An extraordinary example of what is achievable in urban centres. Self sustainability and local action at its best. Too bad the City of LA, hungry developers and the police don’t seem to think it is worth keeping. Unfortunately, this amazing and life enhancing social experiment is coming to an end. The farmers are getting evicted to make room for more useless urban developments.

The trailer above is from a 24 minute documentary which tells the story of the high-profile controversy involving poor farmers and their supporters, including celebrity tree sitters, the developer and the City of Los Angeles over the South Central Farm, the largest and most bio-diverse urban farm in the U.S.

The film focuses on farmer leaders Rufina Juarez and Tezozomac, as well as celebrity tree sitters such as Daryl Hannah, Joan Baez, John Quigley and Julia Butterfly Hill.

Other supporters such as Martin Sheen and Willie Nelson brought international attention to the issue. KPFK host Lila Garrett, head of a committee dealing with race issues at the farm, speaks movingly at a press conference. Others interviewees include Green Party leader and former Santa Monica Mayor, Mike Feinstein, on roller blades during a colorful farm parade in Santa Monica and Don White, human rights spokesperson. Other supporters include Linda Piera-Avila, Marion Nestle, author of “Politics of Food.”

What is the South Central Farm?

In 1992 the Meso-American community in South Central LA was given a rat infested, garbage strewn 14-acre lot by the city of LA. It was an effort to revive the battered community devastated by the riots that year. 350 poverty-level families were given plots to plant as a way to supplement donations from the LA Food Bank with home-grown produce. The “South Central Farm” became the largest community garden in the US and was an oasis with more than 150 varieties of fruit trees, vegetables and medicinal herbs. It was a haven for the entire community with music, bar-b-ques, and more, that took place there on hot summer nights. Fourteen years later, in a suspicious deal, a real estate developer acquired the acres from the city and started eviction proceedings against farmers.

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South Central Farms

South Central Farm

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