Meet the activist helping her community
take their power back
one garden at a time.
I am Nkoula Badila.
I am a gardener, artist, environmental activist.
I founded Grow Black Hudson,
which has raised $10,000 in 2 weeks
and has built 17 raised-bed gardens
in people's homes for them to have fresh food.
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Grow Black Hudson is a movement
to bring us back to our connection
with our food and our knowledge of our food.
Knowing where it comes from,
knowing how it grows,
knowing how we can use it to sustain ourselves.
Nkoula was motivated by the movement for Black lives
to uplift her community in Hudson, New York.
I was raised here in Hudson, New York.
Growing up, it has always been important
for me to know my environment,
know the community,
know how to be able to learn and share
with the community as well.
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It was important for me to make sure
that we are all receiving
or at least do my best to create a space
where we all can receive a similar access
to these things like fresh or organic food.
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Nkoula took her 10 years of farming experience
and started a fundraiser.
I just started it at $200, because I thought,
"You know, whatever.
We just need some soil and some pots."
From there, people were donating
and it just started to grow.
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It just really inspired me to go full throttle.
I got into a very beautiful space of trust.
Now there are 17 raised-bed gardens officially established.
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Her mission is to educate her community
on the importance of growing food.
Food is absolutely a weapon.
It is a weapon in a way that they
push processed food to continue to
cause illnesses and all these different things
that make us suffer and have long term effects.
They are literally attacking our community
by this processed food and this ill food
that they are feeding us.
It is also a weapon on our part.
When we come back into our food sovereignty
and into our knowledge and into our self sufficiency.
Rather than just build gardens for them,
she builds gardens with them.
Having the gardens right there in their home,
They do not have to go so far to get their groceries.
They are able to harvest right from home.
They also know that it is coming from a fresh place.
All the produce is organic.
The soil is organic.
I feel like it really changes how you think
as far as security goes, having food security.
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As far as the families that have
never grown anything at all,
now they have this lush garden.
Having it there changes the whole cycle.
They think, "I grew this, what I have here.
I am using it. I am cooking it.
It is going to my family.
It is feeding bellies.
With the love that I put into this plant,
it is re-nurturing all of these elements.
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The need: it brings the families together.
It brings healing together, community healing together.
It creates a connection with us,
as far as being able to all have growth
and our own paces of growth.
It helps us to check in with each other about these things.
I see myself as a guide as well.
as far as how I am able to reintroduce
these elements of our connection
to the earth, to the soil,
and to our ancestral wisdom as well,
that is very much deep within us.
Nkoua is just getting started
and plans to continue working with her community!
So many people who were not growing at all last year,
did not even know anything about planting seeds,
they are growing now.
It is encouraging to know that
even you as one person can make a big difference.
Share if you support Nkoula and food sovereignty
Learn more and support: @growblackhudson
with support from Guerrilla Foundation