Jennifer Gammons-Mujica
Jennifer Gammons-Mujica was awarded the HerStory Award at the National HerStory Award Ceremony of the Global Women's Peace Network on March 26, 2022, for her exemplary commitment to empowering others in sustainable gardening and bringing healing and wellness through living in harmony with nature based on her journey of overcoming unimaginable challenges.
It’s quite a story about how a country girl from midwestern Ohio became a city farmer in the big valley of “Sin City” Las Vegas, Nevada. Imagine moving from prior homes in Ohio and Georgia, beautiful small towns on the edge of rural green farm land, to a home in suburban Vegas. Looking out my window at a brick wall and my view is a tiny 25 feet by 50 feet empty, barren dirt yard. Can you imagine that for a moment? From the rolling farmlands of Ohio and Georgia to an empty dirt yard surrounded by brick walls with houses bordering us on all sides – so close I could open a window and be face to face with my neighbor.
All I wanted was to grow some carrots and tomatoes, so my baby girls could see how seeds grow into food. Then we could eat something delicious and fresh from the garden. Best of all, my husband loves to cook! So, we built two raised garden beds in that empty yard, along with 2 fruit trees, 2 almond trees, herbs, native shrubs and a rose garden.
I was determined to make my yard an oasis. I took every desert gardening class I could find. I sought out the most experienced master gardeners and experts to learn about desert gardening. After a year I had learned a valuable skill. I could grow food in the Vegas Valley Mojave desert!
When I used my garden to recover from brain surgery to clip an unruptured (thanks be to God) brain aneurysm, I knew there was a miracle in that garden that had to be shared. It didn’t only feed people – it healed. A natural born teacher, I showed my best friend and neighbors how to grow food, which led to classes for the community and garden based education in local schools in Las Vegas. I am also a Certified Agriscaping Educator helping homeowners plant elegant and edible landscapes.
One of my greatest joys is to help people get a little taste of what it’s like to grow and eat food fresh from a farm. I teach folks how to grow their own food. Gardens offer so many gifts – joy, family time, beauty of nature and of course, great food shared with friends and family!
I’m dedicated to strengthening local food security, fostering Earth stewardship through gardening and regenerative farming and most of all, bringing the joy of gardening to people of all ages.
Jennifer has been a professional freelance writer for over 20 years as well as a fundraiser and former grant writer. She began her career in Writing as a fundraiser to support organizations that assist youth in “at risk” situations, first in the Navajo Nation community as a Mercy Corps volunteer and then in Las Vegas, where she and her husband, Gorge, have raised their two daughters, Sophia and Juliana. In 2016 Jennifer began teaching gardening and nutrition to children in Title 1 schools. She founded Living Well Organic (currently Farmer Jen Organics) in 2013 to educate how toxin free earthbound living supports optimal health and fresh food can be homegrown even in the barren desert!
