Bushel of Complaints
Farmers at South Central Community Garden unload on their activist organizers
Renner would not address specifics relating to allegations of strife at the South Central Community Garden, but acknowledged that he heard stories from farmers who left.
“There are several ways of running a garden. There are the standard democratic rules of organizing, then you have benevolent dictators, then you have non-benevolent dictators of gardens. I find that I would rather do what the will of the people want,” Renner said.
One South-Central gardener who declared himself defiant and unafraid of retaliation from the South Central Farm leadership is Ediogenes Luviano Rumbos, 82, known among urban immigrant gardeners in South L.A. as “Don Eddie.” Luviano still works a plot at the South Central Farm but rarely goes there much anymore and is now focused on farming land at the Stanford Avalon garden.
“The simple reason is that over there, one would arrive early to do work and the gates would be locked,” Luviano said. “There is tranquillity here. Here, the campesinos get to work without anyone discriminating against them and without embarrassments.”
Staff writer David Zahniser contributed to this story.
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