PITTSFIELD, MA - "Have you tried a hot pepper? These ones are the hottest ever," said Manos Unidas founder Anaelisa Vanegas- Farrara.
The hot peppers she's offering have been picked from her backyard garden right in the City of Pittsfield. But more than just feeding a family, this garden is trying to grow a community.
"This is Madre Hardin, which is Mother Garden in English. And it's a bilingual, multicultural, urban community garden," said Vanegas- Farrara.
Growing a garden can be a real challenge for some of us, no matter how green your thumb. But our Ryan Burgess found one, unique urban garden in Pittsfield, where the goal is to grow more than just some fruit and vegetables.
Mother Garden is harvested by a nonprofit organization called Manos Unidas. The group teaches mostly low income kids how to grow their own organic fruit and vegetables. It's a way to eat healthier at low or no cost, but it's also about building a better community.
"This is a space where we can bring diverse community members together through collective work, and it's a very important way of changing the community, in my mind," said Vanegas- Farrara.
"It's expansion and it's growth and it's building strong communities," said volunteer Nicole Fecteau.
It's a community of kids that, Vanagas- Farrara says, need to eat healthier. She also wants to teach them how to work together, especially when they're not in school.
"To me this represents kind of being resourceful, and coming up with a way to work together as a community, beyond cultural and racial class lines," said Vanegas- Farrara.
On the back wall of the garden are a series of murals that have been painted by some diverse members of the community. The point is that whether it's artwork or even a garden like this, everything is meant to be shared.
"I just see how the community can really provide the support that people need," said Fecteau.
"I think this is meant to be a sign of hope. An urban community garden, to me, is a big sign of hope," said Vanegas- Farrara.
They hope watering these vegetables brings them to life. But here at Mother Garden, volunteers hope this workshop will lead the kids to a better life.
"Nueva Vida! New life," said Vanegas- Farrara.