In his new book, the Japanese American peach farmer unearths his family’s painful, hidden history and explores its impact on his identity.
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October 15, 2013
Marji Guyler-Alaniz has spent the last nine months documenting women farmers for her ongoing photography project, FarmHer.
“My goal is to capture the beauty in the every day and my style is to show who these women are through subtleties,” says the Iowa-based photographer. It’s an important goal at a time when the number of female farmers is on the rise, women now make up 30 percent of U.S. farmers, and many women are approaching this work in sustainable, creative, and mold-breaking ways.
The images presented are from Guyler-Alaniz’s latest shoots.
Above image: Angelique Hakazimona is a refugee from Rwanda who now calls Iowa home. She works as a farmer at Wabi Sabi Farm in Granger, Iowa, growing food for their CSA program. Angelique is excited about her work as a FarmHer and truly believes it is the most important job she could do.
Here Angelique Hakazimona cleaning sweet potatoes she has just finished digging.
Goma Bastola is a refugee originally from Bhutan who fled to Nepal before landing at home in Iowa, where she now farms at Global Greens Farm in West Des Moines. At Global Greens, participants learn how to grow food, are given an inroad to local markets, and they’re also able to take home a percent of the bounty to feed their families. Here, Goma is harvesting eggplants.
In this image Goma is standing in the rows as she works to harvest for the market the next day.
Janna Feldman keeps a herd of goats and sheep at Doe’s and Diva’s Dairy, in Honey Creek, Iowa. She uses the milk to make specialty soaps and cheese and is constructing a new facility for processing. Janna’s care and concern for her animals shows in the operation of her farm and in her products.
Here Janna is resting her foot on the milking stand while a doe waits patiently for her turn to be milked.
Danelle Myer grows vegetables on a few acres of land that she rents from her family’s operation. After attending a six-month apprenticeship program through the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems at the University of California Santa Cruz, Myer returned home to open her own small business called One Farm. She plans to purchase more land and build a high tunnel to increase her cool weather growing capabilities.
Here Danelle is updating her records as she prepares the harvest for market.
March 23, 2023
In his new book, the Japanese American peach farmer unearths his family’s painful, hidden history and explores its impact on his identity.
March 20, 2023
March 9, 2023
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