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Williamstown Micro Farm Promotes Notion of 'Self-Sustaining Homestead'
By Stephen Dravis, iBerkshires Staff
06:05AM / Saturday, April 24, 2021
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Tu Le of Williamstown talks about the plantings at 328North, the micro farm he and his partner run on their half-acre lot.

Parts of the 2021 crop at 328North await their move from an indoor growing area.

Chickens do double duty at 328North, supplying eggs and fertilizer.

Art created from reused bicycle wheels brightens up the half-acre farm at 328 North St. in Williamstown.



Tu Le plants rakkyo, an allium species native to China and similar to scallions.
 
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Drive past 328 North St., and you cannot help but notice the distinctive art created from repurposed bicycle wheels that adorn the front lawn.
 
But you also cannot see the whole picture.
 
Out back, what appears to be a typical single-family home is revealed to be 328North, a community supported agriculture farm producing an abundance of flowers and Asian varieties of greens, herbs and vegetables.
 
Tu Le and his partner have packed a lot onto their modest 1/2-acre micro farm.
 
But, then again, the pair have plenty of experience — first in an urban environment near Pittsburgh and, for the last seven years, at their home on North Street (Route 7).
 
"Growing up as a refugee with 11 siblings, we had to grow our own food to feed all of us," said Le, a native of Vietnam who grew up in Southern California. "I didn't pay much attention then, but, as an adult, a lot of those living memories came back to me."
 
The pair had success in western Pennsylvania, but tragedy struck in 2014 when a fire destroyed their home.
 
"We were really, really wanting to rebuild, and we had big plans for the garden, but we no longer felt welcome with the homophobia and racism in our poor, white-majority neighborhood, so we decided to search in New England," Le said.
 
They were looking at properties in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont but happened upon the Berkshires and found what they needed.
 
"We drove around the roundabout and ended up on Spring and Water Street and stayed the weekend," Le said. "That changed everything. This was never our first choice. It was never on the radar. It was very serendipitous.
 
"It was the energy here that drew us. It's very idyllic at the end of June here. There's like this change that happens. The students are gone, the theater festival is getting going, and everything is lush and beautiful."
 
And cold and snow-covered much of the rest of the year, which makes New England an interesting choice for someone looking to start a farm. But Le said that wasn't really the goal.
 
"Our goal wasn't to set out to create a small-scale farm," Le said. "The goal was to create a homestead to support our family. We had done that within four or five years.
 
"When the pandemic hit, we were ready to start selling flowers at the farmers market and introduce ourselves that way. In February [2020], we switched gears from flowers to food. But the intention was never to have a small-scale farm but a self-sustaining homestead. And that's still our philosophy of how we live. That's still the same philosophy we're sharing with the community now.
 
"Becoming a small farm was an accident, really."
 
And, after a period of adjustment, Le embraced New England weather.
 
"Our first year here, the fall of 2014, we had a big snowstorm the day before Thanksgiving, and it really made us question our decision," he said. "But we've gotten through it and worked with the land and nature and adjusted. We made a lot of mistakes in order to have success.
 
"Natively, I come from the tropics and was raised in Southern California, but most of my adult life has been in places like Berlin, Seattle, New York and here. I think the majority of my life has been spent in cold climates."
 
Le said the COVID-19 pandemic forced 328North to embrace the idea of a public presence and offer CSA shares, which sold out in a week when they became available in January.
 
"We do a lot of chili peppers," he said. "We're still continuing to test a lot of plants every year to see what grows here. This year, we're going to be focusing more on storage crops because that is what customers have asked for: potatoes, Japanese carrots, Asian radishes, a couple of dozen types of peppers, our squashes are mostly Asian varieties, a variety of bitter melons.
 
"We'll include recipes with a lot of these things."
 
Le has formed a partnership with Aaron Oster of North Adams' A-oK Berkshire BBQ. Together, the pair did a webinar for the Williams College Museum of Art, "Farming and Feasting," in January.
 
Le is looking to form partnerships and plan events with local farmers in the year ahead. "Community and collaboration" should be the focus for local agriculture coming out of the pandemic, he said.
 
It is why he is reaching out to other local farmers to get advice about how to expand 328North, which recently reached an agreement to grow on a piece of a neighboring yard.
 
"Now that we're upscaling to provide for other families, I'm reaching out to the Agricultural Commission," Le said. "I'm using the resources that have always been available before but I didn't feel confident enough to use because I didn't label myself as a 'farmer.' But I am a farmer.
 
"Sometimes I'm amazed when I step back. Pretty much Matt and I created this without any help. This year, we're open to a lot more help that people have offered."
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