She’s Dedicated To Creating An Urban Garden Right In Detroit
Detroit, Michigan. For over 20 years, Iman has had her hand in farming, whether working with horses, organic farming, or landscaping.
She even spent twelve years in a communal living project with a small orchard and farm animals.
Now she wants to share her love of gardening with folks living in Detroit by growing food in an urban environment and promoting hands-on learning.
This project would allow community members to see where their food comes from, get in tune with nature, and take a step back from overwhelming or upsetting moments in their everyday lives.
Especially when considering the everyday challenges faced by people of color living in urban communities, Iman wants to create a space where folks can put aside their pain or anger and create something beautiful together.
Iman received a grant from the Detroit Black Farmer Fund, which allowed her to purchase land on the city’s east side, and she hopes to use these eight lots for organic farming starting this summer.
To begin the project, she set a goal of $10,000 on her GoFundMe, organized by the Radical Play Community Fund of Detroit.
With support from the online community, Iman can create an urban farm that will be “a beautiful, healing space with abundant food, herbs, learning experiences, and authentic connections with neighbors.”
GoFundMe; pictured above is Iman
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In a short, beautifully shot video included in the post, Iman shares her perspective on the lack of diversity in agricultural and land-based livelihoods.
However, she also reflects on more significant global needs in this area. “I would really like to see equity across the world, actually. It’s hard for me to understand why there isn’t yet. I really hope it will happen.”
Iman’s dream would look like a community growing what they need, spending time in a relaxing space that folks can even use for their own projects.
Community engagement, education, and time outside sound like excellent additions to this east side neighborhood, and hopefully, Iman can continue making her mark in the farming community and beyond.
If you’d like to learn more about the project or donate, you can find her story here.
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