Our farm was born from a desire to get closer to our food. In the winter of 2009, a group of individuals (led by Guillermo Maciel, Jodie Emmett, and Aaron Gilliam) grew tired of only talking about farming and began to envision how they could use their collective efforts and resources to make farming in Portland a reality. In the beginning, as many as 40 people showed up to take part in the initial
conversations. After a few months, 11 brave folks remained and decided to lease two acres of land on Sauvie Island. Through numerous successes and failures – and the generous support of hundreds of people – we began our third growing season by moving onto a certified organic farm in the Northwest hills of Portland. We operate within a collective model that allows for true participation by all members, which enables us to operate independently and free of debt from outside the group. On this journey we have learned to produce significant amounts of food, educate one another, and build meaningful friendships. We like to refer to our project as Community Enabled Agriculture.
