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Olamina Commons is a 6½-acre property in southwest Winston-Salem. This includes a private home, open fields and a creek, and borders forest and suburban homes. Friends, family and neighbors are invited to gather here to connect with the land, garden, and practice the skills of living as a village. We tend the soil, the plants, the water, and each other - together.
Olamina - early days
Olamina - early days
The house and former hog farm came up for sale in 2025, and we bought it hoping to care for it differently than a typical subdivision developer would.
In 2025 and 2026, friends and family came to experiment. Together we tried permaculture garden techniques, removed invasive plants, and made room for native plants to return. It was a season of listening to the land: where water collects, what grows well in the wet bottomland, and what the trees and critters that live here need to stay healthy.
How it's growing
How it's growing
(as of Fall 2026)
Hügel mound gardens. We built circular raised beds over buried wood (hügelkultur), which hold moisture and feed the soil as they break down.
This year’s harvest. Tomatoes, cucumbers, greens, squash, melons, amaranth leaves, sunflowers and more. We donated hundreds of pounds of extra produce to a local church.
Fiber and useful plants. We grew and harvested flax for fiber, and loofah.
Fruit and nut trees. Fig, persimmon, chestnut and several kinds of berries are taking root.
A living hedge. We are replacing the aging arborvitae privacy hedge along our neighbors’ back yards with native red cedar, muscadine and other native trees and shrubs. The new hedge will give wildlife more food and shelter while keeping everyone’s privacy.
Looking Ahead
Looking Ahead
Urban Agriculture
Urban Agriculture
Olamina Commons is committed to being part of both the food justice and housing justice movements.
Urban Agriculture. The City of Winston-Salem recognizes Urban Agriculture as a land use: growing food and other plants in the city, beyond a household garden. We’ve begun the permitting process with the City and expect to be permitted for Urban Agriculture in 2027.
Urban Agriculture fits Winston-Salem’s Forward 2045 plan, which calls for supporting the local food economy, removing barriers to food access, and encouraging community gardens. In a city still living with the effects of redlining and food deserts, growing food close to where people live is a small, real act of food justice.
Care farming
Care farming
Care farms are places where growing food and caring for land also supports people’s wellbeing and sense of belonging. Being outdoors, doing meaningful work and being part of a community are good for us. Care farming isn’t counseling or therapy. It’s simply a farm that pays attention to the people as well as the plants.
In collaboration with Yashapi, we offer land walks and host circles as part of our gift of care to one another and the community. Stay tuned for more as we plan to list Olamina Commons with the national Care Farming Network as our gardens grow. https://carefarmingnetwork.org/
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