By SLCgreen Intern Iris Tang
Vanavil Community Garden, one of the 2023 food equity microgrant winners, is located in the Ballpark area and is run by Priya Chidambaram. Priya started the Vanavil Community Garden as a renter; with her landlord’s approval, she transformed the yard into a garden and built a community around it. Since then, Priya has purchased her own house in the Ballpark area and relocated the gardens there.
Priya named the garden ‘Vanavil’ as it means ‘rainbow’ in her native language, Tamil. The name initially came from the desire to grow colorful and diverse crops such as yellow tomatoes and purple carrots. However, Priya notes the name has grown to represent inclusivity as well.
How It Came to Be
When asked what her inspiration behind gardening was, she responded, “I’ve been gardening my whole life. We’re immigrants and growing up we always had gardens.” She recalled how her family gardened out of pots on their apartment patio. “We started growing them, and it was our daily thing.”
Although Priya loves gardening, she admits it can be an “isolating hobby.” Her garden became a community as friends showed interest in what she was doing. Priya found that she became more motivated to expand the garden the more people were involved, “The garden became more of a social thing than anything; it’s more fun to do with people than by yourself.” As Priya began teaching others, building the garden became a team effort.
What Vanavil is About
Priya’s vision for Vanavil was to grow produce that is “unique and something you can’t easily get in stores.” The garden’s members love trying out new crops. This year they are growing things like Amaranth, Tromboncino squash, and Ginkaku melon.
Vanavil currently has five members who are each from a variety of cultural backgrounds and the group values learning about each other’s heritage and trying new foods. One year they grew ground cherries for one of their members from the Midwest, and this year they planted green eggplants for one of their members with African ancestry.
The Produce
Members of the garden share the harvests. Sometimes, the group will even cook together and test new recipes. One of Priya’s goals is to ensure enough produce is grown for every member who participates. When there is excess produce, they make things like salsa to give to friends and family or sell the extra vegetables for fundraising purposes. The group also has future plans to donate food to the Food Justice Coalition.
Impact of the Microgrant
Last year, Priya bought her own residence, and Vanavil has undergone relocation, expansion, and tremendous upgrades. The group used the grant money to purchase soil and install drip irrigation systems. They also used funds for raised metal beds and cattle arches which have improved soil conditions and saved garden space.
Future Ideas for Vanavil
Priya is still formalizing and developing Vanavil Gardens; she’s excited to have her own space and is working on expanding the garden to fill her entire backyard. Vanavil is continually working on amplifying their operations to better prepare for increased membership and donation. Priya is also considering adding dedicated event space to throw garden club events. In the future, Priya would love to host garden visits to help teach others about gardening and encourage communities to start their own.