Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer

Farm City is an awesome read, written by Novella Carpenter, whose book I rank up with Bill Buford's wonderful Heat, with the spirit of Michael Pollan's Omnivore's Dilemma. And I love the voice-Novella the narrator often wonders why people open up to her and accept her so readily (among others, Chris Lee of Eccolo, who teaches her how to prepare pork from her pigs); the voice of the narrator (straightforward, funny, unblinking to the point of childlike wonder, compassionate) is hers, and as a reader I found myself liking her so very much.I mean, she describes her community in the ghetto with compassion and humor (describing the "tumbleweeds" as "tumbleweaves").I've been meaning to buy the book at one of our local stores, at one of Novella's book tour readings, but my availability did not intersect with her schedule. And so I ordered the book off Amazon-but for as long as I waited to buy her tome, I wasted no time in cracking it open and settling in for what turned out to be an absorbing, delightful, educational reading of a book that drips with optimism and moxie in a world that has in recent months, gone dark and brooding.Novella has a farm. She has a farm on an abandoned lot in a part of Oakland nicknamed "Ghost Town," near the freeway and BART tracks. I've visited her farm and was astonished on my first visit to discover an oasis in a part of town that is not a destination site for many-most people drive past it on the freeway, ride past it on BART, there are very few grocery stores, and abandoned lots are many. Like the Valley of Ashes in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. But on her street corner, behind a chain link fence, is a lot full of green vegetables and myriad fruits, with a quiet symphony of animal noises.The farm is serious work, with its share of tragedy: some of her birds die at the mercy of wild neighborhood dogs. Because the abandoned lot on which she squats and plants the garden is purposely unlocked, sometimes others come by and harvest things without permission. (This, she takes in stride-it's not "her" land and she willingly shares the harvest). A farm, rural or urban, is not a perfect fairytale. Nature is unpredictable-but rewarding and complex, too.When Novella's animals are slaughtered (by her or, rarely, by a third party), it is not a heartless act but a very complex one; sad, respectful, awful, spiritual, and ultimately, pragmatic.When she buys pigs at auction, unsure of what "Barrow" or "Gilt" might mean, she asks a boy, "Does G mean `girl'?" The way she describes the boy's reaction, "He looked at me as if he might fall over from the sheer power of my enormous idiocy. Then he nodded, so stunned by my stupidity he couldn't speak," is so full of humility and frank humor that I was bowled over as a reader. I laughed out loud. (lol to you). Most writers in the foodie/food realm are so pompous and full of themselves, that I was truly delighted and charmed by Novella here.I'm always interested in novel structure, and I took a quick look at how Novella structured Farm City: Rabbit, Turkey, Pig. (Those who read her blog know she has added goats to her farm in recent years).The book is written, more or less, chronologically-because Novella really did start with rabbits, moving on to turkeys, and then pigs. But I still found the livestock-centric structure interesting and effective because yes, to a farmer life and time revolves around the livestock at hand.The book is on Oprah's list of 25 books to read this summer, and deservedly so.

Imagine raising a pig or two in the gritty ghetto on dumpster food then having it turn out to be a project of master world class artisanal salumi making handed down by a few thousand years in Tuscany and transfered to America. Not bad work Novella. Not to mention it is a sweet recognition now when I see the sopressetta and pancettas at the store and know what they really mean and what they came from. It also explains the cost.Novella's inspiring hard to believe adventures are really grounded in her thoughtful research and willingness to try new things, being imaginative and skilled is what it takes to create the ultimate luxury of self sufficiency on a dime, thrown in with the fact that she is a book collecting explorer of cuisine.In this book you get the full contrast of Novella. From her inner city life filled with profanity, drug busts and homelessness framed against delicate peach blossoms and honey bees that drift delicately over to the Bhuddist monastery located on her street. It's an eye opener for those contrasts alone so that we may remember our smallest fortunes are all around us.I hope this author continues with writing in her sharing way (sharing as a farmer shares).

This book tells two stories: Novella Carpenter's education in urban farming and what it's like living in an Oakland ghetto. The gardening focus is on raising animals, not vegetable gardening.Carpenter and her boyfriend Bill move from Seattle to California and rent an apartment in the Oakland inner city amongst the homeless, the eccentric, the drug addicts, the poor. They choose their location because it is next to an abandoned lot they intend to turn into an urban garden.The story opens with the arrival of some baby chickens, geese and ducks and ends with Carpenter receiving expert instruction by a local chef on the making of salumi from a pig she raised. On this journey Carpenter writes about acquiring bees, harvesting honey, caring for rabbits, turkey temperament, and killing these animals for dinner. We share the sadness over the senseless loss of lifestock from marauding dogs, the threatened loss of her garden to development, and the ultimate betrayal by a lousy butcher.The characters that inhabit her neighborhood are fascinating and varied, and we come to enjoy the ghetto culture that sometimes threatens but demands compassion and courage from her as she ventures into this milieu in search of food for her charges.Carpenter's passion for more escalates to her acquisition of two pigs. She and her boyfriend find themselves exhausted after nightly raids of restaurant and grocery store dumpsters, and her neighbors aren't too keen on the stench. But the payoff is exceptionally rewarding as she and her friends celebrate in feast the exquisite taste of the lives that were in her care.This is a great book for all those frustrated city dwellers (like me) who dream of making their own salumi, eating fresh eggs or having fresh turkey raised with compassion for Thanksgiving. It is also eye opening on how much work and dedication it takes to be an urban farmer of livestock.