US urban farmer draws inspiration from SVG

A US Marine veteran who turned to urban farming as he recovered from a debilitating accident has found inspiration at an institution on the leeward end of mainland St. Vincent.

Steve Archer II spent a number of days in SVG this month, during which he visited some artisans and the Richmond Vale Academy, where he witnessed how a “community” was being formed in pursuit of sustainable agriculture.

“The thing that I was most interested in seeing was how the community was being formed, because for anything to be successful organically, from my experience, you need to have community,” he is quoted in a release from the Richmond Vale Academy as saying.

Archer, 51, said as a veteran, he can “yell at people and lead people and march them….

“But what I don’t know is how to find and connect with the disparate people from all over the world and all over the country; how to recreate what Richmond Vale Academy has done for decades, is what I’m understanding.”

The RVA’s climate and sustainable development programmes see local and international students going to its campus, where the curriculum includes re-introducing households to sustainable home gardens.

“When I got there, I saw the community, all the things set up that needed to get done, and everybody had a responsibility to each other.

“So, the thing that I want to take back is building a system where we break bread together, and that’s not something that we do in America any more.”

Archer said that the United States has gone from a country where children in the 1950s would wander up to six miles away from their homes, to one where a child generally does not leave his or her block today.

“So how did we lose community?” he queried, further recalling his RVA insights. “And then there were some little titbits things about different things that were growing. Some of those things, I would love to figure out if I could grow them in Chicago.”

Archer mentioned sorrel, saying it was good and he wants more of it.

Unlike his father, Archer had very little experience with farming. However, he remembers growing a pumpkin when he was around 11 years old.

“I remember how proud I was of myself tending to that pumpkin and growing it, even though it’s one little pie pumpkin.”

In 2008, Archer was involved in a vehicular accident that left him with injuries to his back and legs and a prognosis that he would never walk again.

A doctor told him that for some people, caring for something outside of themselves helps them to heal. Archer reconnected with nature, which helped him through the harder times as he said he was experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder.

“…so, I started out with chickens and a couple of stalks of corn and plants in my backyard. And now I’m a certified beekeeper, certified urban farmer, certified permaculturist, and I keep adding more knowledge…”.

In Chicago, Archer is a member of the GAIA Movement Chicago Home Garden Club. GAIA sponsors several scholarships for US citizens to train at RVA and volunteer in SVG and Africa.

Archer operates Archer Urban Farm Initiative, a quarter-acre farm on which he grows sunflowers, raises 21 laying hens, keeps bees and engages in permaculture.

There is an educational element to the urban farm, with visits by schools, libraries, neighbourhood programmes and other groups. Archer said the children compare the scent of the plants at the farm to processed items.

“… you can explain to them that food is medicine and that if they put the right things in their bodies, then they won’t have to worry about diabetes or high blood pressure.”

Archer Urban Farm Initiative sells its honey and organic eggs at Stein Learning Garden, which led him to the Richmond Vale Academy.

Since 2023, RVA has been networking with different organisations in the United States. In Chicago, efforts focused on students interested in enrolling in RVA’s programme but cannot afford to do so.

Students from Chicago have enrolled at RVA through a partnership between The GAIA Movement- an environmental organisation focused on recycling textiles and education – and Stein Learning Gardens, which is part of a social justice campus that is located on the grounds of a St. Sabina Catholic Church on the south side of Chicago.

Archer recounted the other pleasant experiences in SVG including learning about Kalinago and Garifuna, visiting the oldest Botanical Gardens in the Western Hemisphere and his interactions with herbalist, Andrew Providence; Angela “Ideisha” Jackson and her artisanal ice-cream business; and fishing with a local captain.

Meanwhile, RVA’s Director of Outreach and Public Diplomacy, Stina Herberg said in the release that it is inspiring to see people like Archer and that part of Chicago sees SVG as a training ground.

“St Vincent has a lot to offer but also to be a training ground for people, where they can experience an international environment then return home or go to another place and make a career.”