Struggles, perseverance, and ultimately success: Terra Dumas, owner of Buffalo’s Common Roots Urban Farm, knows these words very well.

 

What You Need To Know

  • When Terra Dumas started Common Roots, she didn't have water or electricity

  • Through hard work, the farm is now a success

  • For more information about the farm, click here

 

“When we started, we didn’t have water or electricity here at all, so we used to run hoses from our friends’ houses," says Terra Dumas, Common Roots Urban Farm owner.

That was in 2012. Dumas says that getting a permit from the city to use the fire hydrant was out of the question. The farm simply couldn’t afford it. Instead, she did what she could to get by. 

“We had barrels lining the farm. We were filling with the hoses and then using watering cans to water. We had this little rinky-dink wash station out here,” adds Dumas.

Though the system wasn’t easy and not sustainable for the long term, Dumas didn’t give up. She had learned the love of gardening from her mom and was determined to find a way for make her farm a success…and she did, eventually joined by farmer Joshua Poodry in 2016.

“It was when Josh came that things really started to come together. We got a well dug here, so now we have our own well water which is really amazing," says Dumas.

The pump used to be run off of a generator because they didn’t have electricity. 

“But then it was last year, we had our own electric pole installed," explains Dumas.

Now, there is electricity at the farm and thriving crop. Situated on one acre of land in the Broadway Fillmore Neighborhood, this farm uses organic and ecologically-sustainable methods. 

Common Roots is part of what is called, "Community Supported Agriculture." It's a method of directly connecting local farmers with their community to provide them with packages of fresh food. This year, CSA was so popular that it sold out.