On a hot day in August, a beautiful community of people came out to visit and tour Ebsa Silga’s farm just outside of Edmonton. Ebsa immigrated from Ethiopia in 2014 and over the last couple of years has started growing and experimenting with vegetables. He currently grows on 32 acres of leased land and sells his vegetables directly to community members. You can read more about Ebsa’s farm beginnings in Alberta on our blog.
The tour began with a quick tractor demonstration and then we headed into the green house, where Ebsa showed off the incredible bounty of tomatoes and peppers. He has been experimenting with different tomato varieties and starting to breed his own as well.
We then got to see Ebsa’s field of Ethiopian kale. This special kind of kale is a favourite amongst Ethiopian and Jamaican communities and seeing this variety is rare in Edmonton. Ebsa showed us how to properly harvest the kale and how to save the seed to plant again next year.
Our next stop was the anchote field. Anchote is a nutritious vegetable from Ethiopian and a staple of many Ethiopian dishes. The leaves and roots can be eaten. It’s challenging to grow anchote in Edmonton because of the short growing season but Ebsa is seeing success in his fields. He is proud to be able to provide high quality and fresh anchote to his community.
The tour wrapped up with an opportunity for community members to share their thoughts about the importance of growing Ethiopian vegetables in Edmonton. The outpouring of support and gratitude was beautiful to hear – people love Ebsa’s vegetables and see him as an integral part of their community. Ebsa’s passion for growing vegetables and sharing his knowledge certainly is infectious!
We then transitioned into enjoying an incredible feast of Ethiopian food. Anchote root and leaves as well as Ethiopian kale was featured alongside goat cooked over the fire and some homemade injera. The food and company was incredible – nothing brings together community like fresh food at the farm!
BIG BIG thank you to Ebsa and his family and friends for hosting us. It was inspiring to see a community of people come together at the farm and share a meal. We hope to visit again soon and learn more about growing Ethiopian vegetables in Alberta!