November 1, 2023
Umoja Na Uhuru World Farm
On a quiet residential street near the airport in central Boise, Idaho, you will find a little more than four acres of farmland nestled in between homes. One of the many farmers that share the space is Abdi Haji of Umoja Na Uhuru (“Unity and Freedom”) World Farm. He operates a Community Supported Agriculture program that provides fresh vegetables for 26 families in the Boise area. Additionally, Abdi accepts online orders and sells at Boise’s Saturday Market, offering sweet corn, beets, potatoes, sugar snap peas, squash, peppers, leafy greens, tomatillos, and more.
In 2022, he received a Brighter Future Fund grant from the American Farmland Trust. This grant allowed him to continue upgrading his farm by investing in multiple pieces of equipment that allow for faster hand tilling, precision seeding, and lettuce harvesting. The remaining funds will be used to install drip irrigation and plastic sheeting, which conserve water through reduced evaporation.
About American Farmland Trust (AFT)’s Brighter Future Fund:
AFT’s Brighter Future Fund provides grants of up to $5,000 per project to help farmers nationwide improve farm viability, access, transfer or permanently protect farmland, or adopt regenerative agricultural practices. In 2022, the fund accepted applications from farmers who identify as BIPOC, Veterans, LGBTQIA+ and beginning farmers who had limited access to financial resources in the past. Since 2020, AFT with the support of Tillamook and others has provided approximately $2.5 million in grants directly to more than 2,000 farmers across the nation. Learn more here.