"Okra holds a special place in many African-descended communities, and a Canadian farmer with Jamaican roots is growing a very old variety"
"When Nicole Austin was growing up in Oshawa, Canada, her Jamaican family couldn’t find the foods they enjoyed back on the island. No callaloo, garden eggs or okra. Austin’s grandmother grew certain things in her backyard, but only if she had the necessary seeds.
“It’s often small-scale farmers, farmers of color, Black farmers that make sure that these foods that are culturally significant to us are available, that we grow them, that we share them,” Austin said. “It wasn’t until I’m in these spaces now that I realized how important the place is of farmers of color and Black farmers to make sure that these food histories are maintained and celebrated and shared.”
She had planned to become a registered dietitian after getting a degree in geology but, while working part-time at the Toronto Metropolitan University’s (TMU) Centre for Studies in Food Security, Austin realized that she was most drawn to food justice, security and advocacy.
Today, Austin is one of those small-scale farmers of color, something she never expected.
And she’s growing a very old variety of okra on a downtown Toronto rooftop, connecting Africa, the Caribbean, Canada and the American south. As an heirloom passed from person to person, white velvet okra connected the farm with generations of growers around the world. Thanks to Austin and seed growers, this variety has made a long journey across space and time, traveling about 1,000 miles and a 100 years, to be cultivated and enjoyed in Toronto."
