HOST: Halo caring viewers, and welcome to Vegetarianism: The Noble Way of Living. Today, we feature  2-part series on the South Central Farm, an organic community farm and garden in California, USA.

The South Central Farm was first established in 1994 in a dense urban area in South Central Los Angeles. Located at 41st and Alameda Street, this 14-acre land had been cultivated by local residents for years.

Surrounded by warehouses and industry, this lush oasis hosted a diversity of plants, including fruit trees, vegetables, herbs, flowers, and even exotic flora.

The South Central farmers use sustainable farming methods, which do not involve any use of chemicals. Their products, fresh and organic, are abundant enough to feed the farmers, their family, and the community.

Hearing of their organic vegan farming work, Supreme Master Ching Hai had contributed US$10,000 to support their noble endeavors. Today, Tezozomoc, a representative from the South Central Farm, will tell us about the background of the farm.

Tez(m): It was a community garden that was put together after the 1992 uprisings. My father had started it with other community members.

Tez(m): Their land was a vacant lot that had been abandoned. When they first started to turn it into a community garden, people had to dig up pieces of concrete. They had to remediate the land.
They had to bring it back to life and then it began to feed about 350 families.

And then, not only that, but the extended family that went along with families like that. For a majority of the constituents were women, single women, retired, grandmothers who would bring their children there.

And then also to show them a different way of life, a constructive, a positive way of life that would impact them in a good way.

HOST: The original South Central Farmers came from different indigenous groups in Mesoamerica. Their traditional beliefs in farming involved caring for the land and retaining agricultural methods that do not use synthetic fertilizers or chemical pesticides.