Produce Farm since 1974
Pima American Indian Tepary Beans and Foods
Not verified by Bhumi. This farm's practices have not been independently verified. Product claims are based on publicly available information and have not been confirmed.
My father, Francisco ‘Chiigo’ Smith, an O’dham farmer, grew many traditional crops on my mother Margaret’s ten acre allotment located near Sacaton, on the Gila River Indian Reservation in Arizona. My mother was an herbalist and traditional healer. My father grew corn, chiles, tepary beans, various types of squash, gourds, Pima wheat, melons and sugar cane. Together, they taught me the value of our traditional foods to our daily nutrition and way of life. My husband Terry and I began farming on that very same allotment in 1974. Our first crops were barley and alfalfa. After expanding a few years later, by leasing land from my relatives and other community members, we added cotton, corn and wheat. In the late 1970’s, some community elders asked us to grow the Bafv (tepary bean), which had nearly become extinct due to the lack of water that put many of the local subsistence farmers out of business. We discovered that my father had left a few seeds of the white and brown tepary beans in glass jars in a trunk in the old adobe house that I grew up in. It became clear to us, especially with the urging of our community elders, that it was to become our mission to ‘bring the bafv back’ to the community. We were able to get started with those few seeds of each color and learned how to produce the beans on a small scale. Once we perfected our production techniques, we were able to develop our bean project into a larger enterprise and now market our beans in the local community and surrounding areas, in different colors and package sizes. We also offer other wholesome American Indian grown traditional, heirloom and non-traditional food products. Welcome to Ramona Farms!Ramona Button teparybeans Speechless @chefdavidb_ Posted @withregram • @chef Delicious! Posted @withregram • @alalcafe A few w..this makes us so happy! @bluewatermelonproject Such great work for our children's futures! Poste Such incredible work! Thank you for tag! Posted @Pretty creative @pieruleseverythingaroundme Post Just beautiful @owamni Posted @withrepost • @owam Last day today! Stop by and see us! Posted @withr Happening now! Posted @withrepost • @pueblograndem Flagstaff shoppers. @flagcsa Flagstaff Csa just ha Load More... Follow on Instagram
Ramona's father, Francisco 'Chiigo' Smith, an O'dham farmer, grew traditional crops on their ten-acre allotment. In 1974, Ramona and her husband Terry began farming on the same land, initially growing barley and alfalfa. Their mission evolved to 'bring the bafv back' (tepary bean) after community elders urged them to revive the nearly extinct crop, using seeds left by her father to develop a larger enterprise for these traditional foods and other heirloom products. Ramona Farms was founded in 1974 by Ramona and Terry Button on the Gila River Indian Reservation in Arizona, continuing a family farming legacy. They started with barley and alfalfa, later expanding to cotton, corn, and wheat. Their mission became to revive the nearly extinct Bafv (tepary bean) after discovering seeds left by Ramona's father, developing a successful enterprise to market these traditional beans and other American Indian food products. Ramona's father, Francisco 'Chiigo' Smith, an O'dham farmer, grew many traditional crops on her mother Margaret's ten-acre allotment near Sacaton, on the Gila River Indian Reservation in Arizona. Ramona and her husband Terry began farming on that same allotment in 1974. Their mission became to 'bring the bafv back' (tepary bean) to the community after elders asked them to grow the nearly extinct crop, using seeds left by her father to develop a larger enterprise for these traditional beans and other wholesome American Indian food products. Ramona's father, Francisco 'Chiigo' Smith, an O'dham farmer, grew many traditional crops on her mother Margaret's ten-acre allotment near Sacaton, on the Gila River Indian Reservation in Arizona. Ramona and her husband Terry began farming on that same allotment in 1974. Their mission became to 'bring the bafv back' (tepary bean) to the community after elders asked them to grow the nearly extinct crop, using seeds left by her father to develop a larger enterprise for these traditional beans and other wholesome American India
Meet Ramona Button
Farm Owner · Since 1974
Bulk & Shares
CSA share
Loading reviews...
| monday | 9 AM – 5 PM |
| tuesday | Closed |
| wednesday | Closed |
| thursday | Closed |
| friday | 9 AM – 5 PM |
| saturday | Closed |
| sunday | Closed |
