Amira Karaoud is a photojournalist and audio-producer based in Louisville, KY. Karaoud is passionate about telling stories of tight-knit communities who thrive on finding their own authenticities and creating connections around their subculture.
She shares her photo story “Connecting Lands” with our As We Re/Gather project, an excerpt from her larger digital storytelling project “Healing Lands” that explores the potential of food system transformation through the lens of communities in Louisville, KY, who are reimagining and reinventing food security during the coronavirus pandemic.
“Food is powerful. It brings us together, shapes our memories, and empowers our communities, Karaoud shares. “With the pandemic many communities experienced food crises, availability as well as access. Wide range of actions took place and many existing ones became of a major importance. Community gardens and local farms became a space for communities to come together not only to share food but also to share knowledge of how to grow it and led them to connect, trust each other and openly share their thoughts and ideas.”
Check out the full series of stories here, including a feature on 5th Element Farms, started by Marial Gardner and Michael George in early 2020 just before COVID; Ti’Dal’s Backyard, the story of an abandoned lot transformed into a thriving community garden; urban garden space Ag in the City, built by community residents with medicinal herbs and flowers, berries, vegetables, compost and even 5 pigs; and more.