This project has been inspired by the remarkable work and challenges a small urban farm, Gaia Gardens, has faced in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Over two years ago Lightningwood Pictures began documenting the issues this farm has encountered and we have now completed the film BRINGING FOOD HOME: DISCOVERING SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS.
We managed to develop the story, conduct interviews, and carry out post- production on our own time, without funding, as the importance of increasing awareness seems vital. The wisdom offered by the participants in this film could be applied not only to our town, but to any city facing similar concerns for the future.
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Now, we need help with distribution
costs to help get this film out there. The is already been chosen as an Official Selection for the Santa Fe Film Festival http://santafefilmfestival.com/index/this December has been traveling to the California Coast and the Northwest offering showings and dialogue that partner with groups working on food policy changes, local food and looking towards the future. These efforts build a larger network through media and dialogue that we need in the times ahead.
BRINGING FOOD HOME showcases a wide variety of people that have
admirably built programs, and viable farms to enhance local food supply, and
educate the public. Their commitment to community and sustainability is inspirational. The film provides a vehicle for outreach, discussion and networking. It presents the land of possibility that action can make real throughout the country. Gaia Gardens' efforts grow and
thrive despite difficult obstacles, not unlike ones that many urban farms face in other cities. BRINGING FOOD HOME provokes change in a positive and heart warming way.
The film begins by focusing in on a three-and-a
half acre plot, now known as Gaia Gardens, which angles down toward the Arroyo
Chamiso, the city’s second largest drainage and bordered by a popular
bicycle and walking trail. Since the incline of the land allows for efficient water harvesting
and the trail provides a steady stream of traffic in a populated district, the
parcel is seemingly ideal for an urban farm. Founders Poki Piottin and
Dominique Pozo tinkered with this concept, garnering tremendous local support, but also causing a flurry of
reactions. Certain ordinance restrictions hampered their efforts and raised a larger question for the community: how will this high-desert city sustain itself in the future?
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Santa Feans
will need to consider their priorities. Is this a city whose
policies nurture plans for a self-sustaining society? Is local food production
in the blue print? Could every school have access to an urban farm? Will we decide to create incentives or barriers
for conscious development? Santa Fe City Council adopted a sustainability plan which includes strong provisions for urban farming. How might it adapt its own codes to better provide incentive for locally grown food? Gaia Gardens is a model for better solutions.
A farm is much more than a place to
grow vegetables. It is a living organism. It is a sanctuary for wild life, a
business operation and a hub for community enhancement. To keep these small farm endeavors
alive they need support, intelligent and considerate policy changes and the insight necessary for the
restoration of our world.
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This budget would meet costs for
distribution and Spanish subtitling. If our funding goals are not reached, we will continue with grassroots efforts to screen the film to schools, libraries, churches and other interested organizations.
Through the production process and subsequent interaction, connections have formed with farmers
of various nationalities and backgrounds; quakers, veterans, students, artists, conservationists, permaculturists, educators, therapists, and families. The film has already helped build a resilient network stimulating action.
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A highlighted perk is the availability of professionals in the film as consultants, and what we have called
“a day in the life". Contributors can spend time with farmers or other experts in their field who can educate, provide moral support or offer advice on how to progress one's own project. Whether it be rainwater harvesting, permaculture,
farm development, seed harvesting, educational outreach or influencing policy, we will connect contributors with their own interest or spending “a day in the
life” on the job. Other perks include seeds or a dvd of the film.
Our topic is timely because the demand is increasing for healthy food and sustainable practices. As food shortages
develop and transportation becomes more expensive and hazardous, local control is ever more important. In order to prosper, municipalities must retain local economic and employment benefit, without dependency upon large corporations.
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Our plan is to continue pollinating our community with the vision of locally-available, healthy food, weaning us off of the food-for-profit mentality. An expanded distribution of BRINGING FOOD HOME encourages many more people to participate in determining a sustainable future.
Since this film was completed Santa Fe missed its opportunity to create a real sustainable plan that was more then on paper by not allowing a farm stand to exist within the city limits. Overall the limitations created an untenable situation for the farmers to keep working at a subsistence level and they gracefully sold off equipment, gave food to the needy and will make sure the harvest is finished before leaving the farm behind and this particular part of their journey as individuals.
This ordinance would have helped lift the spirits of the garden and the community since so many people were on board and it seems a few have decided things for the many who felt otherwise and spoke up to the city about their appreciation of the garden. Denver Colorado passed an ordinance similar to what Gaia Gardens wanted to accomplish and people can sell food in their neighborhoods. It is a sane choice that empowers individuals and farmers to offer healthy choices that are local and keeps income in the hands of the townspeople.
One of the filmmakers is touring the film on the west coast where water issues and land issues are acute. It is obvious as she tours the film along the coast how farmers struggle with a value system that can not see the writing on the wall for our future as well. The film has visited granges, higher education, and farmer's markets in order to reach the general public, and has been well received. Any support helps with outreach, gas,and ads that keep the story alive in order to help other cities to overcome the limitations Santa Fe has fallen into for itself with some shortsighted decisions. This lack of vision for the city of Santa Fe may have shut down this farm but not the people involved in it nor the spirit of this work that is reaching the hearts and minds of many young farmers, and wise thinkers in our midst. Please help us continue to reach our goal to circulate this film so it can reach a widening audience as we travel it in other states.
