How Kenyan Erick Ateka Discovered His Farming Passion in Minnesota

Erick Ateka, Moses Moturi and Ben Ongeri, all Kenyan medical professionals, have their own plots at the Covenant Church Farm which is operated by the Village Agricultural Cooperative. 

This is Ateka's second year farming a small patch of land offered by the Village Agricultural Cooperative. After a successful harvest in the previous year, the nurse practitioner in Rochester was enthusiastic to resume planting during spring.

Ateka said he returned to tend to the ground he had planted in May, and he hopes to keep coming back in the future. His crops take 2-3 months to be ready, providing him with the feeling of success. He grows collard greens, tomatoes, onions, garlic, cilantro and other produce which perform best in Minnesota's climate.  

He said that he supports organic, nutritious eating, implying that he can achieve nourishing fare by cultivating some of those crops by himself. He went on to state that to have healthy food, one must take the initiative of cultivating it. His upbringing was in Kisii, which is a highly populated town in Kenya with a climate ideal for year-round farming.

“I believe in that organic, healthy eating, so if I can grow some of those crops organically, I find that to be one of the steps towards healthy eating. It’s not a way of life, per se, but I do realize to have good food, you have to plant it yourself,” he said. 

Ateka said farming in Kenya and the US is more of a practice aimed at framing an integral part of having a good, healthy life. When he heard of Village Agricultural Cooperative, he didn't hesitate to acquire his own plot. He has established close ties with Kenyans Ben Ongeri and Moses Moturi who are also Village farmers and work in the medical industry.