Emily (Smith) Lecuyer

Catch up with Emily, whose passion and travels have taken her to North Africa, Asia and the Philippines, and now led her back to the Midwest.

Questions

Favorite High School Class: Photography.

In 2002, I spent my weekends: Seeing live music and hiking.

In 2011, I spend my weekends: Tilling the earth in the summertime and basking in gluttony during the winter.

What Emily is Up To Now
Since high school I've had a few semi-nomadic years which included bicycling across the US and then living in California, North Africa, and Asia. However, I returned home to the Midwest in 2009 after 3 years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Philippines where I was working in fisheries management, and have spent the past year deeply involved in Kansas City's urban agriculture movement.

I'm currently working on an organic urban farming project with female refugees from Asia & Africa. The farm serves as a training ground for these women to learn various aspects of small business development and cultural integration. My job involves helping the women (most of whom were farmers in their home countries) adapt to farming in a different climate, as well as helping them navigate American agricultural markets. This involves everything from teaching them how to open bank accounts and make deposits, to helping them at local farmers markets where they can develop the communication skills needed to be successful players in the local/organic food movement and eventually start farms of their own. In addition to this, I am in the process of starting my own organic home garden business. From preserving food to beekeeping in the urban core, I like to consider myself a novice urban homesteader. While I still get tinges of wanderlust, I am excited to be setting down roots (both figuratively and literally) with my husband in the Midwest.