Tanya Doka-Spandhla: Sustainable Agriculture Farmer at Passion to Seed Gardening.

For Tanya Doka-Spandhla, farming started as a hobby at her local community garden and because she enjoyed the activity, she decided to turn it into a business. Tanya Doka-Spandhla had a community garden in Germantown, Maryland, USA where she resides, but it was not enough. “Within me is a passion for gardening” she said, “It doesn’t feel like exertion,”

How It All Began

Doka-Spandhla became a Land Link Farmer in 2015. Land link is a partnership between Montgomery Countryside Alliance and Montgomery County’s office of Agriculture- they connected Doka-Spandhla with a landowner from whom she leases five acres. Doka-Spandhla chose to grow produce that appeals to the African diaspora and beyond such as pumpkin leaves, horned melons, spider leaf flowers, mustard greens, large kernel corn and English rapini. The horned melons are a spikey little hedgehog of a fruit that tastes like a home for her customers.

She grows pumpkins primarily for their leaves, which are nutritious, cooked like spinach, and traditionally served with a peanut sauce. As a new farmer with Land Link, she was given added assistance to get started. A grant to help pay for equipment allows each new farmer to decide what is necessary for their operation. Doka-Spandhla chose a fence, water tank and drip irrigation. Doka-Spandhla works the small farm herself, sometimes with the help of her sons and some friends. She farms three acres, which is a good size for her- she can grow sustainably enjoy the farming and enjoy selling her produce.

From gardening hobby to business

A native of Zimbabwe, Tanya would assist her parents in the garden growing up. In 1995, she came to the US with her husband and two sons for an opportunity to further their education. They arrived in May and she was amazed at how green everything was compared to the forests in Zimbabwe.

After completing her degree in computer networking, Doka-Spandhla went to work for the Chevy Chase bank IT Department, where she installed new branch networks and desktop operating programs throughout the DC Metropolitan area. Currently she is employed by a Maryland based IT Tech company as a MES Engineer. She finds good life - work balance in her job when she balances it out with gardening. “Gardening is my energizer & motivator that allows me to take it one day and one plant at a time”

Nevertheless, deep in her Doka-Spandhla knew she had an innate calling to farm. She started with a community garden plot and moved quickly to a bigger acreage when she realized her passion could be turned into a business.

Sustainable, Organic Farming

Doka-Spandhla’s business Passion to Seed Gardening is located at Edgehill Farm in Gaithersburg Maryland. In 2018, Doka-Spandhla began farming in a greenhouse, which has allowed her to farm all year round. She also plans to increase her current acreage to grow other ethnic vegetables and increase her maize acreage. Doka-Spandhla practices sustainable farming, does not use any pesticides or herbicides and relies on the use of compost. She sells the corn and vegetables at Farmers Markets in the area. Customers also buy at the farm and at her home. She is also an approved supplier of Whole Foods, a leading natural and organic foods store in the USA.

Therapeutic Benefits of Farming

Doka-Spandhla sees the garden as an expression of hope and faith, and an opportunity for the renewal of spirit and mind. Working the land gives her peace of mind to see things growing, a good daily dose of exercise and ultimately the satisfaction of sharing the fruits of her labor with the customers.

“It’s quiet and serene; I sit and breathe it in” Doka-Spandhla says. Although she does not sit for long and says she could work all day there will always be work to do. “I’ve found my niche”, she says and her customers have found her, growing a taste of home in Gaithersburg. Doka Spandhla has a few words of wisdom for others interested in following her path. “Sometimes we're tested not to show our weakness but to discover our strengths “and to this end I rely on my 4P’s which I call my guiding pillars. Prayer, Passion, Perseverance and Patience.

Tanya Doka-Spandhla also serves as Board member of the Montgomery Countryside Alliance and as a Council member of the Montgomery Food Council. Where she uses her experiences to serve the public, increase food security in the County and encourage sustainable farming.

Interested customers or would-be famers can read more about Doka- Spandhla and her produce on her website www.passiontoseedgardening.com.

Adapted from "Bread & Beauty-A year in Montgomery County's Agricultural Reserve by www.breadandbeauty.org