Brother Nature Produce is a small urban farm in Detroit that specializes in salad mix and herbs. We sell at The Eastern Market, Seasons Market, and to several restaurants such as Avalon Bakery, Folk, Warda's Patisserie and a few others seasonally. It all started back in 2007 when Greg Willerer was growing lettuce, basil, and nasturtiums in his back yard, while part time teaching, to sell with the Grown in Detroit Co -Op table. Greg had been teaching for 14 years and although he loved the students, changes to the educational system meant stifling restrictions that he felt negatively affected students. Upon seeing that he could indeed make money selling produce, he decided to rent his own table at the Eastern Market and farm full time. Which is where he met me, his future wife; Olivia Hubert a horticulturalist back in Detroit from my studies at the Royal Horticulture Society of London England. I was a grower looking for a farm and he had a small urban farm but not much growing knowledge; we considered it an arranged marriage at the hands of the urban farmer community. So now we are both making our full time living by selling salad and herbs, garden building by way of for hire plowing and tilling with our beloved tractors, and snow plowing in the winter.
Well, wouldn't it be easier to just farm out in the country? We consider our farming operation to be more than just a way to make a living; its a model for a new way of living. There is no reason other than self replicating capitalism that keeps Detroit from becoming a almost 100% self reliant city! Detroit could at least feed itself with all the vacant land that they are currently losing money on for cost of upkeep and lack of tax money collected. People need to see that it is possible to live another kind of life devoid groveling to corporations in the form of tax breaks and taxpayer backed investments that fail to trickle the money back down to them. Already this 1 acre in the city has not only allowed us to quit our jobs but also buy 2nd house in the city.
Well, wouldn't it be easier to just farm out in the country? We consider our farming operation to be more than just a way to make a living; its a model for a new way of living. There is no reason other than self replicating capitalism that keeps Detroit from becoming a almost 100% self reliant city! Detroit could at least feed itself with all the vacant land that they are currently losing money on for cost of upkeep and lack of tax money collected. People need to see that it is possible to live another kind of life devoid groveling to corporations in the form of tax breaks and taxpayer backed investments that fail to trickle the money back down to them. Already this 1 acre in the city has not only allowed us to quit our jobs but also buy 2nd house in the city.