high tunnel collapse threatens farm's future
Donation protected
We are Ever-Growing Family Farm, a small-scale, family-run farm in Ulster County, NY, focused on bringing African rice farming traditions and culture to NY and pioneering regionally adapted rice cultivation. Our team, comprised of Nfamara Badjie, Moustapha Diedhiou and Malick Badjie, has worked tirelessly over the past several years to bring local rice to market in the Hudson Valley.
Starting with just a special shovel brought from our Diolla homeland in Africa, fueled by a passion to keep our culture alive and share traditional farming techniques, song and music, we have worked non-stop to create an infrastructure to enable the farm to produce sufficient rice to meet local demand, help our family abroad, and hopefully someday put money in our pockets.
This year, despite Nfamara being stuck in Gambia from February to August due to covid-19, it seemed we were turning the corner. Sales over the past four years enabled us to buy a combine, milling equipment, and even last June, a transplanter. Where once every step of production--starting seeds, transplanting, digging paddies, harvesting, threshing, winnowing, drying--was done by hand taking thousands of laborious hours, we were looking forward to increased production next year thanks to mechanization.
On December 17, 2020, a whopper snowstorm dumped 2+ feet of snow on the farm's high tunnel, collapsing the structure and potentially collapsing our dreams. Additionally, the collapse damaged equipment in the structure. The high tunnel is required to start the rice seedlings, beginning in April, to be ready for a May through June transplant. The tunnel thereafter is used for the cultivation of specialty crops including African vegetables which we had hoped to expand this year.
Funds are required to replace metal pipes that were crushed, reinforce end walls and side walls that remain standing, repair or replace plastic sheeting and repair dented combine chute. The high-tunnel repairs need to be completed by mid-April if there is to a rice crop in 2021. This means we need help now. Without your support, we may not be able to continue. Any donation is greatly appreciated.
Update: We have consulted with experts regarding the repair costs and learned we underestimated the cost of materials and labor. We need to get it up by mid-April to start the seeds. Your help is greatly appreciated. God-willing, we will be able to gather again this summer and will host two community celebrations on the farm to thank our suporters>
Starting with just a special shovel brought from our Diolla homeland in Africa, fueled by a passion to keep our culture alive and share traditional farming techniques, song and music, we have worked non-stop to create an infrastructure to enable the farm to produce sufficient rice to meet local demand, help our family abroad, and hopefully someday put money in our pockets.
This year, despite Nfamara being stuck in Gambia from February to August due to covid-19, it seemed we were turning the corner. Sales over the past four years enabled us to buy a combine, milling equipment, and even last June, a transplanter. Where once every step of production--starting seeds, transplanting, digging paddies, harvesting, threshing, winnowing, drying--was done by hand taking thousands of laborious hours, we were looking forward to increased production next year thanks to mechanization.
On December 17, 2020, a whopper snowstorm dumped 2+ feet of snow on the farm's high tunnel, collapsing the structure and potentially collapsing our dreams. Additionally, the collapse damaged equipment in the structure. The high tunnel is required to start the rice seedlings, beginning in April, to be ready for a May through June transplant. The tunnel thereafter is used for the cultivation of specialty crops including African vegetables which we had hoped to expand this year.
Funds are required to replace metal pipes that were crushed, reinforce end walls and side walls that remain standing, repair or replace plastic sheeting and repair dented combine chute. The high-tunnel repairs need to be completed by mid-April if there is to a rice crop in 2021. This means we need help now. Without your support, we may not be able to continue. Any donation is greatly appreciated.
Update: We have consulted with experts regarding the repair costs and learned we underestimated the cost of materials and labor. We need to get it up by mid-April to start the seeds. Your help is greatly appreciated. God-willing, we will be able to gather again this summer and will host two community celebrations on the farm to thank our suporters>
Organizer
Nfamara Badjie
Organizer
Ulster Park, NY