The deep tones of a bell sound so crisp and clean.
But their beautiful sounds belie a messy, labor-intensive process that goes into making the massive tones. Even today, the art of bellfounding takes old, worn-down bells and melting them down, so that the metal is reborn.
Nekoma Burcham and Alena Jones love that imagery. In their revolutionary new program, they hope to take that approach with at-risk young women who have served time in jail or prison.
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“Bellfounding is not about having a perfect, pristine raw material. You take what you have, and do with it what you need. It’s not about fixing or mending, it’s more about retooling. And it’s about creating something beautiful,” Burcham said. “That’s what we’re trying to do. We’re taking a population that is often seen as a problem, and they get to be a part of a solution.”
Burcham and Jones — both with Johnson County connections — have developed a unique approach that they hope will help women involved in the criminal justice system rebuild their lives and escape poverty. They have founded Bellfound Farm, a 17-acre residential urban farm on the southside of Indianapolis, where women who volunteer for the project will be housed while they grow fruits, vegetables and other produce.
At the same time, participants will have access to counseling, health services and other vital supports that will help them find stability and success moving forward.
“We know that 98 percent of women in the criminal justice system have experienced trauma prior to incarceration, and the number one reason women re-offend is lack of safe housing and lack of stable employment,” said Burcham, a Center Grove area resident. “Having a safe place to live and their basic needs met allows the women to switch the focus from survival to starting to imagine a future.”
Standing in an open field on the southside of Indianapolis, Jones and Burcham share a vision as expansive as the property itself.
The fields itself, nestled between neighborhoods, will grow more than 50 varieties of fruits, flowers and vegetables. An orchard and you-pick berry patch will be set aside, and eventually, beehives will produce honey while chickens provide fresh eggs.
Existing houses on the property are currently being renovated and turned into living spaces for women taking part in the program.
“We’d bring them to the farm, and provide them with all of the supports they need to be successful. Their basic needs would be met — housing, food, mental health care,” said Jones, who grew up in Franklin. “Then through the farm, we’d grow produce that we’d both sell and donate.”
Bellfound Farm is intended for at-risk women ages 18 to 24, who have been involved in the criminal justice system.
They can live on the farm for up to two years, where they’ll receive mental health counseling, coaching and skill development. Bellfound’s partner organizations, such as will work with participants off-site to provide additional life skills training.
“There are thousands of collateral consequences of incarceration, and most of them are employment-related,” Jones said. “We know that employment is the No. 1 predictor of whether or not you successfully re-enter society, and there are so many barriers to employment if you have a record.”
Even after they no longer live on the farm, the women will continue to receive support from Bellfound coaches for up to five years as they earn additional education, establish a career and find long-term housing.
“We’ve had entire communities that have been gutted by unemployment, by crime, by the opioid epidemic,” Burcham said. “If you don’t have a safe landing space when you get out, if you don’t have a family who can support you, because they’re struggling with the same things you are, then we get to be that support for participants.”
The program has been made possible with funding from the Women’s Fund of Central Indiana, a fund through the Central Indiana Community Foundation focused on creating options and opportunities for women and girls in the region.
Fund organizers put together the NEXT Fellowship Prize, a nationwide competition for comprehensive solutions to help emerging adult women move from poverty to a lifetime of sustainability.
Bellfound Farm fit perfectly into that mission, said Julie Koegel, grants officer for Women’s Fund of Central Indiana.
“One of the things we found when we did our research is that there are a lot of programs for girls up through high school, and a lot of programs for adult women. That 18-to-24-year-old population is a unique group of young ladies,” she said. “There is very little programming that is specific to that bracket.”
Jones and Burcham were both students at IUPUI in the sustainable management and policy program in 2015. As part of their graduation requirement, they needed an internship, and applying for the Women’s Fund with a project would count, Burcham said.
“It was a pretty small degree program, so Alena and I had done a few different classes together. I knew she was brilliant and like-minded, so I asked if she’d want to help,” she said.
Jones had been involved in teaching, community organizing and farming in the past, so the idea for an urban farm fit into all that she was doing.
Women’s Fund organizers chose their project, committing years of financial support to develop the idea, purchase property and develop it to meet the program. In addition, they offered mentorship, coaching and guidance from local leaders who had established similar nonprofits in the past.
“We really wanted to wrap around our fellows with all of the services and assistance they needed, just as they’re expected to provide wrap-around services for the clients they’ll be serving,” Koegel said. “So that meant, if they needed to learn more about a particular topic, we could reach out to people that Women’s Fund had connected with in the community.”
Participation in the program will be entirely voluntary, and those taking part can come from any part of the state. Burcham and Jones are working with organizations such as the Marion County Jail behavior health department and Marion County Diversion Program for referrals.
“We’re really working to make contacts with every point in the criminal justice system so that we can find people from a multitude of places,” Jones said. “No one is mandated here, they’re choosing to be here freely and they can leave at any time. Our job is provide the supports that make them want to stay.”
The first five women will move to Bellfound Farm in September. Burcham and Jones plan to grow the program incrementally, slowly adding more participants and expanding cultivation of the fields.
This initial year of the farm will be about planting cover crops, preparing the soil for growing in 2019. The goal is to have the farm back into production in three years.
To go along with the farm, a storefront on the property is being renovated to sell the produce the participants grow. Organizers envision a community-supported agriculture system, where people subscribe to get a portion of fruits and vegetables every week.
Offices and a demonstration kitchen will also be featured in the storefront. All of that work is made possible with an additional $250,000 grant from the Women’s Fund.
“As they’re working on the farm in that small business context, they learn both soft skills and technical careers that they’d use in other avenues,” Jones said. “Our goal is not necessarily to make women farmers. If some of them want to be farmers, that’s great, but they also might decide to do something else. Our coaches will be here for them.”
After years of planning and cultivating, Burcham and Jones can see the first shoots of their idea starting to emerge. They are confident that in the coming months and years, Bellfound Farm will truly blossom.
“We’re so ready,” Burcham said. “Every phase along the way, there’s been a little bit of surrealism to it as we go. When we were awarded the fellowship, when we closed on the property, even little things like the first partnerships, we couldn’t even put it into words.”
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What: An Indianapolis-based organization using urban farming, in addition to mental wellness support, to equip young women coming out of the criminal justice system to achieve a lifetime of economic security.
Where: Southside Indianapolis
Who: Co-founded by Nekoma Burcham, a Center Grove resident, and Alena Jones, who grew up in Franklin.
Who does it serve?: The Bellfound Farm program is for women ages 18 to 24 who are coming out of jail and want to work to better their lives.
How does it work: Participants volunteer for the program, and will be housed and work on the farm. They can stay for up to two years, while receiving support in areas such as job training and mental health. Crops grown on the farm will be sold on a roadside storefront.
When will it open?: Organizers are hoping to accept the first five participants in September.
How is it funded?: The program is being funded through the Women’s Fund of Central Indiana, part of the Central Indiana Community Foundation.
How to help: Donations and more information can be found at sites.google.com/view/bellfound/home
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