In the height of Covid-19, people all over the country used the lockdown as an opportunity to test new hobbies. Some took up crocheting or crossword puzzles; some hiked the great outdoors or started an at-home workout; and still others picked up an instrument, a book, or a journal.
But where so many of us abandoned our crocheting projects, left novels unfinished and resorted to Netflix, OVS alum Evan A. Graham Arango stuck to his gardening, and in doing so, created a new life for himself.
“I accidentally became a farmer,” he says. “It never even crossed my mind… I mean, who thinks that’s even a thing you can do nowadays?”
Prior to the pandemic, Mr. Graham Arango attended grad school at UCLA and would drive back to his hometown of Ojai for the weekends. Without any ambitious plan in mind, he built and tended a garden, beginning to share the fruits of his labor with family, friends and neighbors.
Then, Covid hit and school was taught remotely, forcing Mr. Graham Arango into isolation. Before long, his passion for farming soared to new heights, as did his plants.
“I realized that I was actually growing so much… and doing it in such an organized way that I was starting to have problems – like what do I do with this food?” Mr. Graham Arango said. “I knew I either had to scale back the garden or find a way of starting to sell this stuff.”
Ojai Roots became official as a farm and brand, achieving unprecedented success in the valley.
“Our work is aimed at creating an innovative regenerative food system that addresses many of the environmental, social, and public health problems present in traditional food production and distribution,” the company’s mission statement reads.
Specifically, Mr. Graham Arango implements sustainable practices, avoiding pesticide usage, cutting down water usage, and minimizing space for planting.
Several local restaurants, inspired by the Ojai Roots approach to farming, now receive their produce from Mr. Graham Arango. These include The Dutchess, Rory’s Place, Monte Grappa, The Nest and Nocciola, as well as a selection in Santa Barbara.
Ojai Roots also joined the Ojai Farmers Market, and started both a box delivery service and online orders. Furthermore, it very recently became involved with the cafeteria service here at OVS.
Mr. Graham Arango’s family is deeply rooted in the school.
His mother, Lucila Arango, was born and raised in Mexico until the age of 14, when she left to attend boarding school in the US and ended up at the Ojai Valley School. Ms. Arango spent her full high school career here, later joined the school’s Board of Trustees, and sent her two sons, including Evan, to the school also.
While Mr. Graham Arango’s farm became involved with OVS just this school year, organic and local produce is no new feat for our cafeteria service.
“I always want to support the local economy as much as possible, whether it be produce or whatever,” says Gina Fontana, the school’s director of food service.
“The nice thing with the way we run our Food Service Program here at Ojai Valley School is that it’s an independent… program,” Mrs. Fontana added. “We’re not in conjunction with a big company like [other private schools in the area], so I have the ability to be really flexible.”
If, for example, Mr. Graham Arango has a large crop of spinach that isn’t popular with his customers, Mrs. Fontana can accept it without hesitation. She is easily able to adapt the lunch menu, and in doing so, saves fresh produce from going to waste.
So far, in the month or so that school has been in session, Ojai Roots has provided Mrs. Fontana and her team with zucchinis, avocados, tomatoes, basil, kale, Swiss chard, lemons and more.
“It’s from our soil, it’s local, and it’s healthy,” she declares.
In addition to providing OVS with produce, Mr. Graham Arango may become involved on the academic side with the students themselves.
“We have discussed (and hope to move forward with) a program for Upper School students around regenerative agriculture, though that is in the brainstorming phase,” Lars Kuelling, OVS Head of School, shared over email.
As an alum, Mr. Graham Arango speaks to the influence the Ojai Valley School has had on him.
While he jokes that, being a rigorous college-prep school, OVS did not drive him into agriculture, he does see a correlation between the school’s values and his own.
“Being outdoorsy and adventurous, and learning about nature – those are huge values of OVS,” he says.
Even before his high school career, Mr. Graham Arango recalls his interest in the outdoors, and his love for camping. If anything, the Ojai Valley School served to deepen this appreciation.
But most of all, Mr. Graham Arango believes he has been influenced by the landscape of the valley itself.
“Growing up in Ojai – being around beautiful citrus orchards all the time – I think definitely had an impact on me,” he reflects.
Perhaps Mr. Graham Arango’s transition to farming was never as accidental as he considers it to be; but rather, a manifestation of his education, original interest in agriculture, and a childhood spent in a rural environment, surrounded by beauty.
A worldwide pandemic simply gave Mr. Graham Arango the space to explore a part of himself that had already existed. Given the right conditions, that seed inside of him was able to sprout and grow to its full potential.
“My love for nature… is the reason I do this every day,” he says.
