Five Acres and an Invitation

We have five acres in Frankfort that are slowly becoming a food forest. Right now: fruit trees coming in, raised beds being built, mushroom experiments, native plantings, rainwater collection, what I like to call, "The Battle of the Parsnip", and a lot of trial and error.

My family has refugee background, so food security and community connection aren't abstract—they're personal. When I became a parent last year, I started thinking even harder about what kind of world I want my kid to grow up in. One where people share resources and grow food together seemed like a decent place to start.

We started this project back in 2022, then paused when we had a baby and life got complicated (as it does). Now Gus is running, I have some bandwidth back, and I'm ready to open this space to more people.

Here's the idea: This land could be useful beyond just our family. Garden space for people who want it. Growing foods that are hard to find locally. Teaching and learning from each other. Building relationships across different backgrounds. Real dirt-under-fingernails community work. Hopefully some shared meals and music, too.

I'm especially hoping to connect with refugee families who might want garden plots to grow foods from home—I'm hoping to partner with The Center to explore this. But really, anyone interested in growing food, learning sustainable practices, or just being part of something is welcome.

The reality: This is early stages. The soil needs improvement. Some harvests fail. I'm still learning (constantly). There are seasonal structures but nothing fancy. It's about 15 minutes from Utica with no public transit, so getting people here is something we're actively figuring out. The land is in an HOA, which adds some complications.

But: there's space, sun, water, willingness, and some growing experience to share. 

Ways to be involved:

• Want garden space? Let's talk about what you'd like to grow

• Want to come to a workday? I'll be posting dates for spring planting—all skill levels welcome, kids welcome, bring gloves if you have them

• Have expertise to share? (Food preservation, specific crops, whatever)—I'm all ears

• Want to follow along? Subscribe for monthly updates about what we're planting, what we're learning, and how this evolves

  
  

Everything is sliding scale or free. If you can contribute financially that helps cover seeds/infrastructure, but no one gets turned away.

What I don't know: Exactly how this will work, what people actually need, whether anyone will be interested. That's part of why I'm documenting it here—to figure it out in real time with input from people who care about this stuff.

If something in this resonated, reach out: fincashibui@gmail.com

More soon, 

Krysia and Julian