Food for People Who Look Like Us
Kam’Ron Jackson, 16, did not used to care about school. He found high school easy and did not feel motivated, until he received advice from his mentor, Kamal Bell.
Jackson recalls what Bell shared with him: “You always gotta try your best so that when you actually get into a good place, you get noticed before the others.”
In 2016, while he was teaching in the Durham Public Schools, Bell created Sankofa Farms, located in Cedar Grove, North Carolina. Bell was looking for a way to help his African American students develop life skills.
Bell chose to focus the farm on providing education and opportunity for African American boys because he did not see other programs focusing on them.
There are currently five regular student participants in the program. They spend weekdays during the summer and weekends during the school year at the farm.
Sankofa is a word in the Twi language of Ghana that translates to “go back and get it.” In his words, Bell wants to “help connect our people back to the land and grow food for people who look like us in food deserts.”
Another student in the program, Kamoni King, 16, agrees about the value of reconnecting with the land. “It’s good to revisit the land because this is where African Americans originally started,” he says.
King’s grandfather and great grandfather were farmers, but he grew up at a distance from agriculture in the city of Fort Washington, Maryland. While he was in 6th grade, King relocated with his family to Durham, North Carolina. King shares that he is determined to break out of a cycle of poverty and violence in his family.
“The value for me is having something to do to stay out of trouble,” King says. “Either I’d be outside doing something or at home doing nothing. So, it’s better to be out here.”
It took two years of hard work by Bell and the students to clean up a portion of the land before they could plant crops. “This place was basically a wasteland,” describes King. They cleared piles of trash and removed trees.
“It makes you feel good once you see it,” King says of the plots now planted in row crops like squash. At first the program was reliant on unpredictable rain, but they now have a well and drip irrigation.
Honey bees are another recent addition to the farm. Bell and several of the students attended “Bee School” and are now certified beekeepers. The students are confident and deliberate as they inspect the 16 beehives at the farm, laughing and joking as they work. This year the crew harvested their first batch of 40 jars of honey.
On a hot July day when we visited, Bell was balancing keeping the boys engaged in farm tasks with a frustrating equipment issue. He had borrowed a walk-behind tractor from a neighboring farm and it was not starting properly.
“It’s a lot. It’s a whole lot,” says Bell, as he walks away from the tractor to turn on the irrigation lines.
Bell’s commitment to the boys in the program is evident and the hard work brings learning opportunities. King says the farm has taught him about good character, being a leader, teamwork and determination.
The farm has also changed King’s perspective on food. He began to think about his own health and to wonder where food comes from at fast-food restaurants and grocery stores. He explains, “I’m around a lot of greasy food, so it’s hard not to eat it. I didn’t grow up eating vegetables, it wasn’t put in front of me.”
Now, King wants to improve his food choices. On some days, Bell and his students bring a jar of honey to their neighbors at Anathoth Community Garden and enjoy a meal there made with fresh produce.
This fall, Bell is beginning a doctoral program in Agricultural Extension Education at North Carolina State University. He will continue to run Sankofa Farms, adjusting as needed for his capacity, and one day hopes to run a school as part of the program.
Would you like to support the life-changing work of Sankofa Farms for African American youth? Donate here.