657 W. 120th St., Chicago, IL, United States, Illinois
A Farm On The South Side of Chicago?
In 2014, the Nicholes family moved into a home that they built and realized that while they were now living the life of homeowners, their new neighborhood was sorely lacking in quite a few things. One of which being neighbors who actually spoke to each other!
Even though our West Pullman community is a walking/biking/scooter friendly neighborhood, where we could practically set our watches by the routines of our neighbors, we noticed that no one actually spoke to each other.
The second major thing we realized was that our neighborhood was ripe with empty lots begging for beautification. These two revelations; community and development, planted the seed, and we we began to sow into our neighborhood.
After speaking with our local Alderman, we got to work, and cleaned the quarter acre of land. We started with four 4×4 raised beds, and soon the community was talking!
To date, we’ve had more than 100 community members come through the garden, and we’ve even caught the attention of Harry Connick Jr., who surprised us with a donation of chicken coops and other necessities. We regularly host corporate and educational groups to learn with us about how we manage the farm, how to bring agriculture concepts to people of color, and more.
And we’re just getting started.
Natasha Nicholes
Executive Director, Founder
As a Black woman who’s passionate about urban homesteading, agriculture, travel, and education, everything I do is an act of defying expectations. With that in mind, I’ve dedicated my life and career to adding a much-needed voice like mine, to conversations about issues in each of those industries as a leader, speaker, and writer. On my blog, Houseful of Nicholes,
