How agrohoods are helping families practise farming and live closer to nature

Josie, three, (left) and Fae Padron, four, play house in a ‘kid pod’ in Agritopia, where a cluster of families with more than 20 kids between them live, near a plot of agricultural land. — Photos: ANNIKA HAMMERSCHLAG/AP

Just steps from the porticos, patios, clay-tiled roofs and manicured lawns of suburbia, Kelly Saxer has gotten used to questions.

As she weaves through tomato vines, snaps asparagus and generally gets her hands dirty, visitors and even some nearby residents want to know what she’s doing – and how the farm where she works wound up here.