Fall 2022 ORGANIC REPORT 16 Meet the Member “Farmer Cee” (aka Clarenda Stanley), an enigmatic personality with a penchant for word play, never planned to be a farmer. A natural and poignant communicator, Cee had historically channeled her energy into marketing, fundraising, and other creative works. But in watching the graceful way she works across her 14+ acres of medicinal plants and herbs and witnessing the care with which Farmer Cee treats every living thing (even a precariously perched family of wasps), it seems almost destiny that Cee would become a farmer. Today, Farmer Cee is the CEO/President of Green Heffa Farms, a Certified B Corporation and organic farm located in northern Chatham County, North Carolina. Farmer Cee and Green Heffa Farms are committed to the best practices in organic and heritage farming, as well as Cee’s 4Es: Economic empowerment, Equity, Environment, and Education. “We’re seed to sip,” says Farmer Cee, “which means we take care of our plants from the beginning of their life until they end up in your cup. Our blends are unique, but not complicated. Not only are you getting the botanical benefits when you use our products, but you’re also supporting our values as a business. Our customers support us being good stewards through our organic practices, through our energy usage, the materials and packaging we choose, the whole package.” Growing up in Alabama’s agrarian Black Belt, Cee was surrounded by organic growing practices—although she didn’t know it at the time. Cee’s grandmother gardened while her grandfather farmed, and both employed heritage growing techniques and traditional knowledge in how they engaged with the land, plants, and the thriving ecosystem around them. “We didn’t call it organic,” says Farmer Cee, “so it took me a while to realize that some of the terminology used today is really just encapsulating practices that were already in place like on my grandparents’ farm. Once I learned about those tenets, I realized—oh yeah, that’s how we farm! Once I began to research more about organic farming, it felt like a remembrance.” Cee leaned into that history when, in 2019, she suddenly became the sole operator of Green Heffa Farms. Thrust from the business development and operations to the growing side of the farm, Cee drew on her experiences as a child and on knowledge she had built up while working in the environmental and conservation spaces. By diving in whole-heartedly and staying open to the learning process, Cee was able to transform Green Heffa Farms into a thriving organic farm that grows not only high-quality herbs and botanicals, but also equity and economic empowerment. Green Heffa Farms
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