Heidi Ratanavanich invited their mom, Mae Sue, and aunties Na Na, Na Urm, and Na Toy from Thailand and Chicago to cook traditional Thai foods together for their Philadelphia friends and family and to visit their traditional foods growing at our farm. We were also able to talk about the family hotdog stand, Al's Drive-In, which serves hotdogs and Thai-inspired Chinese food. We are grateful to have recorded these beautiful moments with them for this episode!
Heidi is a visual artist, carpenter, and educator. Heidi is interested in the intersection of food sovereignty, Thai/Chinese diaspora, ecology and economy. They are involved in the collectives FORTUNE and Television. Heidi apprenticed at Truelove Seeds for a season, tending to Thai and Chinese based plants with a special focus on Kra Praow (Thai Holy Basil) saved from their mom's home, Sappaya, Thailand. They were also part of a team that re-opened a small take-out corner store in West Philly called Golden Dragon. Golden Dragon will be closing its doors this month, though Heidi plans to continue their food sovereignty work and personal journey with ancestral food, including growing a Chicago-Style hotdog garden in 2023 with Zhong Shu Tomatoes, Thai white cucumbers, Chinese Celery, Sport Peppers, and more.  
SEED STORIES TOLD IN THIS EPISODE:
Introduction:
Milkweed
Efo Shoko
Callaloo 
Coral Sorghum
Couve

Heidi's Seed Stories:
Krapao (Thai Holy Basil)
Celtuce (Chinese Stem Lettuce)
Prik Chi Fa (Pepper)
Lemongrass
Makrut Lime Leaves
Moringa
Eggplant
Culantro/Recao/Foreigner Cilantro/Saw-Toothed Cilantro
Rice

MORE INFO FROM THIS EPISODE:
Goodbye Golden Dragon, on Bunny Hop Instagram
Fortune
Heidi at Truelove
Al's Drive-In
Al's on CBS News
Al's in New York Times

ABOUT:
Seeds And Their People is a radio show where we feature seed stories told by the people who truly love them. Hosted by Owen Taylor of Truelove Seeds and Chris Bolden-Newsome of Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram’s Garden.
trueloveseeds.com/blogs/satpradio
 
FIND OWEN HERE:
Truelove Seeds
Tumblr  |  Instagram  |  Twitter
 
FIND CHRIS HERE:
Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram’s Garden
 
THANKS TO:
Heidi Ratanavanich
Mae Sue
Na Na
Na Urm
Na Toy
Cecilia Sweet-Coll
Ruth Kaaserer

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