About Amantai Farm
Our Farm and Farmer
Amantai Farm is run by Jorge Carmona, a Colombian immigrant (now a citizen) who works about 20-acres of land in eastern Pennsylvania. He has been selling at the Cortelyou Rd. Farmers' Market through the Greenmarket Program for over 5 years. He grows a diverse vegetable crop, raises bees, and has laying hens. While he is not certified organic (he is in the process of getting the paperwork done to become certified), he does not spray anything on his crops. This is better than many certified organic farms because they tend to spray organic pesticides and fertilizers and also because many of them are much larger scale and futher away, thus a lot of fossil fuel burning is involved in getting their product to our tables.
Jorge partnered with his brother, Rene, last year when the demands of the farm increased. (The CSA has 90 more shares this year than last, growing to a total of 140 half shares and 70 full shares in 2010.) The photo to the right shows two of Rene's family members that help out with farm activities, his wife, Adrianna, and their teenage daughter Daniela. Rene's family lived on Long Island for years after immigranting to the United States and before moving to Pennsylvania to help Jorge. This will be their second season helping out with Amantai Farm. While Daniela and their younger daughter are busy with school most of the year, they enjoy harvest season during the summer and sometimes will attend the weekly CSA dropoff.
Rene and Adrianna have taken over many of the CSA responsibilies, so they are who you will likely meet during your weekly produce pickup. They are also ususally at the Ditmas Park Farmer's Market on Sundays. Jorge now focuses his time on farming activities and attending other various Farmer's Markets throughout New York City.
The entire farm and its activities are run by Jorge and Rene. Please introduce yourself to any of the family if you see them at the CSA or Farmer's Market. They love to meet the members and are very wonderful people to know!
For more information, e-mail us at ditmasparkcsa@gmail.com.