I left my home, an 18-acre family farm in Franklin, Mississippi, for Georgia in 1969, and I moved back in 2004. The land in Franklin, where I was raised, has been in our family for over 150 years. My grandparents inherited the land from their parents.

Since my husband Mark and I returned on faith and a prayer, my life has drastically changed. Everyone in my family left the land, and I am the first to come back. I truly feel that my ancestors called me to be here. The majority of people in my community are African American and still own the land that was left to them by their parents and grandparents. Coming home, I felt/feel like I've slipped back into time. Memories of my childhood came rushing back to me when I arrived: some very pleasant, others I thought I had buried forever.

MY GRANDPARENTS' CONTRIBUTION TO FARMING
Growing up, my family really lived off the land. Our farm was over ninety percent self-sufficient, with our own water system, large fruit orchard with apples, plums and pears, and the animals needed for milk, eggs, butter, cheese and meat. My grandmother was a midwife/herbalist. She knew every wild herb on the land and its usage, and whenever someone in our community got sick, she was there to help. All of my childhood years' illnesses were treated with one of her remedies. In fact, I never saw a doctor until I fell from a tree and broke my ankle.

My grandmother worked all the time, and there was nothing she couldn't do. She would work the cotton crop with my grandfather, leave the field and go to her vegetable garden, then work her flower and herbs gardens-which were the love of her life. Every year she won first prize for them. Growing up around these plants, I appreciated their look and smells, but I was in my forties before I truly understood their healing power.

DR. GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER
Dr. George Washington Carver, my mentor, said, "Learn to do the common things uncommonly well." He reminded us that anything that helps to fill a dinner pail is valuable, and he bore down hard on the relationship between soil, fertilizer and growth.
The ground can give back only as much nourishment as there is in it, he said. And he spoke about better ways to feed the land besides using animal waste.

Sanford Lee (a former student of Dr. Carver's) remembered Dr. Carver telling him that books about chickens, orchards and flowers were fine, but if he walked among these things and looked and listened carefully, they would tell him more than was in the books, because they spoke with the Voice of God.*

Slowly, doggedly, Dr. Carver transformed the eating habits of the South. Long before the medical profession understood the value of raw fruit as a safeguard against nutritional diseases, Carver advocated that wild plums and apples be made part of the daily diet. He persuaded farmers to start a vegetable garden and demonstrated techniques of flavoring and cooking greens, beets and potatoes.

He reminded people that good food from their gardens, properly prepared, could keep the larder full all through the winter. He brought them jars for pickling and canning, showed them how vegetables spread in the sun and dehydrated would keep for months, and gave them azalea slips and pansy seeds and said, "Plant these in your doorway. A flower is God's silent messenger." And he rode on.

Dr. Carver showed this country and the world how to take care of the land without chemicals and how to prepare healthy food from their gardens. I believe if we would revisit his information and his research, we could turn our current health crisis around.

In my community, every person I interview who is sixty-five years of age and older is a great resource of valuable information on caring for the land. Just like my community, there is undoubtedly a wealth of knowledge on farming and herbal remedies in yours. Let's all embrace our ancestors' wisdom and head home, returning to a more natural way of life.

* Source: George Washington Carver: The Man Who Overcame by Lawrence Elliot

GRANDMOTHER FRANCIS' BUTTERMILK SOUTHERN BISCUITS

Ingredients:
6 cups organic wheat or white flour
2 tbs baking powder
1 tsp sea salt
1 cup buttermilk
2 tbs of butter

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl and knead the dough in bowl. Sprinkle flour on cutting board. Roll out dough with a rolling pin. Oil pan with coconut oil and bake in preheated oven 15-25 minutes. Enjoy with my grandmother's blessings!

Earcine (Cine') Evans is the owner of Francis Flowers & Herbs Farm and Cine' Handmade Hair and Skin Care Products. For more information, call 662-834-2238 or email purecine2001@hotmail.com.

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