5th District Mini Farm, location of Richmond's Happily Natural Festival

Duron Chavis and the Happily Natural Festival, located in Richmond, Virginia, provide a variety of important resources and initiatives that foster solidarity and expand food access to urban populations. Since 2003, this organization has produced a wide array of community events that promote confidence in Black identity and encourage healthy practices based on organic food systems. Aggregating and promoting intellectuals, performers, and vendors, this festival has hosted notable figures such as Samuel Taylor, Umar Abdullah Johnson, and Erykah Badu. As the most notable and well-publicized event explicitly celebrating Black resistance in Central Virginia, this festival and its initiatives play a key role in furthering social justice efforts in the context of Richmond's history of segregation and discrimination. Although the festival itself only occurs once a year, its efforts have generated a variety of community centers, gardens, and public spaces readily available to all those that seek its valuable resources.

In the complex media landscape of the 21st century, the Happily Natural Festival offers a wonderful opportunity to combat negative stereotypes by celebrating African American identity. Founded by Duron Chavis in Richmond, Virginia, the annual festival hosts a wide array of Black vendors, intellectuals, and performers who emphasize solidarity in African identity by celebrating beauty and promoting holistic health initiatives. As the festival grows, increasing support allows the organization to expand its efforts into various social justice fields. The organizers' work creates organic farmers' markets that provide fresh, healthy ingredients for attendees, community initiatives tackling food insecurity, and uplifting performances that encourage self-confidence. These institutions educate and provide for marginalized populations within Central Virginia, furthering the Festival’s mission to create an uplifting and supportive community that’s able to provide food for its members. Thanks to these developments, the festival now serves as a staple for African American unity within Virginia’s capital city.

As a former museum coordinator at the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia, Duron Chavis understood the importance of fostering solidarity within his community. For this reason, he produced the first Happily Natural Festival in the museum’s multipurpose room in 2003, addressing harmful narratives regarding natural Black hair. The speakers of this first event included inspiring talks from prominent African American leaders, business owners, and intellectuals, such as Queen Quet of the Gullah Geechie Nation and Pam Muhammad of Ancient Techniques Natural Haircare. Garnering impressive numbers for its humble beginnings, the festival increased tenfold the following year. 

The Resiliency Gardens

As Chavis advanced his involvement in the festival, his efforts to tackle food access increased. Many urban centers face difficulty accessing organic, farm-raised ingredients. In response, Chavis and his colleagues produced pop-up farmers' markets, community gardens, nutritional education programs, and indoor urban agriculture spaces. In his own words regarding his mission, Chavis states: “We want to localize where we get food from, support farmers and a community green space, and create a space for that type of connection.”^[1] These activities not only provide food and farming space for inner city residents, but they also allow Chavis to conduct research on economic sustainability. Because many low-income African American families in Central Virginia face food insecurity due to ongoing systemic oppression and generational wealth disparities, these initiatives serve as necessary additions to the festival’s mission by creating both accessible food systems and increased knowledge regarding urban agriculture. 

To adapt to the changing nature of food insecurity, Chavis and his supporters need to be ready for anything, especially an event like a global pandemic. As grocery costs soared amidst social distancing policies during COVID-19, Chavis created the Resiliency Garden Initiative along with Beautiful RVA to ensure pandemic measures wouldn’t worsen racial injustice by negatively impacting underfunded communities. The Initiative provides a 6x4' raised bed to individuals lacking space or funds to grow fresh produce. Each costs around $100, but is constructed free of charge by a dedicated team of volunteers. In addition, seeds, gardening equipment, and guidance are provided to ensure individuals succeed in their efforts. Furthermore, the Initiative created two public community gardens in Northern and Southern Richmond with an acre of space each. In the first few months, the project raised around $20,000 from donations provided by 400 people. As of today, over 300 beds have been raised, allowing countless people in the greater Richmond region access to their own organic produce at virtually no cost.

Resiliency and Food Security

In unprecedented events such as the Coronavirus epidemic, resiliency gardens offer an effective solution to combating both social and economic hardships. In communities across the globe, local gardens consistently improve diet quality along with strengthening social bonds. For instance, in a study of Oregon communal gardens, participants reported feeling more self-sufficient and connected to their larger communities. Furthermore, these gardens can encourage nutritional sovereignty during times of international crisis that may affect global food systems. Nutritional sovereignty, the ability to maintain one’s own sustenance needs independently, is important when established systems fail to adequately provide. This has been exemplified in Cuba following the 1989 U.S. blockade, where household gardens now provide an abundance of food despite constraints on the country's imports. For all these reasons, the Resiliency Gardens in Richmond have served as a vital response to the monetary and social pressures incurred during the Coronavirus pandemic. 

In summary, the Happily Natural Festival, Resiliency Garden Initiative, and adjacent endeavors serve as potent methods to combat social injustice and food insecurity within the greater Virginia region. These efforts foster solidarity, pride, and identity in the face of adversity, and they empower thousands, ensuring their communities will persist no matter the circumstances. By providing a space for Black identity and common purpose to flourish while also encouraging self-sufficient food production, enterprises that grew out of the Happily Natural Festival continue to be a positive force in the greater Richmond area.

Brown, Nancy. “Building Disaster Resilience: Why Community Gardens Improve Community Resilience.” PhD diss., California State University, Long Beach. 2015. Accessed March 19, 2023. https://www.proquest.com/docview/1651622084.

“The Happily Natural Day.” Happily Natural. Accessed March 19, 2023. https://thenaturalfestival.com/.

Hilbert, Hunter, and Katie Trozzo. “Resiliency Gardens Taking Root,” June 22, 2020. https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/handle/10919/112334.

Kuack, David. “Duron Chavis Is Helping People Eat and Live Healthier through Urban Agriculture.” Urban Ag News (blog), October 23, 2017. https://urbanagnews.com/blog/exclusives/helping-people-eat-and-live-healthier-through-urban-agriculture/.

^[1] Mellon, Eileen. “Rooted in Nature.” richmondmagazine.com, August 14, 2018. https://richmondmagazine.com/api/content/5ba077e4-9fc8-11e8-8bbf-12408cbff2b0/.

“Press Clippings.” Happily Natural (blog). Accessed March 19, 2023. https://thenaturalfestival.com/press-clippings/.

‘Resiliency Gardens’ Help Community Grow Food during COVID-19 Crisis, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0kSm1yhrQ0.