Flower farm and design studio with an ecological mission
During the pandemic, Many Graces Farm, a commercial production flower farm and full service floral design studio down the road in Hadley, created a fresh flower CSA, supplying certified organic fresh flowers to local homes and businesses that last longer than those shipped in from abroad, and use less energy to transport. Kel Komenda, Managing Director at Many Graces, noted that pivot was one way the farm made it through the pandemic. The other way was an emergency farm fund loan from the PVGrows Investment Fund and CISA, Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture.
“We’re first-generation farmers with no inherited wealth,” they said during an information session on the PVGrows Investment Fund.
The loan helped the farm purchase much-needed equipment to meet the new demand, and do so with their ecological integrity intact, which is very much a part of the farm’s mission.
“We’re the last generation who can act to prevent climate change,” said Kel.
The farmers at Many Graces Farm maintain a strong connection to the land they farm. This lovely passage on their website says it all: “From the grasshoppers, to the barn swallows, to the sound of the wind through the leaves, to the scent of the freshly-plowed Hadley loam, to the way walking into the field each morning is always a surprise—a new flower has bloomed—or the dahlias are so sturdy and beautiful—or oh! look at the tails of celosia sparkling and waving in the sunshine! There certainly are ‘many graces’ to this work, and so much to be grateful for.”
