Community Farmers of Flemo

Delwar 🍅🌿

Delwar had been growing food for more than 20 years back home before getting started with his plot at Flemo Farm this year.

Delwar loves working at the farm, but he said he has enjoyed the teamwork at Flemo more than anything. “Everybody helps each other,” he shared. “And the staff — Orlando, Tara, Niya — everyone is so nice. We’re like a family.”

Delwar also told us that his market neighbours, Juan and Elsa, always run their table next to him, and they help each other out every week. “I love that,” Delwar said, beaming. His wife also helps him at the farm when she can, and sometimes his kids, though they are “busy busy,” he said.

Delwar grows many crops, including long squash, green chillies, tomatoes, pumpkin, jhinga (ridge gourd), and beans. His absolute favourite crop to grow and enjoy is the long squash because its leaves are edible too. “They’re very popular in our community, in Bangladesh and India,” he shared. He enjoys cooking long squash leaves in fish curry, or equally as a side dish on their own.

Aside from cooking with his harvest, he sells some of it at the weekly on-site market, and donates the rest to friends and community.

It’s heartwarming to see the close connections Delwar has made with his fellow community farmers, as well as with community members who have become regulars at his market table. We wish Delwar the best for the off-season, and hope to see him at Flemo again next summer!

Elsa & Juan 🥬🧶

Elsa and her husband Juan started farming at Flemo Farm just last year, but Elsa was born into a farm back home in Bolivia, so she grew up growing all kinds of vegetables.

Elsa’s love for and experience growing food meant she was keen to start a plot at Flemo for a long time. “I tried many times to get into Flemo, and after four years of applying, I finally got in,” she shared. “I am very happy to participate here. It’s like therapy for me. Sometimes it’s stressful, but it’s a lovely job. I like it.”

Of all the crops she grows, Swiss chard is Elsa’s favourite. “It’s not easy to grow — it is difficult to seed and you have to take a lot of care of it, but it is a very generous crop,” she explained. She loves to cook with it in soups, omelettes, with meat, and more. “I like trying new ways to eat it. It’s also very healthy.”

In addition to cooking with and selling their crops at the market, Elsa told us that she and Juan give away some of their harvest to friends, and they also freeze some of it for the wintertime.

Speaking of wintertime, Elsa and Juan’s market table is filled with not just their bountiful harvest, but also a variety of adorable crocheted ornaments and accessories for sale. “Crocheting is a fun winter activity for me,” Elsa enthused.

Elsa’s favourite part about farming at Flemo is when people get to enjoy her harvest. “I love to share with everyone,” she said. She also appreciates the opportunity to participate and connect with her neighbours.

We wish Elsa and Juan all the best as we enter the cooler months. We hope to see them next summer, and in the meantime, happy crocheting!

Serajul 🌱🌶️

Serajul had never grown food before starting to farm at Flemo three years ago, and now it’s second nature to him. “I grow malabar spinach, red amaranth, green amaranth, Indian beans, tomatoes, okra, chillies, eggplant, gourd…” Serajul listed enthusiastically.

For Serajul, farming at Flemo is a family affair — his sister, Sultana, helps him run his market table, and his daughter often helps out at the farm, too. His table is always bustling with customers who visit him at the market each week, and some folks pick up pre-orders which he packages up in boxes ahead of time.

The 2025 growing season has been particularly successful for Serajul. “We’ve had no pests,” he shared proudly, which is a feat given that the community farmers only use organic growing methods without any pesticides at Flemo.

His most popular crop, the bottle gourd, also thrived this year, accounting for a huge portion of his market sales. Serajul told us that he loves bottle gourd not only because of its revenue-generating capacity, but also because “it’s so delicious to eat in shrimp curry.”

Best wishes to Serajul and his family for the fall and wintertime, and we hope to see them next summer at Flemo!

Shamima & Mursheda 🌼🍈

This dynamic mother-daughter duo began farming at Flemo in 2021. Before that, they managed a plot at the community garden located next to Flemo Farm. “But we’ve always had a green thumb,” Shamima explained. “Before the garden, we did balcony gardening. Flemo has been a great opportunity to expand.”

They’ve named their plot at Flemo “Giving Vines Farm,” which is fitting as they told us that the farm has given them a lot. “In this community, it’s so important to provide low-cost, fresh veggies to help support the health and food security of our neighbours,” Shamima shared. “Flemo, through Giving Vines Farm, has given us so much green space to do that.”

Shamima also talked about how the space has offered other ways to engage people. “We’ve given tours for volunteer groups, and they’re always so excited to get involved,” she shared. “Most people have a disconnect with how food is grown. They’re always so surprised to see how beautiful the okra flower is, or what the eggplant looks like when it’s growing.” She also said that it’s really moving to see small children and older people alike reconnect with their food through agriculture.

Shamima said that she and Mursheda especially appreciate the opportunity to grow and share culturally relevant foods with the community that folks could find back home in India, Bangladesh, and the Philippines for example. “The produce tastes so much better when it’s home-grown, too” Shamima added. “It’s more flavourful and nutritious than what you find in the store.”

Next year, Shamima and Mursheda hope to grow more flowers on their plot. “The pollinator garden has been doing really well — lots of bees this year, so that’s good for the environment!” Growing more flowers is a wonderful way to help even more pollinator friends to thrive.

We wish Shamima and Mursheda all the best for the off-season, and we look forward to seeing those flowers next year!

Thanks from the bottom of our hearts to Delwar, Elsa, Juan, Serajul, Shamima, and Mursheda for sharing their stories with us 💚 We wish them all the best and look forward to seeing them at Flemo next year!

You can keep up-to-date with Flemo Farm by following them @flemofarm on Instagram or by visiting their website at flemofarm.ca.