
So the image of shade also is somethingthat, you know, runs in my mind.
(05:55):
And I think the the farm, the spacewe we've created with the farm
is, is sort of like a shadethat's created to provide
some restoration for peoplealong this journey of life, if you will.
We're just a stop.
So for some,you're kind of a resting place in a way
where people can feel safe enough to rest.
(06:18):
Yeah, to rest and listen.
The next step on the path.
You came about alma, several years agobefore Covid.
2013.
So, interestingly enough, the desire to
to be a priest like Greg Boyle.
I'm not a priest.
I'm happily married and a father of two.
(06:40):
But but to go back to thatfor just a minute, that
that's what you sawfor yourself at one point.
Do you mind sharingwhy you took a fork in the road?
I think because it's not so muchthe destination,
but the question that I would poseto myself of how I could be
the most loving version of myself.
(07:02):
I. See,and in this case, circumstance and,
a real deep dive
into listening,if you will lead me to discern
that the better version and more lovingversion of myself is who I am.
Outside of the priest.
Outside of that. Yeah.
I like that. You say, listening.
(07:23):
So were you were you listening
to what your heart was sayingor listening to the people around you?
Or, I guess, a combination of all?
I think a combination of all.
And I think sometimesI think it's so blatantly obvious.
You know, what's before us.
And in terms of where we ought to be,there's other pressures that.
Steer you away. Steer you away? Yeah.
(07:44):
Yeah, I think so, too.
And I and a lot of Doctor Bails work,which I know you're not that familiar
with, is, is to that point, you know,we all kind of
have a path that we're meant to walk.
But through the course of our lives,even before we're born,
we are delivered this sort of package
(08:05):
of uncomfortable stuffthat we have to carry along with us.
And in a way, you know, that cloudsyour vision of what your real journey is.
And I think, sadly, a lot of usdon't get to go on our real journey.
And you know, what you're doing hereis helping us
see that it's fantastic to be able
to kind of clear awaythat and forge this path.
(08:29):
Yeah. And I think it's not even that,
you know, there are painful moments,I think, because,
you know, especiallygrowing up in the Filipino household.
And when you say growing upin a Filipino household, what about that?
Is there a certainkind of set of parameters
that is typical to a Filipino household?
(08:51):
I think generally.
So, you know, my mom is a pioneer.
She always understood what she did
as the first one in her family to
to brave North America as a young nurse.
It was a big deal because she feltthat she was going to create
a path for a better lifefor the rest of her family.
(09:13):
That being said, there isthere is a the pressure to succeed
and in some cases, success,maybe in the completion of.
So if I pursued becoming a physician.
The success wouldbe in the completion of those studies
and then an eventual careeras a physician.
Yeah.
(09:33):
And in my caseit was an initial pursuit of priesthood.
So the success would be deemedhaving completed that
and then moved on to ordained ministry.
And I think that's the sort of weight
that my, my, my mom and dadwho would would feel with regards
(09:54):
to, you know,they're the first person in their family
coming to the Statesto make something of themselves.
They've got to be successful.
You got to be successful.
You know, like for the longest timeyou know we're talking about high school.
It felt as if I was just tryingto get good grades to make my mom happy.
Sure.
You know I think that, that that's,that's pretty evident
until I came to the realizationof learning for the sake of learning.
(10:18):
Lucky you.
A lot of us don't get there. Yeah.
We're so busytrying to perform for our parents.
You know, I got to get this a so my dadwon't even remember I exist, you know.
Right.
The whole process of discerning priesthoodand and then coming to the realization
that I'm going to engage fullyin urban agriculture because it's kind of
(10:39):
what I've discovered to be,
in my DNA, if you will.
That wasn't the prettiest process,
because my mother wantedto be very supportive of this.
But at the same time,she was kind of upset that
that that things didn'tgo the way she thought they would go.
The thing with the Filipinohousehold is the funny obsession
(11:01):
with, like, the benefits that workbrings you, right?
Your employer benefits.
The urban farm is kindof an entrepreneurial thing where, yes,
we're a nonprofit organization,so we had to essentially
beg for money in a way.
And in the beginningthere was a lot of rejection.
It wasn't easy to convey to my momthat this was something I could,
(11:21):
I could, I could dothat would sustain myself.
So if you, if you look at thisfrom another perspective, it's
like my mom worksso hard, paved this path.
And then to kind of see her childin a situation
that she thinks will not sustain him.
I think it's concerning.
(11:42):
I think it would be for any parentfor sure.
I can see that connection.
So that that that explains some of it.
But that I'll just say, see this much.
I think my mom and Ihave very similar personality.
So, so it would it could very well
easilybe a hot tempered situation quickly.
You know, there was kind of a crackin the door when,
(12:05):
when the work we were doingstarted to get some external recognition.
That still wasn't enough to convincemy mom that I was doing the right thing.
But because that that tension existed,I felt like
I really was doing the right thing.
Are you saying that because youthere was a tension, because you were
you resisted the paththat was in her mind, the desirable path.
(12:28):
And you you went your own way? Yes.
And that you were able to resist and stickwith what felt like you inside.
The more tension there was, the more yourealized that you were on the right path.
To some degree,because I also was in the process
of all of this, guided by good mentorsand spiritual directors.
(12:49):
So you were seeing signs of that were
sort of enforcing for you that,yeah, this is this is a good thing to do.
Look, there's doorsthat are going to open here. Yes.
And then I had to have the crazy beliefthat the doors would open.
Yeah.
Because it didn't seem likeit would for a long time.
Early on with the farm,you know, we're taking a risk.
(13:11):
One shovel scoop at a timeto see if this will even work out.
Luckily it has.
It still requires a lot of work.
I think that's ongoing for you. Yeah.
I don't think that'll stop.
Now, but I think some of the thingsthat are most transformative for us
as individualsand as community require the most work.
But once you start to see some success,whatever that means,
(13:35):
you're empowered to keep going.
I mean, that'sjust kind of the journey of life in a way.
Yeah.
Thank you for sharing some about youbefore you got to the farm.
And so the farmthen you sort of started up in
did you say 2013? Yes.
So from the back end from now,what is the farm?
(13:57):
We've been talking all around it.What is the farm?
Who do you serve? Who works for you?
Lots of questions.
So a lot to to be described in our name.
And I think I'll give you that overview.
All my backyard farms.
You said earlier, alma translatesfrom Spanish to English. So
we grow food not just to nourishthe palate.
(14:21):
It's more than just about food security.
We grow food to satisfy the deeperhunger of the soul.
That deeper hungerwe understand as connection.
You know, people connected to each other,
to plants, to the place they inhabit.
So there's kind of that triad of people,plants in place.
(14:41):
That we hold sacredin terms of a soul connection.
That's why we grow food.
Food's merely this vehicle to that end.
And then backyard.
We started in backyards in Los Angeles.
Literally in people's backyard.
Literally in people's backyards.
Now in 2013,we were young and dumb and passionate.
(15:04):
It all seemed like a great idea.
It all seemed like a great idea,
not knowingthere had to be some agreements in place.
I mean, this is just the way things work.
And then,you know, fast forward to the day.
We're older, not so dumb, butand then we're still passionate.
But backyard is not just the place where,
(15:26):
we started.
It's also kind of a play on the challengeswe we face
reentry, people leavingprison, reentering into society
that often is met with anot in my backyard attitude.
I see this reentry.
What part do they playin all my backyard farms?
(15:49):
We offer job training and employmentfor folks reentering
after prisonor wanting to redirect their lives
from incarceration or
transitioning into new life.
So again, that could be a place of rest
for a moment as you considerwhat the possibilities are.
(16:11):
Right.
And while you're there restingyou're doing something for the community.
Learning some skills. Yes.
So we train folkswho have experienced incarceration
in all dimensions of urban agriculture,from the planting and harvesting side
to the actual distribution of it at ourfarm stand, which is one of our programs.
(16:32):
We work with folkswho've been incarcerated or helping them
build their tools and skills to navigatethrough life, post incarceration.
But we also do sobecause of having listened
carefully to to their desireof wanting to give back.
And so growingfood is a way of giving back,
and most especially in communities,that have great need for nourishment.
(16:57):
That's one way of reconnecting people.
We use farms, pluralfor alma backyard farms
because we growsignificant amount of produce.
I think the USDA standardsays something like,
if you go over 1,000 pounds of food,you considered a farm.
We have multiple sites.
We started off in East L.A.,which is my backyard.
(17:18):
We're still growing there,but our flagship farm is in Compton,
and we have another comparablesized urban farm in San Pedro.
Most of our programing,our food distribution,
our brunch happens outout of our Compton location.
I visited your Compton location.
It's awesome.
And you serve the publicor your community?
(17:42):
Two Sundays out of every month?
Yes, the first and thirdSunday of each month
from eight in the morning to 12 noon.
And and one can come there and buy
for a small amount of moneyrelative to the grocery store,
some organic vegetablesthat were grown on site. Yes.
And you could also have brunch,which is largely made up
(18:04):
of what you'reproducing there on site. Yes.
That's pretty awesome.
So the the idea is that the experiencewe provide is a dignifying one.
Of being able to source beautiful produce
and have have a beautiful mealin a beautiful space in a way.
So even those people who are coming
(18:25):
who benefit from what you're producing
have that experience of people, plantsand place. Yes.
Yes. And the people
that are coming to work for youthat have been incarcerated
also have that newfound experience
of people, plants and place. Yes.
(18:46):
And they can see how those elementstogether
benefit them and benefitthose around them. Yes.
And I think I might have mentioned thisbefore that,
but the farm,you know, the these, different realities
of what people in prison callpeople outside is people on the outside.
Right.
(19:07):
I believe that the urban farm is the space
between where that integrationand that meeting could happen.
People from the outside could meet peoplefrom the inside where food,
I think, in its essence,brings people together more than divides.
ThoughI think there arguably is a possibility
that food could be divisive,but I think more so.
(19:30):
Food could be a uniting thing.
And from my perspective,what I see happen when folks
who have been locked up and donetime are on one side of the produce stand,
and then folks fromthe neighborhood are on the other side
of the produce table,and the conversation is around food.
The conversation is around recipes.
(19:51):
The conversation is around,how do you prepare this?
How do you enjoy this?
I think helps everyone in the spaceto recognize how human we all are.
It's a common ground, isn't it? Yeah.
That's pretty fascinating.
So I would think then in that case,everybody's
almost putting asidetheir preconceived notions
(20:11):
and really just participatingright on right at that moment.
Yeah.
I think often it is the casethat I don't ever hear concern of people
really wondering what, you know,
this person's criminal history iswhat happens more often is an expression
of gratitude to folks who work with us,who have been incarcerated,
(20:35):
which helps helps themreally feel at home.
Yeah. You know,and I think that's been conveyed to me
multiple times.
Well, there is a senseand I've only been there
once when I walked into your space.
There was kind of this immediate,all encompassing
feeling that everyonethere was sort of simpatico, like
(20:58):
everyone was weaving amongst each other,not separate from each other.
And that you could walk amongstamongst your your groves, your vegetables
really feel that that was kind of the baseof how everything got there.
It it created a lot of curiosity for me
about the whole worldthat you have there, that how everything
(21:22):
kind of maneuvers togetherto, to produce this beautiful outcome.
I'll share this one story with you.
Like how did we get to actually focusingon, on on like urban agriculture?
I was working at Homegirl Cafewhen, when we started some mini farms.
There's some version of growingI think early 2000 is the farm to table
(21:45):
thing was a was a big read, you know.
So if if local restaurants could sourceor even grow
locally or grow their own salad, mix itit was like.
A big deal, a big. Deal.
And so we were experimenting with thatfor the cafe.
We had a couple mini farm plots.
I so happened to be withwith one of the homegirls.
(22:09):
Sarah, who was on our farm team.
And can you just in a few secondsdescribed what
Homeboy Industries is?
I think some of us may not know.
Oh yeah.
So HomeboyIndustries is known as the largest
gang rehab,if you will, providing opportunities
for folks who have been incarceratedor involved in the gang lifestyle
(22:32):
to gain real skilland become a part of a community
that could assist inand their well-being and transformation.
They have a number of enterprises,from a cafe to some school.
So we were at the cafe,one of one of the enterprises, and Sarah,
who was with me on the farm team, were onschedule en route to farm a plot of ours.
(22:54):
We're leaving Homeboy Industriesin Chinatown to get into Boyle Heights.
The mode of conversation is usually banterand a lot of humor,
and so it was very noticeablethat as we went from Chinatown
into this particular part of BoyleHeights,
Sarah was surprisingly quiet.
(23:15):
And I remember driving down
Gless
Street and I could see herlooking out the window,
which made me pause because she's pausing.
When we arrived at the mini farmand we were offloading
seedlings, soil bags or whatever it was,we were going to use the plant.
I had to ask her,why are you so quiet today, Sarah?
(23:36):
It's not like you.
And she said the last time
she drove downthat street was with some homeboys,
because they were lookingto do a drive by shooting.
And then when she had seedlingsin her hand and she says to me,
I can't believe I'm planting new lifewhere I was going to take it. Oh.
(23:58):
And so that opened my eyesto urban agriculture
as you learn so much from the dirt. Yeah.
And so I held on to that story,and it was kind of a lot of the energy
that went into alma, because we recognizedthat we could inhabit
old spaces with new perspectiveand as a new person.
(24:20):
So that insight was like,
all right, you know, likewe're doing that at the farm in Compton.
It was an abandoned softball field,
turned into an oasis.
We were inhabiting an old spacein a new way.
And so, you know, I appreciate Sarahfor sharing that with me then.
And she would always say thatfarming brings me peace.
(24:43):
Now, it's not like the work is idyllic.
You sweat.
You lift,you're in uncomfortable positions.
But there's real payoff in that.
Because maybe those are moments
where we're just connecting to ourselvesinto to what's underneath us.
And just being ableto watch something grow
(25:04):
and to create something from almostnothing to, you know, and share
that experience with other peoplethat are helping you, of course.
But to go from nothing to somethingfabulous.
What I hear often, too, is like, and I'mjust sharing with you what what folks
who have been incarcerated have sharedwith regards to their experience.
We approach farming.
(25:25):
Not not that, not as is rocket science,but something that's really, you know,
you take compost for instance,what's what's discarded
vegetable cuttings, crabs, plant debris.
And too often it's just disposed ofas opposed
to recognizing the energythat's still present there.
And when you have the right ingredientsmixing and compost for instance
(25:49):
there's a heating up processor something else starts to develop.
Right.
You're developing
a nutrient dense materialthat you could return back to the soil to,
to feed it.
It's almost like you'retalking about a human life.
Yeah.
And so folks incarcerated or not,when they come into contact with compost,
(26:10):
they start recognizing the parallels
this process has with themselves.
I can see how that would give usall a sense of hope.
Especially when you see the heatrising out of the compost.
But they will tell me themselves thatthey're learning this lesson that, that,
you know, this thing has to be processed,it has to be turned.
(26:31):
What might seem like trashmight actually be treasure.
It is it's slow work. It's fast work.
But a lot of what we learnis from the soil.
And then we have a modelfeed the soil to feed the soul.
That's been our motto.
And I think that gives youa little background.
Oh. Yeah. To alma. Yeah.
Thank you very much.
And in additionto what you've so far described,
(26:54):
you also have you provide services
for kids to come and learn about farming.
I think you have a summer camp in additionto some smaller
educational opportunities. Yes.
In fact, our pod squad.
So our program for children is calledpeas in a pod.
We decided to call it that
because post pandemic, post Covid,
(27:18):
I think a lot of educatorswere experimenting
with pod learning stylewhere you had small groups stay together.
We compare our small groupsto like five peas in a pod.
You know, that's a group of five kids,sticking together, learning together.
You know, a lot of our workwith, with young children
was actually encouraged by some,some of the folks who were incarcerated
(27:42):
because they were very concerned that
not only do we spend time with them,
but that our influencecould reach future generations.
So they would always tell us
you all should spend this sort of time toowith children.
Eric and I always envisioned the farmas a classroom for kids.
Eric, who's your wife? Eric is my wife.
(28:03):
We wouldn't be where we are without her.
So her background is in education.
She actually went to schoolto become a teacher, similar to me.
Like pathways.
Kind of went went into new areas.
So she helps to coordinate this effortof connecting kids with.
It's more than just connectingwith their food.
It's like where it comes from.
(28:25):
It seems to meit's more important now more than ever for
for young childrento have a sense of the outdoor space
where we could alsojust revitalize the sense of playing.
You could be entertained with dirt.
You'd be fascinated by the wormsin your hand.
In particular, for me,this is the space where I find
(28:47):
a lot of joy is when children pull out
root veggies, because it's like an moment.
Yeah I. Bet.
You know,when you pull that carried out and you.
You had no idea it was there.
Or especially if you planted
that seed and then you revisit this thing.
But that's the sort of energyI would want to keep on feeling.
(29:10):
You know, like, wow,I can't believe that happened.
Yeah. So to me,that's kind of like a miracle.
And then I'm I'm a pretty basic guy.
I still wake up amazedthat hot water comes out of the faucet.
You know, I really do.
I it's it's like a gratitude dance for mebecause I go, like, I can't believe that
(29:32):
all I have to do this, turn this,and we get hot water.
Yeah.
Because so much had to happen before that.
You know.
And it just comes so easyin the end to us.
I think it's it's pretty interesting
that this idea of having our childrenbe able to connect
with Earth or with a process
(29:55):
having to do with growing things
or playing has become something, you know,
really precious. It when it used to be,that's what you did.
That's what you had. That's all you knew.
So I love thatyou're giving this moment back
to kidswho would probably not have it otherwise.
(30:16):
You know, it reminds me.
So my parents helped meland a home in East L.A.
because they were just kind of insistentthat I at least have a house to live in.
So they're like, you need to buy a house.
And so I was very much into the farming,
so I converted the backyardinto like a farm.
And I'll share this with youbecause, you know,
(30:36):
my mom did not get to meet hergrandkids. No.
But she did say to me,where will the children play?
If all you have are raised beds?
And I would say to her, they play here.
And because she was like,they need area to run.
Thankfully you know, I bring,
(30:56):
you know, little Lorenzo to the farmand there's a lot of place to run. Yes.
I thought I might just share that with youbecause it's kind of a thing like now
with with kids, it's like they just needa place to run, to not feel limited.
Yeah. You know.
Right. Or trapped.
And really, at your farm.
(31:17):
I mean, you would.
I have the sense that as a kid,it's it's just freedom.
Yeah.
That's pretty, pretty wonderful.
The school kids who we provide lessons forand and workshops for.
We're on the propertyof a school and church.
So the kids that go to that schoolcome over to you. Yes.
And they will always ask during recesswhen is farm class?
(31:41):
So they they they call it a class,but it definitely is a classroom.
And you know, what I've noticed toois I think, like,
teachers have a concern that they'll bewhen the kids are outside,
they'll just be so distracted,which may initially seem to be the case.
But what I've found more oftenis that they seem more focused.
(32:04):
So I think that stems from a fear of whatthe outdoors may bring.
Fear meaning a lack of understanding.Yeah.
I think the outdoor space actually bringsa lot more focus.
You know, so that's just my observation.
For the children you
they might just initially come outand think, wow, there's a butterfly.
And what are those seeds for?
(32:26):
And all kinds of things.
But then they they kind of find their way.
They'll find their way.
I think it takes it's just like settlingin when you go over to somebody's house,
you kind ofhave to settle in a little bit.
And then then dinner's servedand you're at the dinner table.
So it's kind of like thatwith with the class, you know.
We have an outdoor classroom,
so there's a little bit of an activityto gather the kids.
(32:48):
And then, you know, the lessons rangefrom compost to good
bugs, bad bugs, pollinators.
You know, and to be in a spacewhere young children could observe
what's around them.
I think part of the program,it is our intention to, to give pause.
So in observing things, evenscientifically you have to give pause.
(33:12):
To observe.
And I think that's kind of one of the,the lessons.
Will you, you could even think about it.
Well you mentioned a ladybugthe other day.
Yeah.
But for a kid to understandthe importance of a ladybug.
Yeah.
And you know, to just think of this thingthat is just this cute
little bug that bounces around andand not go beyond that.
(33:36):
That's fun.
But then to think, wow, this little cute
thing has this sort of awesomeresponsibility, right?
And needs the help of these other thingsin order
to perform her jobor needs to be in the right home.
I think that would help our kidsunderstand so many things in life.
(33:56):
It's not just what you see,it's way bigger than that.
I just want to dispelthe the mystique around growing food.
Right.
And I always tell people it's not rocketscience.
It's a relationship.
We, we call what we do relational farming.
So the hope and intentionis that the children develop
(34:17):
a relationship with the outdoors,the plants, the little bugs.
And developing those relationships means
recognizing how you are in relationto that other thing outside of yourself.
It's the same things that folkswho are incarcerated.
It's developing new relationshipswith people they're unfamiliar with,
(34:38):
with themselves in a new space,even planting.
There's relationships with plants where
you will have better yieldsif you plant in relation to this plant.
You could deter pestsif you have this relationship here.
So I think, you know, our approach,whether it's the work with kids
(34:58):
or the works with folkswho have been incarcerated
or even if it's just the farm stand,it's really relationship.
Because the unsaid thingabout relationship and growing in it
is that it's a commitment of timeand trial.
You got to just do itover and over and over again.
(35:20):
So if you're ever with meand I'm teaching you how we approach
planting, I will always say to you,you're going to get better over time
and you're going to be ableto grow this plant.
Really well if you grow in relationshipto it because it requires a visit.
It requires some sort of conversation.
(35:41):
You have to check up on it.
You have to touch the dirtto see if the moisture level is right.
So it's very tactile.
You have to have a relationship.You have to have a relationship.
And sometimes it doesn't govery well you know like.
But there's a next time. Is next time.
What a great message to start with for
kids or peoplewho haven't gotten this message yet.
(36:03):
To start there with something so basicthat provides us all
with somethingwe have to have in order to live.
And then, you know, to kind of take thatforward in your relationships with people.
What a nice grounding experience,what you know, to start with.
Well, the ground,the soil, I mean, and to build from there.
What do you see happening foryou guys in the future?
(36:26):
Is is it more of the samebut on a bigger scale or,
or is what you're doing now
really as a whole as it needs to be?
I've never heard that more of the sameon a bigger scale.
Meaning your square footage,the amount of people that you have.
Would you be wanting to expandthat like you have to San Pedro?
(36:48):
Is there more of this
coming in your future?
So more of the same on a bigger scale?
I think more of the sameon a bigger scale.
Absolutely.
I think the farm is a living,breathing thing.
You know, I think James Brown was likethe self-proclaimed godfather of soul.
And so I in that spirit, I make a selfproclamation and alma Backyard Farms,
(37:12):
I know there are other farmsin Los Angeles, but we are LA's farm.
That's kind of my perception right.
And and I say that in this lightthat during the pandemic
we responded, partook in this conversationabout how
does a farm continue to nourish people,
especially now in this kind of forcedisolation, whatever was happening
(37:34):
then, people who are or fearful of a lotat that point? Yes.
So we've navigated fear,I think, and we learned
that, you know, nothing ventured,nothing gained.
So we'll continue to explorehow alma partakes
in the conversation of Los Angeles today
(37:55):
that's been recently devastated by fires.
I think we want to enter the future,participating in this conversation
of how alma could continueits work of restoration.
So in terms of more of the same
on a larger scale, more immediately,
(38:16):
you know, we'll continueto make food available
in our neighborhoodsif there's ways we could restore land by
growing seedlings of plantsthat could help heal land.
Plants are very capable of remediatingand pulling out toxins,
and they could be plantedin contaminated areas.
(38:37):
Then he land.
Those are some more immediate experiments.
That's exciting. Yeah.
So we want to do more of the same thingon a on a larger scale,
where we also want to explorenew possibilities of land.
We want to explore, hopefully one day
having a long term lease agreementor a purchase of land.
(39:01):
We could call our homefor a very long time.
And I'll say in this line, an urban farm.
We're not developerslooking for a land grab.
That's not our intention.
It's more of this.
On one of my early drives, whereeverything is supposedly 20 minutes away.
Yeah.
I so happenedto be listening to a story on NPR.
(39:21):
I think it was NPR on the Queen's Garden.
And how for generations,
hundreds of years, the royal familygot to eat out of the same garden.
And then I started thinkingabout urban farms
and how urban farmstend to be at the mercy of the landlord
when there is a better opportunityfor the landlord to make money,
(39:42):
then it's likely that the urban farmhas to pack packets, bags and leave.
Having listened to that storyabout the Royal family
eating out of the same gardenfor generations, I thought if a place
like all my backyard farmscould be in the neighborhood of Compton
for generations,would people in the neighborhood
be able to recognize their own royaltyand nobility one day?
(40:03):
That's the questionI posed with the hope of a future farm
that could be in existencefor generations.
That's the hope.
So it's it's more of the same thingon a larger scale for a very long time.
Maybe that's what I'd add. Yeah, I see.
So that idea of royalty for the community.
(40:24):
Do you mean to say that that community.
Absolutely recognizesand knows how important they are,
how how they are ableto nourish themselves?
Yeah, that there's a that there is a powerthey possess that there is, a power
in knowing their purposeto exist for a long time also.
(40:46):
That there is a power in knowing thatif they were to exist for a long time,
they have this great responsibilityto hand over
to the next generation something good.
And I think,
you know,
what you said is, is like in relationto, to the imprint,
we're handed traumasconsciously, unconsciously,
(41:08):
and at the same time we're handedsome really good things.
Absolutely.
And so on my drive here, I just kept onthinking about the flip side of things
that that if you have a perspectivethat is a long generational one,
there may be somethingpleasantly awaiting us on the other side.
If we could look beyond the smoke.
(41:29):
But it got me to thinking about traumasthat I have experienced.
We've been told stories as a Christian,someone discerning priesthood, you know.
And even if you weren't, you'd hearabout the story of the fall from Paradise.
I like the creation story.
And and then then there'sthere's an obsession with original sin.
(41:52):
In my life, I've come to discoverthat there's something that preceded
that, though. What would be original love?
Right. So I,
I think there's a lot of work
whereif the predominant story has been one
where we're known to have been born
with original sin, if that's kind of atheological sometimes, is
(42:13):
there's still is the truththat we also were born with original love.
So there's there's kind of,
there's always more than justwhat seems to be before us. Yes.
Because, like, at the end of the day,if you ask me
and I could tell you, hey,Dennis learned how to use a circular saw,
which is basically the pressing,the safety,
(42:36):
pulling the trigger,making your measurement, making a cut.
But if you ask me what's behindall of that, which I think is more towards
the original love, it's that this personwas entrusted with a tool,
with the hope that he recognizes
the hands that may have caused harm,
still have capacityto create something new.
(42:59):
So like for me, training with tools
is really a practicein re instilling trust.
Anyone could learn how to cut.
Anyone could learn how to shovel dirt.
But but for me the lesson is, you know,like I'm handing this tool to you
because you're going to do something goodwith it.
There's going to be result at the end.
(43:21):
You would also have the opportunityto do something bad with it.
We're there to see.
So but you've created a space where you,this group of people come together
and they're going to use these tools,this information
that could become something negativeor become something positive.
But you've created a situationwhere positive is the go to.
(43:42):
Right.
And and I totally am on boardwith what you're saying about all of us,
you know, sort of originating froma seed of love, if not more than a seed.
Right. And that's who we really are.
And the sinor the trauma is on top of that,
and does not at all have to bethe thing that carries us through.
(44:06):
Shouldn't be the thingthat carries us through where it gets us.
Nowhere. Right.
But love,that's the thing that carries us through.
And we've all got it.
And we're all entitled to it. And that is
the divine.
I mean, that's that is the connectionto spirit or is spirit?
And I can't tell youhow much I appreciate what you're doing.
(44:28):
And we all do in your community.
And I wish all communitieshad someone like you.
So grow.
Thank you. Thank you.
And I appreciate your listeningand inviting me to this here.
Well, what you're doing is really unique.
I, I wish it weren't so unique,
but please tell us how people can find outabout you.
(44:51):
You have a website.
You're on Instagram?
Yes. Check out our website, alma backyardforms.com.
It's an upgraded website,so if you haven't visited us
online, do thatto know what's happening with alma.
Instagram.
Our handle is that alma back at farms.
You'll know the latestif we're giving away food for free.
(45:12):
We'd post it there if and when we reopenour farm stand in San Pedro.
You'll know about itthere. That's pretty much.
Great. And
I'm sure there are plenty of
people outside of your communitythat are interested in visiting.
Is that okay?
Yes. Come by first and third Sundays.
(45:33):
You sell out fast.
We sell out fast.
Which is, making us strategizeon how to grow more.
Yeah, we're really strategizing nowand then.
You know, we serve brunch
so you can enjoy a warm mealin the beautiful space of our urban farm.
And it is beautifulwhen you're enjoying brunch
or just sitting inand amongst the planting beds.
(45:56):
Yes. Yeah. That's very cool.
Thank you so much, Rich.
Thank you. I really appreciateyou being here. Thank you.
Thank you, everyone for listening to us.
And please visit Rich and the farm.
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