By Porter Mitchell
Porter Mitchell is the Farmer Services Coordinator at Georgia Organics.
To celebrate Valentine’s Day, we’d like to spotlight farmer couple Zel Taylor and Jupe Javeta of Down by the River Farm & Art Collective in Albany.
Down by the River was born on family land in Spring of 2021. Zel, an Afro-Indigenous queer, nonbinary farmer and artist, and Jupe, a Black, nonbinary farmer, builder, and storyteller wanted to provide fresh food to the community and create a space of peace, healing, and reconciliation for Black Americans’ relationship to the land and to celebrate Black connection to the earth.
Forced off the original site by queerphobia, Zel and Jupe reestablished Down by the River in a new location.
Below is a short Q&A with the couple. Responses were edited for clarity and brevity.
How did Down by the River get its name?
We’re located in Albany, near the Flint River. The river is the center of how we move, and the water is a source of life. We wanted to honor that and also acknowledge the Black tradition of the river being a place of healing, cleansing, and of freedom.
What is it like running a farm and art collective as a couple?
We’re different and we balance each other. Juke is slower, more deliberate, Zel is a go-getter. Sometimes one of us is more focused on the details and one of us is more big picture. We meet in the middle. We work really well together.
What is one of your favorite memories farming together?
One day we were planting a half-acre of collards and we were so tired we laid down in the rows. We kept planting while we were laying there in the field!
If you could send a Valentine to each other, what would it say?
“You have everything you need.”
Learn more about Zel, Jupe, and Down by the River Farm and Art Collective by following them on Instagram at @downbytheriverswga