Page 9 - BUZZ Magazine - Issue No. 3 - Summer 2022 | University of Rochester

allowing beds to go fallow, a
practice that restores the beds'
fertility and healthy microbes.
The couple has earned Certified
Naturally Grown farm status,
too, a recognition given by
peer farms that endorses their
commitment to conscious,
sustainable practices.
The early days
Salama grew up with a healthy
respect for her mother's
vegetable patch, helping to
harvest fresh tomatoes and
zucchini by the bushel and
distributing the excess throughout
the neighborhood.

Rainwater’s father loved
gardening—a passion she
discovered later as part
of Rochester’s Center for
Community Engagement. That’s
when she became involved with
the Westside Farmers Market.
She also worked on a farm for
two years when she was an
AmeriCorps volunteer.

College roots
As a first-year student, Salama
founded the Sledgehammers,
Rochester’s first women’s rugby
team. Rainwater′s close friends
joined the team, and she and
Salama hung out as friends in
Anderson, in the unofficial "rugby
suite." After graduation, they
reconnected and started dating.

8