For artist and student Ikechukwu Sharpe, it took only one visit to Ever-Growing Family Farm in Kerhonkson to know that his purpose for the foreseeable future was to document, immerse himself in, and integrate himself into the lives of the family who run the farm. Becoming Earth —an ever-growing project — will be the culmination of his findings after nearly two years of working with and learning from the family.

Sharpe is currently a student at SUNY New Paltz and a Kerhonkson resident. His thesis show for his MFA in photography is scheduled for next spring. A former Angeleno who became burned out after a fast-paced career in marketing, Sharpe decided that “slowing down and moving away from the corporate hustle” was the antidote he needed.

He chose SUNY New Paltz to pursue a degree in photography and settled in rural Kerhonkson. Around that time, he met the Journal’s former editor, John D’Amico, who introduced him to the farm through an article this reporter wrote about the family in 2023. The farm’s annual harvest was approaching, and Sharpe decided to lend a helping hand.

He remembers that first day clearly. “They showed me how to use the sickle. I was out there with them for hours. I remember crying at the end of the day because my body felt so alive.”

His calling to learn from the family has only intensified over time.

Ever-Growing Family Farm is run by Nfamara Badjie, his eldest son, Malik, and his brother, Moustapha Diedhiou. As the first commercial rice farm in the Hudson Valley, the family accomplished a feat many thought impossible, given the climate and growing conditions typically required for rice, which thrives in warm temperatures and water-rich soil.

The family is from Gambia, a West African country where their Jola tribe is known for growing rice. Badjie and Diedhiou were already skilled rice farmers when they moved to New Paltz in 2008. After deciding to settle here, they adapted their knowledge of working the land to cultivate the delicate grains on their farmland in Kerhonkson.

More Than a Farm

For Sharpe, the farm itself is only the tip of the iceberg. The connection he has formed with the family has become the driving force behind his vision. “It’s an overview of their entire lives,” Sharpe said, from seedlings and daily maintenance to the harvest and everything that happens in between.

The project also has an audio component. Sharpe has recorded sounds during his time at the farm, and this winter, he plans to interview each family member individually and record their stories.

This total immersion in the family’s lives has helped him understand which photographs from his collection are important to include in the project. He also asks the family for their opinions.

“If there are only photographs of them farming, our community will only look at them as farmers, but they’re also sons, fathers, soccer players. This project highlights their entire lives and the common thread of how that life does revolve around rice.”

Sharpe reflected on the “exploitative” nature that photography can sometimes take on when documenting a community. He emphasized the importance of immersing himself in the family’s lives to better understand their relationship with the land and how that relationship informs other aspects of their lives.

Despite this intimate portrayal of labor, Sharpe isn’t trying to romanticize it. Rather, he wants to help people understand how the land feeds them just as they feed it. The relationship is fruitful rather than exhausting.

In Sharpe’s work, the land becomes another sentient being, represented by foggy mornings, seasonal trees, and even birds that watch over the family’s work through the years.

Sharpe recalled a memory from one afternoon when he was working the land with Malik: “There was a bird that laid four eggs right next to a rice paddy. That symbolizes how special what they’re doing here is. For a mother to feel safe and comfortable enough to lay her eggs right next to that speaks on so many levels.”

There are many early mornings when Sharpe is alone at the farm, taking in the land, with the family’s palpable presence seemingly ingrained in the soil he moves through.

“If I wasn’t working with them and physically sweating, it wouldn’t be impactful at all. Feeling what they’re feeling is important. The visual language is important to know their lives,” Sharpe said.

Finding His Roots

To bring the project full circle, Sharpe is joining Diedhiou on a trip to Gambia this winter.

We spoke with Diedhiou, who described this step of the project as Sharpe “looking for his roots” and said that, in the end, “he found us.”

“When we saw him on the first day… we said, ‘He’s going to be with us.’ It’s because he wants to learn. He’s where he belongs.” The family is quick to call Sharpe “part of the family” and sees the project as mutually beneficial because he is telling their story with devotion and appreciation.

Sharpe further emphasized that his goal is not only to document the farm’s work but also to show other black community members that they don’t need to be separated from the land they live on.

“Exploitation, enslavement, red-lining, oppression, there are so many ways we’ve been temporarily disconnected from the land,” Sharpe said. “I began to tell the time due to the direction of the sun. My body began to remember these things through the ancestral wisdom that’s held within me.”

These connections also caught the attention of the Kingston Land Trust, which now sponsors the project. The KLT has also awarded microgrants to local organizations, including the farm.

Shaniqua Bowden, director of cultural engagement and sustainable living at KLT, said the organization is partly focused on “creating pathways for black people to reclaim their relationship with the land.” She added that it has been “an honor to be a part of the project.”

For now, Ever-Growing Family Farm is gearing up for its upcoming harvest, scheduled for Saturday, October 24, at 10 a.m. at 210 Upper Cherrytown Road in Kerhonkson. Anyone is welcome to volunteer and take part in the celebration.

We spoke with Malik about how the past season has gone at the farm. He said the late frost this year prevented many of the seedlings from germinating properly. “We still got rice, but it’s not like last year,” he said.

Malik also spoke about how he has seen Sharpe “tapping into” the rhythm of the work and “loving the culture and what we’re doing.”

Once the show is complete, Sharpe doesn’t see himself “packing it up.” Instead, he sees the project as continuous and truly ever-growing.

Sharpe’s thesis show at SUNY New Paltz will take place in May 2027, with an exact date to be announced. Follow his work on Instagram at @ikechukwusharpe and visit his website at ikechukwusharpe.com.