Mission
The mission of Homegrown Handgathered is to showcase low-cost methods of producing food in an urban and suburban environment. We hope to inspire people who previously saw growing or foraging their own food as inaccessible to give it a try. We believe that living off the land is a community effort so our goal is not only to connect with our environment, but also with each other.
Background
Jordan and Silvan are experienced farmers and sustenance gardeners who specialize in small scale food production in an urban environment. Both Silvan and Jordan have degrees in Biology from the University of North Carolina. Jordan completed a sustainable agriculture apprenticeship at the Center for Environmental Farming Systems in 2013 and Silvan currently serves as Farm and Greenhouse Manager for an urban farming non-profit. Before relocating to Pittsburgh, Silvan and Jordan managed an organic CSA in North Carolina.
Cooking
Our approach to food and cooking is influenced by our cultural heritage which includes Syrian, Southern American and Pennsylvania Dutch. Although neither of us grew up immersed in indigenous American culture we are time and time again inspired by the expertise of the people who first learned how to thrive on and care for this land. The recipes and articles on this site mostly focus on ingredients from our gardens and the plants, fungi, meat and fish that Southwestern Pennsylvania provides. We encourage using these recipes as guidelines, customizing them based on the abundant ingredients available in your region.
Living off the Land
In 2016, while living in a small third-story apartment and tending to a neighborhood community garden plot, we decided to challenge ourselves to go one week eating only what we could grow, forage, or hunt. We spent the better part of that week hungry, hangry and dreaming of pizza. In the time since that first very lean week, we have honed our skills and learned a lot about how to grow and prepare filling, nutritious foods. These days we regularly go months at a time living comfortably off of only ingredients we produce ourselves. If you would like to follow along on our sustenance gardening journey, follow us on social media at the links below. You can also sign up for our monthly newsletter here!
