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Gary woman who turned land into an urban farm faces pushback

GARY, Ind. (AP) - Aja Yasir's urban farm surrounding her modest home on the 500 block of McKinley Street in Gary is labeled "Rose for Yaminah," in honor of her infant daughter who died in 2016, just before her family moved into the home on the city's west side.

"She died at just 3 weeks old," Yasir told me. "When Yaminah was in hospice, I read her the book 'Rose for Zamira' so it felt right to dedicate all this to her."

Her property, zoned both residential and agriculture, uses regenerative agriculture practices to grow roughly 200 medicinal herbs, fruits and vegetables. Yasir and her husband, Yasir Allah, who moved to Gary from Homewood, Illinois, use organic materials such as woodchips, leaves and seaweed to build the soil.

Her home stands out in the Horace Mann neighborhood in contrast to every other garden-variety house with typical grassy lawns, not sweet potatoes, squash, okra, hibiscus, herbs, black tomatoes and edible flowers.

"Most people wouldn't be able to tell this is a food garden," said Yasir, whose Mississippi-born parents passed down to her their farming skills. "We grow rare food that is difficult to find in grocery stores."

In a city like Gary, considered a food desert for its lack of shopping options, Yasir's urban farming effort is becoming more common. Though not without complaints from at least one neighbor who has contacted the city multiple times in the past couple of years.

"Ms. Yasir received a code violation primarily because her neighbors continuously complained about her gardening practices that still cause a nuisance, pest management," said Brenda Scott Henry, director of the city's department of environmental affairs. "Some block club members and a property owner are equally concerned about the site."

On Monday, coincidentally on Earth Day, Yasir attended a court hearing for the formal citations regarding her property. She is a member of the Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund, which requested a continuance for the hearing on her behalf, she said.

"So they can continue to prepare. I'm told that my case could set a precedent," Yasir told me Monday when I visited her home.

The new court date is June 24 at the city's courtroom at 555 Polk St.

"I am highly disappointed, especially since the city just received a USDA grant for urban agriculture," Yasir said regarding two grants for more than $500,000 to build the capacity of local growers and farmers in Gary and surrounding communities.

"Why are they coming after residents who practice urban agriculture? I am just trying to grow food for my family. We also use our growing space as part of our 6-year-old daughter's homeschool STEM classes."

On Monday, a few dozen guests visited Yasir's home to take part in the launch for her Food Not Lawns project, an international movement for people who want to grow edible neighborhoods and build community food security. Its motto: "Grow it, don't mow it!"

Yasir's home also housed a community seed swap that day, attracting residents from Gary and urban farmers from across the region.

"This is the yard I want at my Valpo home," said Kathy Sipple, of Valparaiso, who showed up to pluck new ideas and plant a few compliments. "Aja, this is amazing what you have done here. You've returned a typical lawn back to nature."

There is no dispute there. Yasir's property is covered with vegetation, everything from onions to oregano and thyme to Marlowe lettuce. It even has its own medicinal section of herbs and plants.

"This was all part of our plan, but we had no idea we would be growing 200 different plants," Yasir said. "Our neighbors are free to take anything they want from our yard."

The neighbors I spoke with had no problem with Yasir's yard or her urban farming efforts outside her home, built in 1921. "She's bringing life back to this neighborhood, and back to this city," one woman told me.

Henry, who also is director of the city's Green Urbanism program, said urban agriculture is considered one of many best management practices for storm water runoff.

"We've worked with community gardeners and farmers since 2012," she said.

The program has evolved over the years after receiving the Local Food, Local Places technical assistance grant from 2014 to 2016, resulting in an action plan for the city.

"We have over 50 groups working with the city to advance urban agriculture," Henry said. "We've worked with Ms. Yasir since 2016 and will continue to offer our support and resources to help meet her gardening goals, as we do with other groups."

Yasir said her property is an official Certified Wildlife Habitat site with the National Wildlife Federation and Indiana Wildlife Federation. And she has opened her property to curious guests during the Northwest Indiana FarmHop events.

"So how did you create this section?" one man asked her while I was there.

Yasir, who seems genuinely lighthearted and quite knowledgeable, enjoyed explaining the nuances of urban farming while her daughter colored on the sidewalk. She views her property as a project of food necessity, not as a hobby or antagonistic endeavor.

"Unlike with traditional grassy lawns, we don't use much water for the landscape here," she said in her backyard, filled with gallon jugs of seeds for different plants.

She joked that her vegetation has withstood the winter's dangerously cold polar vortex, but not public opinion from a neighbor or two. I see both viewpoints. I love a green grassy lawn, and I enjoy mowing it. Yet I also see the retro-progressiveness of urban farming and gardening. These homes definitely stand out in any neighborhood.

Without intending to do so, Yasir's property has become a battleground for this blossoming issue in our country. I'll revisit it after her court hearing.

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Source: Post-Tribune

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Information from: Post-Tribune, http://posttrib.chicagotribune.com/

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