FarmFest 2011 digs Houston's Fifth Ward

By Farrah Madanay     11/9/11 6:00pm

Towering over the dilapidated rooftops and barred windows of the homes in the Fifth Ward is a giant mural of an onion. This mural, painted on an abandoned rice mill tower, along with the words "Farm Art," is the Last Organic Outpost's logo. An inner city urban farm, the Outpost has been supplying fresh produce to the Fifth Ward for over 10 years. On Saturday, the onion mural beckoned visitors to the Outpost's FarmFest 2011, an event celebrating sustainable gardening and healthy living.

Aptly reflecting the words of the Farm Art logo, the Outpost's FarmFest 2011 attracted visitors with a fusion of farm and art. The festival featured community-based art, music, food and educational demonstrations of farming techniques and technology. Vendors included the Last Concert Cafe, Hula Hoops by Macy and the Gypsy Mermaid art car, complete with an oracle card-reader.

While the petting zoo, kiddie playground and free face painting appealed to the younger festival-goers, most of the adults ambled, fascinated, through the actual farm grounds.

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Nathan Icet, a sixth grader and farm volunteer, was hounded with questions about the farm as he tended to the eggplants and turnips.

"I've volunteered here for four years. It's changed a lot since I got here," Icet, who is also the son of the Outpost's founders, Marcela and Joe Icet, said.

The Outpost has thrived on continuous change. What began as a concrete wasteland of abandoned parking lots filled with tires and detritus has transformed into a fertile garden of raised dirt beds and vegetables. The latest addition to the Outpost farm is a "homemade" aquaponic pond, touted as the city's largest. Founder Joe Icet hopes the pond, which functions completely on 100 percent rain water, will be fully operational by the upcoming spring.

"The water from the roof will be transported to the aquaponics. The nutrient-rich water will flow through the farm and the cycle will be completely self-sustaining," Joe Icet said, speaking of the finished aquaponics system.

Shannon Buggs, Director of Communication at the University of Houston, has collaborated with the Outpost on various community-based projects. She praised the Icets' efforts not only to encourage a self-reliant, harvesting community, but also to educate the community on healthy eating.

"Joe's process goes beyond producing for the community. It's also about educating people as to why this is actually how your food should taste," Buggs said. "Corner convenience stores have non-food. This [farm] is the one alternative in the community to come and eat."

As Kale chips replace Cheetos and farm fresh produce usurps convenience store microwave dinners, the effects of the Outpost have noticeably enriched the diets of the surrounding neighbors.

"How do you define wealth? Is it making a lot of money or is it developing your community?" Joe Icet said, who invested his own money and resources into establishing the non-profit farm. "We are all stewards of the land and we can really determine the world we live in."

Icet's food security initiative, dubbed "Food Everywhere," concisely details his mission to always engage with and provide food for his farm's under-served neighbors. Outpost's lifespan of more than 10 years is a testament to the progressive nature and receptivity of the farm by the ?Fifth Ward community.

"The good thing about a good idea is it keeps showing up," said Joe Icet of organic, urban gardening.

Indeed, Joe Icet's "good idea" shows up at Rice University. Rice encourages sustainable living through its three on-campus community garden sites, with accompanying one credit-hour community ?garden classes.

"In the future, we hope to expand gardening on campus and better incorporate sustainable agriculture and education about the local food movement into the Rice curriculum," Heather Olson, a Wiess junior and teaching assistant for the community garden class, said.

Whether at Rice or at the Outpost, those that want to get down and dirty (in the daytime) on weekends are more than welcome to volunteer.

"Actually our volunteers don't work for free," Joe Icet said. "We pay them ?in greens!"

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