An Indigenous reservation has a novel way to grow food – below the earth’s surface

In an underground greenhouse, Raycen Raines (right) helps harvest microgreens that are donated to the community. Photograph: Dawn E. LeBeau/The Guardian

Near the southern border of the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, a curved translucent roof peeks out a few feet above the dusty plains. It’s a blustery November afternoon and the last remaining greens outside are fading fast. But below ground, at the bottom of a short flight of stairs, the inside of this 80ft-long sleek structure is bursting with life – pallets of vivid microgreens, potato plants growing from hay bales and planters full of thick heads of Swiss chard and pak choi. Two people bend over the pallets, using scissors to harvest delicate sprouts of microgreens.

By: Dawn E. LeBeau/The Guardian