Planting Rice at Kamayan Farm
We began working with farmer and food justice activist, Ari de Leña of Kamayan Farm in January of 2019, right around when we first opened. From that moment onward, we were blessed to build the relationship and friendship that we cherish so much today. She’s been instrumental in helping us stay hyper local (which is so much harder when there is no local market for the produce we grew up with), not only growing so much of what we need, but connecting us with so many of the small farms we work with today.
One of the first flavor unlocks for us was her locally grown ginger, something that here in the PNW is harvested just once a year. When she brought us her first harvest, the smell of fresh ginger filled the restaurant, it was incredible. It was something that we realized we had never experienced before, where growing up with imported ginger, though was a constant in our homes, we had never encountered the crop freshly picked out of the soil. Those yellowy pink gems are so bright, beautiful, and fragrant.
For the past three years we’ve been visiting the farm with our growing team and growing families. We knew it was about that time again to reach out to Ari to drop by for a visit. Leading up to this year’s visit in particular really made us take pause, looking at what has been built over the years and the journey we’ve all been on together…
… And then, Ari invited us to join her in her first attempt to plant locally grown Asian rice 😱🤯. This has been something she’s always wanted to do… and something WE’VE always wanted her to do, we just never imagined we would get the opportunity to help.
We showed up today with our children who are now another year older—time and growth are never as apparent as when you look at growing kids— and our team that has tripled in size. We arrived to not only Ari’s also growing team, but a thriving community of FilAm farmers, chefs, and other community contributors. It was a beautiful moment to come together to take part in such a special occasion.
Ari set up an alter for us to fill with items special to us—photos, poems, food, and more—to bring positivity and love. Given that this was the very first attempt to grow a crop that is not common to grow here, if not completely unheard of, we needed all the goodness we could harness to encourage the growth of these little rice seedlings.
Before starting, she shared with us a beautiful story of how within just one generation knowledge and craft can be lost completely, and how this moment was a sense of her reclaiming it… and really it was a chance for all of us to reclaim it, to reconnect with our roots and the hands of our ancestors.
Ari had 3 varieties of rice ready to plant, one from the Philippines, one from China, and one from Japan.
Planting in the pouring rain felt right. Though these varieties of rice don’t need the water filled rice patties, they definitely had it today. It was so satisfying to put each seedling into the soil as you could hear the two year old say “pat and love” covering them with dirt.
We don’t know what will happen, but are thankful regardless to come together to try. It was cold and wet, but we had purpose, good food, and great company.
Thank you Kamayan Farm for all the great memories. Thank you for allowing us to grow with you.
Our team planting rice, 2022
