Five  year old Isabella Johnson (pictured) plants seeds of hope and health during TOCA’s planting day. Isabella is carrying on a family tradition -- her Dad, (Noland Johnson), is TOCA’s farm manager.

 

Held at Papago Farms, this annual event attracted many families and Elders who came to bless the soil and encourage the traditional crops to grow.  

 

After a heartfelt blessing and planting songs sung by Elder Danny Lopez and his wife Florence, squash and watermelon seeds were distributed to everyone to be planted into the freshly turned soil.  It was a gorgeous, sunny day, perfect for planting.

 

The seeds planted today will be watered by the natural springs that flow at the farm and, come fall, will yield tasty nutritious Tohono O’odham squash and yellow meated watermelon.  These are just a few of the many traditional foods that TOCA will grow at the farm and distribute first to Elders and community members and then offer for sale at local stores as part of our ongoing committment to making healthy traditional foods available on the Tohono O’odham Nation.