Where gardening was once some extracurricular channel for me to feel a sense of accomplishment and self-sufficiency by growing things on my own (a sort of primal, chest-beating, I-grew-and-brought-home-the-bacon kind of satisfaction), it has evolved into more of an imperative. For me, growing food has become less about “I” and more about “We”. I have clearly seen and experienced a connection between growing things and my quest for a richer, simpler daily life, with more community connections, and more sense of contribution to reducing our global sustainability predicament. This shift in perspective drove me to overcome my aversion to social media and create the @lafermedesforbes Instagram account this year with the goal of inspiring others around me to grow food, to share techniques, and to be part of a larger community of people enjoying the idea of growing food.
I have had a lengthy and rewarding career in hi-tech, and I don’t regret that path, which has been very good to me and my family, but my existence in the hi-tech workforce started to feel rather transient: another project, another team, another long day with meetings from morning to evening, another flight, another year, another payout, people come and go from the workplace and from the community, and no real, lasting friendships and connections ever form. The higher you go on the corporate ladder, the less you can be friends with your employees (for professional, disciplinary, and legal reasons), and despite collaboration, everyone is technically in competition with each other at higher levels, so workplace relationships are friendly, but never really friendships.