Natural Foodie: Gladly sharing the art and science of urban farming

David Homa and Eli Cayer stand in the permaculture garden behind the Urban Farm Fermentory in Portland.

Urban Farm Fermentory

By Avery Yale Kamila
The Portland Press Herald
July 14, 2010

Excerpt:

Even a small patch of earth in a neglected industrial area can become an oasis of food production.

That’s one of the lessons to be learned at the new Urban Farm Fermentory located on Anderson Street in Portland’s East Bayside neighborhood. Tucked in back of a single-story former warehouse and hidden from view by a jungle of Japanese knotweed, a greenhouse and a container garden grow lush and verdant with the fullness of midsummer. Here, tomatoes ripen and lavender blooms along with cilantro plants.

The garden is both a laboratory for small space cultivation experiments and a demonstration area for others interested in urban farming. However, the garden is just one piece of a larger business being created by Eli Cayer and David Homa.

The two are in the process of obtaining permits and approvals to run a winery that will brew fruit wines and herb wines and possibly contract with other companies that produce fermented beverages, such as kombucha. Plans call for production to begin by the end of this year.

Cayer is one of the founders of Maine Mead Works, which he is no longer involved with, and Homa runs Post Carbon Solutions and Kzeloumsen Perma-culture Gardens.

Inside the building, the space is fairly barren, with the exception of colorful murals painted by artists Heidi Green, Frank Cassasa and a few graffiti artists who prefer to work anonymously. Behind a bank of windows, three fermentation rooms await equipment.

“The whole idea is to have multi-layered engagement,” Cayer said. “It’s really about live culture.”

Cayer’s statement encompasses the garden out back, the future fermentation business, the collaboration with artists and the weekly education series.

Read the complete article here.