(Hannah) Nelle Spare, Executive Director

I grew up in Springfield, and come from a line of immigrants who grew every square inch of their land with vegetables for the home. I know we can create a diverse, community-led food system if we put our hearts, minds, and hands to it, and that we will all be better for it. I began farming in 2008 on mixed vegetable and livestock farms, and began working on nonprofit farms in 2011. Over four years I developed and led the education program at Nuestro Huerto, a nonprofit urban farm in Worcester, and worked an additional three years on a curriculum development project for English Language Learner farmers. I am grateful for the opportunity to steward the vision the farmers have for their communities and look forward to seeing their vision come to fruition.
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Mumat Aweys, Deputy Director

I moved to Springfield in 2021 after completing my undergraduate degree at UT Austin. I wanted to be closer to my parents, who lived here. They are also farmers, so I get to work with them and pick their brains about farming. Some Somali Bantu people's sense of self and connection to a portion of their past depends on their ability to farm. My parents' dedication to their farms and their depth of knowledge about farming astounds me. I'm pleased that I can contribute in some small way to ensuring the success of the All Farmers mission.

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Razz Cacho-Nguyen, Communities Director

I have been a farmer and a teacher. In addition to the work that I do here, I am a restorative justice educator and a facilitator of restorative circles. I am trained in grief literacy, and circle practice, and am a certified conflict mediator. I am passionate about the building of strong, authentic, compassionate, and accountable relationships that I deeply believe lead to more emotionally skilled, caring, and thriving communities. I feel grateful to do the work that I love and to support our farmers here. 

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BEL BHujel, Nepali Interpreter

My name is Bel Bhujel, I was born in Nepal in a farmer’s family. We had a big fertile land where my family used to grow paddy, Wheat, corn, cash crops, and millets. We had many domestic animals l enjoyed my childhood playing with them and diving, and swimming in the river. I enjoyed growing vegetables, and fruits and gardening flowers in the orchard garden. I moved to the capital city Kathmandu for higher education where I could see the people growing vegetables and crops but couldn’t get time to participate with them. In the year 2004, I came to the USA and resided in New York City where the farmer’s field is not easily accessible. Then 2020 l moved to Springfield Massachusetts and in the year 2021 started to grow vegetables in the backyard. I feel proud to be a part of All Farmers World.

Dave Tepfer, Field Instructor

I grew up as the fourth generation on my family’s farm in Minnesota. Since then I have engaged in farming: from academic study at South Dakota State University and Colorado State University, to working on different farms across the USA and in other countries, to doing agroecological research and education at The Land Institute in Salina, KS, to co-owning and operating Simple Gifts Farm - a commercial organic vegetable farm in Amherst, MA - for the last 18 years. I have a passion for hands-on teaching of farming skills and caring for and managing farms and farmland.  A core principle for me is nurturing diversity at every level and from agronomic, ecological, social, and economic perspectives. I am deeply pleased to work with the farmers and staff at All Farmers to help in some small way with the economic success of the farmers and in the care and management of their land.

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Tamika Hoo-Fah, Bookkeeper & Grants Manager

My name is Tamika Hoo-Fah, I migrated from the Caribbean Island of Jamaica to Springfield in 2014. I moved to New York City a year after and later returned 2021 to be closer to family. I have been in the accounting field and worked across several industries for over a decade where I have progressively grown in my career from an entry level role to managing teams. In the Caribbean, farming was a part of our everyday life. We grew our own fruits, vegetables, ground provisions and chicken in our backyards and my parents instilled the concept of “Eat What You Grow, Grow what You Eat”. I am grateful to be apart of the All Farmers team and pleased to be able to contribute to the continued success of the organization.

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KERIN GOULD, Bilingual Farmers’ Market Assistant

I joined All Farmers in July, ‘23 after moving back to Massachusetts from California, where I worked with food-related non-profits such as Alchemist CDC and Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF) and taught a high school Farm to Fork program. I eventually focused on developing my own sustainable, non-toxic, wildlife-friendly farm and exploring new ways to connect vibrant fruit and veggies and those who strive to enhance their health with farm-fresh produce.

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bedel Abdi, Bilinual FArmers’ market Assistant

I’m from Springfield. I speak Somali and English. In my high school studies, I especially enjoy business and marketing. I started farming with my mom, helping her in the garden. It was really calming and like an art project, where you get to work on something and feel that satisfaction in getting to be good at it. I appreciate the wider impact of farming as a community, and I personally enjoy eating fresh fruit and vegetables. To me, the importance of All Farmers is carrying on how to farm, how we’ve done it culturally, how we’ve done it for years. If we’re not going to farm, who’s going to farm for us?

Aden Barow , Peer Teacher, Somali Bantu Community (2022)

Aden was born in Somali, he spent most childhood in an Islamic school and helped his parents with the farm during after-school. He tended to the vegetables and the donkeys. He went to Kenya's refugee camps in 1992 when war broke out in Somalia. In February 2005, he came to the U.S. He started working at Red Fire Farm From 2012 to the present day. He has been farming with Somali Bantu farmers for four years now.

Hem Bhujel, Peer Teacher, Nepali/Bhutanese Community (2022)

My name is Hem Bhujel, I was introduced to farming through my parents who were farmers. Growing up my family grew crops and had livestock. I completed my secondary education in Bhutan while being involved in agriculture part-time. I came to Nepal in 1992 and spent 20 years as a refugee in Nepal. During those 20 years, I was a high school teacher and completed my bachelor's degree. My interest in farming never went away, I grew vegetables in my backyard in Nepal. I came to the United States in 2012. I bought my home in 2019 and turned ¼ of my backyard into a garden. I grow seasonal crops for consumption and for sale. I joined All Farmers as a peer teacher to learn modern farming techniques and teach them to my community. 

Jeylaani Ali, Peer teacher, Somali bantu Community (2022)

Jeylaani was born in Somalia and came to the U.S in 2005. He lived in Boston, MA from 2005 to 2014, where he served on the board of Somali Bantu Associates as Vice President. He has facilitated meetings with other Somali Bantu communities in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. He now lives in Springfield MA. He would like to help build the farming community in Springfield, which brought him to participate in the Peer teacher program. He plans to learn various farming skills to share with his community. 

Ram Gurung, Peer Teacher, Nepali/Bhutanese Community

I am Ram Gurung. I was a citizen of Bhutan, and then I went to Nepal as a refugee, now I am in Massachusetts, USA. We used to depend on farming back in our country. I worked for the Nepali Department of Agriculture for 10 years working as a team member. When we came to the USA, we continued our love of farming. Farming is seasonal here and there are many other things that are different from how we used to farm. I want to help the community learn to farm with the Massachusetts seasons and be successful.

LORENA Moreno, Peer Teacher, MEXICAN community (2022)

I grew up in Mexico and migrated to the states at the age of 17. I worked as a patient care tech in a healthcare facility. I then became interested in health and disease prevention.  I believe in the idea that “food is medicine” I am always looking for ways to increase awareness in my community about the importance of eating fresh produce and avoiding processed foods. 

I am a member, founder, and treasurer of “Riquezas del Campo”, a farmers' cooperative.  We started this Project 3 years ago. In 2019, All Farmers offered us the opportunity of having access to a large piece of land, I happily got involved in this cooperative project that could benefit more immigrants and give us the opportunity to generate income while strengthening our community ties.