Community garden provides education, access to agriculture

INDIANAPOLIS — An Indy non-profit hosted its month volunteer day Saturday at its community garden — rain or shine.

The event was an opportunity for Hoosiers to not only tend to land, but also learn about agriculture.

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Octavia’s Visionary Campus (OVC) sits on 17-acres near the city’s southeast side.

The land was the former site of the Hafer Family Farm but was recently taken over by the Kheprw Institute.

It aims to serve as a living learning laboratory for local Hoosiers.

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"The idea of this campus is to honor Octavia Butler and her mission to address a lot of these common issues, like food deserts, lack of access to food, lack of education surrounding growing food,” said the campus’ caretaker Alex Sangsuwangul.

17-year-old Kenneth Hawkins is already learning those skills. He attended Saturday’s volunteer event tending to the garden.

He’s also a part of the non-profit's Next Generation Farmers Program that introduces youth to agricultural principles and practices.

"Particularly youth of color have less opportunities and less access to land. We’re trying to create this space so that there is a place for them to come work the land [and] learn about the earth,” explained Sangsuwangul.

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"This is just a positive outlet for energy,” added the teenager. "I just harvested that massive zucchini, so it always feels great to see the fruits of our labor literally."

This garden is his weekly passion project that he does Monday through Friday during the summer.

"It takes a lot of precision, a lot of accuracy, attention to detail," he said.

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The organization focuses on four main tenets they call the “The Four E’s”: Empowerment, Economy, Education, and Environment.

They are valuable tools they hope cultivate well beyond the garden.

“It taught me some tenacity to keep going,” added Hawkins." It taught me to be a leader, a listener, a follower, stuff that's important in all facets of my life."

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OVC grows a variety of herbs, fruits and vegetables, including squash, corn, beans, tomatoes, watermelons and more.

They share what they grow with the community.

The organization holds volunteer workdays every second and fourth Saturday and neighborhood open houses every first and third Thursday. They also offer youth programming.

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To learn more, click here .