Growing Opportunities

Darius Nupolu ’20 MSL uses his passion, agricultural experience, and land provided by Feed Iowa First to grow African crops, making them more accessible to the Cedar Rapids community.

Most mornings you can find Darius and his wife, Wealee, farming on their acre of land on Dows Farm. Their farming practices are organic and done traditionally by hand. You might see them examining crops and picking off harmful insects, or pulling up ever-persistent weeds—one at a time.

The work they do each morning on their farm is meticulous, but their day isn’t even half-way done. At 1:00 PM they put down their tools and leave to get ready for their full-time jobs.

Working full-time while maintaining the farm is difficult, but agriculture is Darius’ passion and he will do anything to pursue it.

Darius grew up in a small village in Liberia where the only source of income was farming. He learned a lot about agriculture through his parents’ and other villagers’ farms, and gained an appreciation for the traditional practice of farming by hand. Taking the next step in following his passion, he attended the University of Liberia and graduated in 2011 with a degree in agriculture.

Darius moved to the United States and chose to live in Iowa so he could pursue agriculture. In addition to wanting to farm, Darius knew he wanted to continue his education.

“I wanted to improve myself while I’m here,” Darius shared. “I didn’t only want to work in this country; I wanted to go to school to learn.”

"I wanted to improve myself while I’m here. I didn’t only want to work in this country; I wanted to go to school to learn.”
– Darius Nupolu '20 MSL

He was drawn to Mount Mercy’s Master of Strategic Leadership Program.

“The thing that prompted me to pursue leadership is that every sector needs a leader,” said Darius.

Darius was pleased with the classes and community he found at Mount Mercy.

“One thing I saw in Mount Mercy that really encouraged me to stay was the relationships with students and my instructors,” said Darius. “This is a diversified culture; you see people from all over the world. But when teachers get in class, they don’t care where you are from,” Darius shared. “They treat everybody the same—with respect.”

While talking about the importance of a strategic plan in his Critical Thinking course, an idea started to form. Darius asked himself how he could use his time in the United States to help people in Liberia, and he created a business plan with his answer.

He started Future Farmers of Liberia for the Empowerment of Women. The organization provides single mothers with low-interest micro loans that allow them to grow their own food to feed their children and sell to others.

The program currently helps 75 single mothers, and its goal is to help 100 women by the end of the year.

Darius was still looking for ways to achieve his dream of having a farm and growing his own crops. That’s when his friend told him about Feed Iowa First, an organization that grows vegetables for food banks.

After he started working with Feed Iowa First as a volunteer, Darius learned about its new Equitable Land Access (ELA) program, which connects landless individuals with a background in agriculture to fertile land in the area. Darius applied and received one acre of land in 2021.

Excited to be able to put his agricultural experience to use, Darius already knew what he wanted to grow.

In 2017—when he arrived in Cedar Rapids—he conducted a feasibility study to learn what African people in Cedar Rapids love to buy or eat, and where they purchase these foods.

His study helped him discover that many people were driving from Cedar Rapids to Minnesota to buy African crops.

“I told my wife, ‘I think we can venture into this and see what the outcome is.’ When Feed Iowa First gave us the acre, we thought, ‘Ok, it’s time for us to grow African vegetables.’”

Darius and his wife started growing their crops and providing them to people in and around Cedar Rapids.

While they sell many of their vegetables, it is also important to them to share some of the crops at no cost.

“We do not waste the food; we share it with those who need it,” said Darius. “Our aim is to get more farm land, make a farm, and share with people because not everyone is able to make a farm.”

Darius hopes to work and retire within the agricultural field. He wants to continue farming African vegetables–growing and giving back to the Cedar Rapids community.