Our Founders

Luca and Christina Gasperi started ARTfarm LLC in 2009, after nine seasons operating Estate Southgate Farms. Both farms have been VIDA licensed, non-certified organic vegetable and fruit production operations, on the island of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

We specialize in high quality specialty salad greens, fresh herbs, heirloom tomatoes and cucumbers. We also grow tropical fruits and assorted specialty vegetables. We grow native plants and trees by contract for local preservation organizations. We also incorporate livestock (poultry and small ruminants) and beekeeping.

We sell our produce at our farmstand on the farm one to three times a week for limited hours, for most of the year. Value-added, locally made products from artisanal producers are also available: fresh goat cheese, focaccia, I-Sha’s vegan ice cream (made from local fruits and coconuts), and exquisite local honey and meads from the Wanda Wright Apiary, among others. We sell to chefs and caterers, too.

What’s with the ART in ARTfarm?

Luca is well known for his watercolor and acrylic paintings and his work is well collected and often exhibited locally. Christina has worked extensively in communication design as a graphic designer, illustrator and interactive designer and art director, and works in mixed media. We studied and met at Parsons School of Design in NYC. Prior to Hurricane Maria, we also displayed our own and other artists’ work in our ARTbarn Gallery, near the entrance to the farmstand. That is under the planning process for reconstruction. Other outdoor spaces for the display of art are available, too.

Can I be an ARTfarmer?

We welcome non-smoking volunteers to ARTfarm. Call us for more information. We hire one to four fantastic, enthusiastic non-smoking employees every year, who usually work somewhere between 15 to 30 hours per week for the entire season of five or six months. You need to be eligible and permitted to work in the US. We do not yet offer housing, but it’s in the works. Laughing about something every day is an essential part of our workflow. A sense of urgency while working, the ability to take direction, and passion for farming are keys to success on a small diverse production farm. If you have those qualities and can enjoy a good running joke, please inquire about working here!

The Four Laws of Ecology
by Barry Commoner, “The Closing Circle”, 1971

One: Everything is Connected to Everything Else.
There is one ecosphere for all living organisms and what affects one, affects all.
Two: Everything Must Go Somewhere.
There is no “waste” in nature and there is no “away” to which things can be thrown.
Three: Nature Knows Best.
Humankind has fashioned technology to improve upon nature, but such change in a natural system is likely to be detrimental to that system.
Four: There Is No Such Thing as a Free Lunch.
Everything comes from something.