Rooting Ras Farm: A Jamaican Farmer Planting Trees for Flood Resilience

My name is Courtney Whitely, and I run Ras Farm. I grew up in Jamaica and came to the United States more than 40 years ago. Before I had my own farm, I worked for many years as a farmworker on larger farms. Over 12 years ago, I started Ras Farm so I could build something of my own. My hope is that Ras Farm can continue to grow into something I can pass on to my children.

Image: Courtney with his son at the farmer’s market

At Ras Farm, farming is more than growing food. For me, it is a way to live in community with the land, with my neighbors, and with the living world around me.

Today, I farm in Western Massachusetts, growing fresh vegetables such as squash, tomatoes, peppers, garlic, pumpkin, and winter squash, along with culturally important crops like okra, callaloo, Scotch bonnet pepper, and Jamaican pumpkin.

The food I grow goes to farmers markets, grocery cooperatives, free food distribution hubs, wholesale buyers, elders, food access partners, and migrant communities looking for foods that carry tradition, nourishment, and comfort.

Image: At Ras Farm

For me, soil work is also soul work. The land teaches me when to plant, when to wait, when to repair, and when to change. I stay tuned to the land and to the life growing around me. This guides how I care for the soil, crops, and community at Ras Farm.

Today, I am facing new challenges. Parts of the land I farm are becoming more flood-prone as climate change brings heavier rains and unstable seasons. In past flood events, authorities have advised me that produce touched by floodwater should not be sold, because floodwater may carry pollutants and the vegetable crops may be unsafe. This creates real hardship for me. A single flood can damage crops and make it harder to keep the farm going.

Image: At Ras Farm, source: Daily Hampshire Gazette

Because of this, I want to begin shifting part of Ras Farm toward perennial agriculture by planting fruit trees. Annual agriculture needs repeated soil disturbance, which makes the land more vulnerable to erosion during flooding. I am choosing trees because trees offer a practical response to flooding at Ras Farm.

Fruit trees give me a better chance of producing food that will not directly touch floodwater. When established, they will also hold the soil in place. They can help Ras Farm adapt to a changing climate.

I am raising $2,000 to purchase and plant pear, apple, and cherry trees at Ras Farm. These trees will help me create a more resilient and abundant farm landscape. They will help me build a farm that is less vulnerable to flooding, erosion, and crop loss.

Image: White polygon marks the site where I will plant trees

The funds will be used to buy pear, apple, and cherry tree saplings, compost, mulch, tree guards, stakes, and basic planting materials needed to help the trees survive and establish.

Your support will help me continue feeding community now and, hopefully, continue growing for the next generation.

Image: At Ras Farm