Jette Mandl-Abramson holds a mason jar of cured saffron. Photo by Spencer Robb/CNSSpencer Robb is a reporter with Community News Service, part of the University of Vermont’s Reporting & Documentary Storytelling program.NEWBURY — Eager to start a farm and spread their values, a local couple searched long and hard for inspiration. They finally found it by growing the most expensive spice in the world: saffron.Used in a wide variety of cuisines, saffron is known for its vibrant red-gold color and distinct flavor. It takes a lot of time and effort to grow, which makes it perfect for a small farm.Tucked away in the woods near Wells River lies a quaint house filled with light, plants and art. It backs up to a two-acre field: Calabash Gardens.That is where couple Claudel “Zaka” Chery and Jette Mandl-Abramson have been cultivating saffron since 2018.The farm takes its name from a tree that Chery said has a history of promoting sharing and exchange.“It’s where troubadours sat to tell stories in the village to bring people together around culture and stories and food,” Chery said. “That’s part of the idea behind the name.”Chery is known by his childhood nickname, Zaka, the name of the patron spirit of farming in Haitian religion.He’s originally from Haiti, where he descended from a long line of farmers. Chery moved to Newbury in 2011 shortly after devastating earthquakes shook his home nation.A filmmaker, writer and the first in his family to attend college, Chery has always felt a responsibility to represent farmers in an intellectual and artistic sense.“I was always really proud to represent peasants and farmers, people that work with their hands and the dirt,” he said.In 2016, he met Mandl-Abramson, his future wife, who lived across the border in New Hampshire.Mandl-Abramson has a background in small-farm growing and herbalism. She felt strongly about pursuing agriculture in a traditional way.Then, the couple saw an article describing saffron cultivation in Vermont by University of Vermont researchers Margaret Skinner and Arash Ghalehgolabbehbahani.They knew they had found their future — one that combined Mandl-Abramson’s dream of farming with Chery’s intellectual drive.“I wanted something that was going to keep me on my toes, that would keep me engaged intellectually,” Chery said, “where I have to research, and I have to explore a field.”They decided to buy their property and invest in 2,000 saffron plants, starting with a test plot in the summer of 2018.The first two years of their experiment were extremely successful, and they decided to officially open Calabash Gardens in 2020. With this move to production, they now had around 120,000 plants growing.Flash-forward to November 2024: Chery and Mandl-Abramson had just finished up their season and are continuing to learn saffron’s growing processes.Saffron farming in Vermont is experimental, in part because its life cycle is the opposite of most plants.Saffron is surprisingly resistant to cold and prefers a thick snow cover during the winter. The crop begins its reproductive process in late February before going dormant for the summer.In the beginning of October, the plants begin to sprout and then flower. They continue to produce more sparsely into November.Throughout the fall, when the flowers are blooming, Chery and Mandl-Abramson said they collect thousands of blossoms for processing. The picking and processing of the crop is long and laborious, which is why the spice is so expensive.Three thin, red tendrils are embedded in each flower — stigmas, as they’re called in botany, where the usable spice is found.Once the stigmas are harvested from the flowers, they get dehydrated and put into a large jar to cure. The curing process deepens the flavor and scent of the spice and prepares it to be cooked and sold.Every stage of the process includes regenerative agriculture methods, Mandl-Abramson said, such as sequestering carbon and building biodiversity on the property and in the soil.Mandl-Abramson hopes to implement a full cycle of cover cropping that would reseed itself, filled with herbs to use in apothecary work. With its life cycle, saffron could be the perfect crop to do this.There is one major issue standing in the way: weeds. Because of the rich and biodiverse natural soils in Vermont, the weeds on the couple’s farm grow fast and spread quickly.For now, the couple mitigates that with landscape fabric during off-season. Once they are able to reduce the weeds enough, Mandl-Abramson said she will be able to implement her goal of a self-sustaining cover crop cycle.Business outside of the growing season is just as exciting: The couple sells products such as saffron- infused honey, tinctures and maple syrup.They also host “Calabash Experiences,” farm-to-table dinner parties that take place on their farm. In the past, they have invited guest chefs to prepare elaborate saffron-forward meals at a flat rate per person.In the next season of events, which typically run from August to October, they hope to expand and make them more accessible by including hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar in lieu of a set, all-inclusive price.Chery and Mandl-Abramson’s work extends beyond the fields. They want to establish a space for what they call radical love and hospitality.“We try to be a very inclusive and welcoming space for people who can come and need respite or want to just be on the land and get their hands dirty,” Mandl-Abramson said.About half of the shares of the farm are owned by family and friends who assist them, and 39% are owned by people of color.“This is not just us trying to grow gold in the mountains of Vermont, but it’s also trying to build pathways where it could be shared around,” Chery said.Read the story on VTDigger here: Newbury saffron farm sustains vision of experimentation.