Quilen Blackwell is turning vacant lots into flower farms in Chicago
“The atmosphere and the vibe the flowers give off to you, you can come through mad and it’ll calm down your nerves a little bit,” he said. “You get everyday experience here. It’s helping me develop into a better man.”
By Christen A. Johnson
Chicago Tribune
Nov 08, 2019
Excerpt:
Hidden behind a car-lined street, and in between a few boarded-up houses on an Englewood block, sits an unassuming pasture of a seemingly neglected city spot of unruly weeds.
Walk up closer though, to the sidewalk, then the red gate, and you’ll see deep rows of lively petals slicing through the blight like an autumn-colored rainbow. Chest-high zinnia flowers neatly scatter a once-vacant lot in an ombre of burgundy, burnt orange, marigold and ivory. Three sets of hands chop the plants down to ready the flower farm for winter. Piles of flowers hang over a wagon resting until harvest time.
Flowers were a business decision for Quilen Blackwell, who added this flower farm, known as Southside Blooms, as the floral branch to his nonprofit Chicago Eco House to “bring viable industry into the inner city.” He says there’s a high demand for the crop domestically since 80% of flowers are produced overseas, but the plant’s universal representation ? of hope, love, joy — is what Blackwell is all about.
The vision for Chicago Eco House, which started in 2014 and aims to alleviate poverty through sustainability, began while Blackwell was tutoring Englewood high schoolers. As he started building relationships with the students and heard their stories and experiences, Blackwell felt a conviction, he said.
Read the complete article here.
Source: http://cityfarmer.info/quilen-blackwell-is-turning-vacant-lots-into-flower-farms-in-chicago/
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