Behind the Stand

The Durham Farmer’s Market is a visual testament to Durham’s burgeoning local and sustainable food movement; dozens of stands boast colorful produce year-round. Take a wander through on a Saturday morning and you’re bound to see dozens of eager market-goers clustered around a particular stand, nestled permanently at the far corner, marked with its signature four-leaf clover sign.

Behind the Stand explores organic local farming through the lens of this one farm – Four Leaf Farm – and the two farmers behind it, Helga and Tim MacAller. The farm, located in Rougemont, NC and founded in 1980, is a verdant cornucopia of sorts, with sustainably raised seasonal produce ranging from pea shoots and bok choy to kiwis and loofah. Helga came to farming from a childhood surrounded by farms in rural Denmark; Tim, as a botanist trained in graduate school at Duke. Together, both have created a space of growth, health, and sustenance.