Batula Ismail's Farm

Batula Ismail

Asli Hassan, daughter of Batula.

Mohamed Hassan

Omar Hassan, son of Batula.

Batula Ismail is an advanced farmer at

Cultivating Community. She began farming at the Packard-Littlefield Farm in 2006.

Batula is a single mother of nine children.

She was born and raised in the Jubba River Valley of Somalia. She faced the atrocities of the civil war in her native country in 1991, and fled to a refugee camp in Kenya. After spending some time in Baltimore, Batula and her family moved to Lewiston.

Batula’s family works very hard to support themselves. On Saturdays Batula goes to the Kennebunk Farmers’ Market. She travels to the Damariscotta Farmers’ Market on Fridays. She also participates in the Lewiston Farmers’ Market. She has twenty-two CSA accounts.

She and two other farmers share a wholesale

account with Florence House that is managed

by the Preble Street Resource Center.

Batula never stops working. She is at the farm almost every day. She also helps babysit for five additional children. Her family is supportive of her work and Batula shared that they are good helpers. Two of her sons are now attending college. The family preserves and freezes a great deal of the food that they grow to help with meals during the winter months.

Batula is interested in acquiring more CSA and wholesale accounts in the Kennebunk, Portland, Damariscotta, or Lewiston areas. Anyone interested in purchasing a CSA with Batula in the Lewiston, South Portland, Falmouth, or Bath area can contact the Cultivating Community Office at: 207-761-GROW