Farmers Gyungbo Noh and his partner, Kendra MacEachern have been operating Homi Garden Farm in Antigonish, Nova Scotia since 2017. There, they grow a mix of vegetables and flowers on one acre of land and sell their products at the Antigonish Farmers Market. They are also working toward opening their own roadside farm stand on the farm.  

Homi Garden Farm began after Gyungbo took part in the Martha’s New Grower Program for two years to learn the knowledge and skills needed for small-scale farming. Gyungbo and Kendra found a piece of land where they could see their dream of supplying diverse and nutritious food using sustainable practices that contribute to the health of local populations and ecosystems.

Gyungbo and Kendra are both first-generation farmers but for Gyungbo, his love for agriculture stems from his childhood. He has fond memories of his grandmothers small, subsistence farm where she had rice fields, flowers, and vegetables around her house. These two love to farm because they value healthy, nutritious, and sustainably grown food and because for them, working in agriculture provides a sense of peace and allows them to be more creative. This is reflected as one of their favourite things about being a farmer is being in the field every evening watching the sun set, the evening mist set in, and birds sing. They also enjoy meeting their customers and sharing their passion for the food they grow and new ways to prepare and cook it.

Despite being faced with difficulties like finding and keeping employees, marketing needs, and small business demands, their family keeps them motivated. Gyungbo and Kendra want to be able to support their family to eat well and to live healthy, vibrant lives, while showing future farmers that agriculture is a rewarding career. In the future, Gyungbo and Kendra wish to expand their farm to a 4-season farm with the use of a greenhouse, create value added products like kimchi and open a small farm to table restaurant.