A FARM WITH FOCUS

Wonderful People Microfarm teaches underrepresented communities how to grow food utilizing regenerative farming practices.

Through educational programming, specialty workshops, and technical training opportunities, we teach food autonomy. Our students learn to grow and produce nutritious food, becoming a source for themselves and their community.

Programs

Events

As a result, most other people — such as women, youth, and Black Indigenous People of Color — have been excluded from the lineage of generational knowledge, money and land that farming typically requires.

Historically speaking, white men have dominated the farming landscape in the U.S.

It’s time we level the playing field.

Wonderful People Microfarm trains, educates, and empowers the next generation of small-scale urban farmers, enabling greater access to nutrition for all.

Grow with Us

Growing Food, Minds and Community

Dig in

In an effort to uproot the food deserts in our community and expand access to healthy foods, we cultivate the land, sow the seeds and harvest the crops to directly procure fresh, seasonal food. The first step in nourishing ourselves and our community is becoming the source of our own nutrition — putting the power back into our own hands. Through the profound act of growing our food, we can meaningfully fight back against the food injustice to which BIPOC communities have been subjected for so long. By growing food in urban landscapes utilizing sustainable methods, we empower our community to be agents of change; the source of their own food sovereignty.
From our leaders and teachers, to our students and volunteers, everyone is encouraged to approach growing with curiosity and humility. We know there is always something to learn, and we know our minds will never stop expanding as long as we continue to nurture them. We learn from one another, we learn from our efforts and we learn from the land, the seeds and the plants, themselves. We cultivate the land so we can grow our minds, and in so doing create better opportunities for ourselves and our community.
Communities aren’t created solely around a geographical location. Communities are built through shared histories, shared dreams, and shared efforts. Growing nutritious food and expanding our minds together allows us to expand our possibilities and ultimately grow our community. Through these efforts, we are able to liberate our historically marginalized communities from the oppression of the past and instead grow our people to become – both individually and as a group – stronger, wiser and greater than before.

Our plan Is simple:

1. Learn

We learn about the Earth — how to care for it and tend to it — and we learn about ourselves in the process.

2. Grow

While we grow food, we also grow our minds, our bodies, our community and our worldview.

3. Transform

Through these efforts, we can transform our food ecosystem and subsequently transform access to fresh, nutritious food.

Join the evolution

Although urban areas and urban people suffer from an unfair grocery gap,

we are making strides towards righting this wrong

Wonderful People Microfarm is a small, regenerative farm and educational center based in the greater Nashville area teaching people from historically underrepresented communities the fundamentals of growing food.

We empower students to become skilled growers who can create their own small-scale urban farming operations, thus closing existing grocery gaps, improving health and creating a sustainable method of supporting themselves and their community.

Through these efforts, we strive to create a more durable food ecosystem for all.

our manifesto

“When the day of gardening came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole garden where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be harvests of love that grew and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the secrets of the earth and began to speak with compassion as the harvest enabled them.

They devoted themselves to the garden’s teaching and to friendship, to large feasts and to meditation. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the land. All the neighbors were together and had only the garden in common.”

meet our tribe

Tonya Lewis

PROGRAM DIRECTOR
The visionary responsible for conceiving Wonderful People Microfarm, Tonya Lewis is a successful entrepreneur with a passion for people. She spent the first decade of her career as a counselor in Williamson County Public Schools, but pivoted to entrepreneurship in 2013. She and her husband opened a beloved vegan and gluten-free focused East Nashville restaurant, The Post East, and she later co-founded a vertically integrated hemp company called NuSachi Holdings. Her latest and most personal venture, Wonderful People Microfarm is her self-described legacy project. Here at WPM, Tonya is our head honcho – and she does it all. From scheduling our myriad Farm & Garden 101 workshops to tilling the land and turning the compost, Tonya’s hands are in the actual weeds of everything that goes on here.
Chris Cowley

OPERATIONS DIRECTOR
Our multi-talented director of operations, Chris Cowley’s varied and extensive experience is invaluable in advancing our mission of increasing awareness of and access to farming education. His professional background includes sound engineering, video production, operations, accounting and education – to name a few – and as the Director of Operations here at WPM, Chris ensures we continue to make progress, meet our goals, and ultimately have an impact on the communities we strive to serve. Having worked in music education for the past 17 years, he is passionate about inspiring and educating youth, and he’s eager to do so through the art and science of farming.
Maxwell Patterson

FARM MANAGER & EDUCATOR
Our resident green thumb, Maxwell Patterson’s experience with all things growing is a large part of what makes Wonderful People Microfarm such a wonderful place to grow. Having spent the last six years of his career focused on various facets of agriculture, Maxwell not only understands the physical side of farming, but he’s well versed in the business side, too; his expertise ranges from greenhouse planning and plant scheduling, to cash flow management and financial reporting. Fiercely committed to regenerative agriculture and ecologically-conscious farming, Maxwell constantly teaches our team and our students to respect the land, so that it will do the same for us.

The 2024 Farm & Garden 101 Cohort

Melz

I’m excited to get my hands dirty! As I continue to move through life, picking up new hobbies has been a consistent silver lining for me. As a child I enjoyed working in my grandparents garden, that’s translated into being a devoted plant dad! Now I get an opportunity to make my green thumb work for the people!
Sulaiman Allen

Im so glad there is a program to teach people to be self-sufficient in a world that is making us increasingly dependent on inferior goods at inflated prices.
Andrea Barbour

I am excited to be a part of the Wonderful People MicroFarm simply to connect and create community with other BIPOC farmers and gardeners in Middle TN. I am also looking forward to implementing more sustainable practices in the built environment with gardening and farming.
Jade Bazile

I am excited to learn the origins of foods and apply that knowledge to growing for myself, fitness clients and the culinary community.
Kevin Bazile

Grow my own food is very important to me.
Amber Buchanan

The program will teach me a vital skill for survival and reduce my dependence on the government. I am excited to share my newfound knowledge with my family, friends, and community
Eric Capehart

I’m excited to learn farming. Excited to learn and grow with the community. I’m excited about the opportunity to learn a new skill that brings me into connection with the earth.
Megan A Curtin

I can't wait to successfully see the magic of growing a garden with sustainable practices.
Cristalynne Dupree

I'm excited to join the Wonderful People Microfarm Program! Its a real flex to follow a seed from from germination to the dinner table. When I grow and make my food with my hands, its a love letter in the name of my ancestral spirits for community hope and healing.
E-Miya Horton

I’m SUPER GEEKED to be apart of this program because it’s bringing us Melanin People together as a community to learn & support one another & circulate our dollar, knowledge, & love with each other to build our culture & communities in the purest way ever!
Hannah Hunter

I’m excited to learn, connect and grow with a community that’s willing to do the same! As a novice of foodscaping and farming, I feel excited and grateful for the opportunity to be involved with other like-minded people.
Jessica Jernigan

I am excited to learn more about growing my own food and learning knowledge that I can share with my community.
Shamica Johnson

Hello, my name is Shamica Johnson and I am thrilled to be an active participant in the Wonderful People Microfarm Program.I have always had an interest in growing foods but have never acted on it. Now that the opportunity has presented itself I am more than ready to reconnect with my roots and share my new knowledge with my family, students, and community.
Mia Lewis

I believe that this opportunity will be life changing! Not only will I be able to reconnect with nature, but I will also learn how to grow my own food. This knowledge will create a new legacy in my family of incorporating healthy eating habits and sustainable practices. I am so thankful!
Kirstyn Nimmo

I’m thrilled to be part of this program to learn more about sustainable farming, share what I learn with my family and community and help restore Black Americans relationship with land.
Tori Poindexter

I’m excited to be apart of The Wonderful People Microfarm Leadership Team because I get to exercise the most important muscle in my body while creating a better environment for myself and the people around me. In addition, I get to learn with likeminded individuals who I can growth with both mentally and physically.
Kiana Radney

I’m thrilled to join the program because it offers a unique opportunity to connect with nature, learn sustainable practices, contribute to the local community and also to feed & empower my family. The prospect of working alongside passionate individuals and gaining hands-on experience in agriculture fills me with anticipation and eagerness. 🌱🌾
Mariah Ragland

I can feel that Wonderful People will be a transformative, educational, and community driven program and I’m so excited to connect with everyone! I’ve been searching for something like this in Nashville and I’m glad that I get to be apart of the 2024 Cohort. I’m so ready to learn about sustainable farming practices and how to move with the Earth as one.
Dominique Reid

I am so excited to be a part of this program because I grew up hearing stories about my mom and her family growing up on a farm and I always wanted to know what it was like. I think of farming as one of the most beautiful connections a person can have with the earth. And being able to grow food is an absolutely invaluable skill to have.
Chantrel Reynolds

I’m excited to learn sustainable habits while building community
Zuri Shabazz

Community is absolutely everything. I am so grateful to share sacred space for learning, healing and growing. It is my honored and my privilege to be in community with like hearted souls, returning to our roots, while sowing seeds for future generations. Thank you Wonderful People for fostering this beautiful community.
Nia Smith

I'm so excited to connect with other peer growers in Nashville! We are the next generation of stewards and it's important we carry with skills back to our communities
Miriam Speyer

I am grateful to be a part of the Wonderful People Microfarm! Not only am I excited to learn more about growing food and living in harmony with the land, I'm also looking forward to meeting the other members of this program. I'm sure we're going to inspire and learn a lot from each other during this course.
DeLisa Stansil

Hi! I'm Super Excited to learn about farming, how to cultivate the soil and grow some Yummilicuous healthy food!! Health TRULY is our Wealth! I'm Grateful for the opportunity!! Thanks Tonya!
Jess Thompson

I’m so excited to continue to honor the legacy of Zelda’s Garden through this incredible program. I love community and connection so to be able to share in this work with so many incredible people…it sets my soul on fire. My mom was born on a farm and taught my dad how to garden, I can’t wait to show my children how to do the same and continue to share the rich legacy of creating memories through loving the earth. Truly humbled and grateful.
Susanne Tropez-Sims

I am excited to be able to learn how to grow food and share with others. It is a connection with nature and God to see vegetables and fruit grow.
Matthew Trotsky

I've been involved in community gardening for years and Wonderful People Farms really struck me with their intentionality. I believe that this opportunity will be a great hands-on learning experience. I look forward to growing delicious local food with everyone!
Ganiel Williams

All things truly grow with love and I feel deeply in my heart that the Wonderful People Microfarm community is rooted in pure love. I look forward to learning, growing, and connecting with beautiful, likeminded souls who operate on a heart level. I am so blessed for this wonderful opportunity and I know that it will be nourishing to my mind, body, and soul.