“My customers appreciate that [my produce] is grown without chemicals. It’s labor intensive, but I wouldn’t do it any other way.” — Tanya Doka-Spandhla Kanu shared that when he visited a grocery store that carried produce from a wide array of cultures, the quality of the vegetables wasn’t the best, primarily due to the long delay between harvest and hitting the shelves. When Tropical Team was formed, Kanu approached the grocery store about selling their products and told them the team was growing. The store agreed to take the products on consignment. Now, multiple stores in the Triangle area regularly carry Tropical Team’s produce. With Kanu’s expertise and Savage and Crisp’s farming experience, Tropical Team is uniquely situated to provide Nigerian produce to the market in their community. As they ramp up production, Tropical Team hopes to expand market reach. ZIMBABWE ROOTS, MARYLAND HARVEST Passion to Seed Gardening is a farm in Maryland owned and operated by Tanya Doka-Spandhla. DokaSpandhla emigrated to the U.S. from Zimbabwe in 1995 with her two sons and spouse. Doka-Spandhla shares, “It was hard to get used to the taste of the vegetables here, especially the green vegetables. I’d have a bad aftertaste due to whatever was used when growing this type of produce. Back in Zimbabwe, farmers didn’t use pesticides. Growing up, my parents had a huge garden. We never went to the store to buy produce. During school holidays, I’d visit my grandparents, and we would help them [on their land].” The combination of Doka-Spandhla’s need for food that suited her palate and her experience working the land with her family spurred her to connect with the Montgomery County, MD Office of Agriculture in conjunction with Montgomery Countryside Alliance (MCA). MCA’s Montgomery County Land Link program helped her find land to grow chemical-free, culturally appropriate vegetables. In 2015, Doka-Spandhla was paired with a landowner who had left a plot fallow for nearly seven years. 14
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