HOW THE PASSION OF ONE ARCHITECT FUELS SUSTAINABLE ALTERNATIVE FARMING.

Words by Christiana Roussel | Good Grit

“Do you do it or do you own it?” This is one of the first questions Peachtree City, Georgia architect Jefferson Brown asks anyone who calls on him. In his own way, he is asking the person in front of him, What does this particular project mean to you? How much do you believe not only in what you are doing but in what you are asking me to commit to as well? Whether it is a salesperson asking for the order or a co-worker seeking input, he genuinely wants to know: what is your level of passion here?

Jefferson’s personal level of passion is immediately apparent when you visit him at his firm’s office just south of Atlanta and see that Jefferson Browne Gresham Architects is also home to Alō Farms, an endeavor he began over 10 years ago. The seed for this idea was planted while Jefferson was attending a Graduate School of Design program at Harvard University. There, he and his classmates were challenged with developing solutions to dying inner cities and food insecurity. Later, on a medical mission to Haiti, he felt drawn to finding real solutions for communities without proper nutrition. He asked himself, How can I create something sustainable? Something impactful for my own community? Something that might grow to make a larger impact on the world? With these questions, a heart for service, and a desire to engage, Alō Farms was born.

A 1,000-square-foot controlled alternative environment and fish farm are situated in the office at Jefferson Browne Gresham Architects, where he and a three-person full-time staff use closed-loop system to produce 324 heads of lettuce, 50-60 fillets of tilapia, two pounds of arugula, and microgreens each week. Those numbers alone are staggering but pale in comparison to the impact Jefferson and his operation are having on the lives of his community, both in Peachtree City and beyond.

Some Alō Farms customers travel more than two hours each week to purchase produce and fish that are free of pesticides, herbicides, and other toxic chemicals. The tilapia, which can be raised in just nine months, are grown without any growth hormones or antibiotics, which is a powerful statement indeed. “We have had parents of children with autism who travel to buy from us. These are parents who have cried when they realize the quality of produce we are offering that they feel has real health benefits for their families.” He recounts another story of a man who’d recently had a liver transplant and was in need of lowering toxicity in his diet. This man asked Jefferson and his team to please grow some red cabbage. “We are constantly learning from the community what they want and need, and we try to meet those needs,” he says. They grew that red cabbage and his customer came back with glowing health reports.

These stories flow freely from everyone associated with Alō Farms. Harvest days are all-hands-on-deck, but the rewards more than make up for the rigors of the work and the long hours required. Greeting customers who drive from as far away as Stone Mountain and Decatur each Saturday is almost gratification in and of itself. And if you happen to come by midweek to pick up basil, butter lettuce, beets, or Swiss chard, there is an honor box outside. Jefferson reports that they have never come up short with this system. Not even once.

What about that name, Alō Farms? Jefferson says he feels God called him to build this farm, and his wife refers to it as God asked him to build an ark. As he was journaling in a Bible study, he came upon the Greek word Alō, which means to feed, to nourish, to sustain, and to develop. His vision could not have been clearer. “I get excited every single time someone walks in our door, knowing I am on this mission to feed, nourish, develop, and sustain the community.”

Jefferson is currently developing nine community centers in the hopes of implementing versions of Alō Farms all over the world. Employing this system in regions such as Mozambique and India where water supplies are greatly diminished and nutrition is of paramount importance, he aims to impact lives not only in his own community, but across the globe.