From gardens to drones
From an early age in Richmond, California, I dreamed of owning my own business. In my early teens, I gathered friends in Crescent Park and went door-to-door offering car washes for five dollars. Many neighbors welcomed our help, and though some declined, the experience only fueled my determination.
In my late teens, my passion shifted to gardening and landscaping. I built a small client route, riding my bike for miles from Richmond through Albany and into the hills of Kensington and El Cerrito. Using clients’ tools, I pulled weeds, raked leaves, and maintained yards—learning the value of hard work and reliable service.
At age 19, I moved to New York for four years of volunteer work with the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. Upon returning to California in 2005, I purchased a 1985 Toyota 4Runner to support my next venture. With no formal training beyond a few basic horticulture classes at Foothill College, in Los Altos, I discovered I had a natural talent for landscaping while living in Palo Alto. I started Stewart Landscaping, invested in used tools, and distributed flyers to real estate offices across the Peninsula. This led to my first major opportunity through a supportive broker and expanded into work throughout cities including Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Menlo Park, and San Jose.
Around 2013, my wife and I—living in a small apartment with no backyard—began growing our own fruits and vegetables in pots. At one point, we had up to 70 pots filled with strawberries, tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, mustard greens, and more. Noticing that many people in the community also wanted to grow healthy produce, I deepened my education through classes in the edible landscape program at Merritt College in Oakland. This inspired me to create a 501c3 nonprofit organization Playndirt Crop Swap & Garden. I was only able to achieve this status because of fiscal sponsorship of Urban Tilth .
I started by setting up tables in different spots in Richmond and El Cerrito, eventually establishing a popular weekly crop swap at Huntington Park on Huntington Avenue. I networked with neighbors, schoolmates, and local nurseries that donated plants and seeds. I also began harvesting fruit from neighbors’ trees—introducing many people to rare or unfamiliar produce that expanded their palates—and sharing the bounty.
The initiative grew into a full community effort. While serving as head gardener at the historic Berkeley City Club, I had the privilege of hosting crop swaps in its beautiful setting, and the club actively supported the project. Self-Sustaining Communities allowed me to use a plot of land for a community garden. Annie’s Annuals generously donated dozens to hundreds of plants each year. I also partnered with the **Alameda County Beekeepers Association** to host three beehives on the lot for education, pollination, and honey production. Additionally, I received discounts and support from my employer at the time, the Urban Farmer Store. The effort officially became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and operated successfully until 2019—a wonderful period of community engagement, collaboration with great local businesses, and lasting friendships. The community garden plot was eventually purchased by a private owner.
Years later I returned to full-time work with ACRT Pacific (a contractor for PG&E). I worked as a Consulting Utility Forester and an Estimating Arborist, advancing to a manager position within three years. I later transitioned to a role as a Senior Vegetation Management Inspector within PG&E, the largest utility company in the United States.
From 2022 to 2025, my wife and I embraced hiking and camping across California, Utah, Nevada, and Arizona. We created a YouTube channel, RaqKam Expeditions, to document our adventures. While the channel didn’t generate income, it built wonderful memories and strengthened our partnership. During these trips, I purchased a drone to capture exciting footage. As I explored its capabilities, I recognized a real market opportunity for professional drone services.
In spring 2025, I decided to pursue this seriously. I enrolled in a drone technology class at Las Positas College in Livermore and passed the FAA Part 107 exam in June 2025. My wife left her job in August 2025 to help build the business. We officially launched RaqKam Drone Service LLC. I continue working full-time at PG&E while growing the drone company on the side. Our focus includes: professional services such as roof documentation, tree inspections (leveraging my utility vegetation management experience), and aerial imagery for property owners, insurers, and managers—delivering high-resolution visuals for assessments, records, and insurance purposes.
Our goal is to grow RaqKam Drone Service LLC into a successful full-time venture. This would provide greater flexibility and allow us to enjoy the later years of our lives doing work we both love, even as we navigate the typical challenges of self-employment.
This journey reflects a lifelong pattern of initiative, adaptability, hands-on problem-solving, community building, and continuous learning—from early neighborhood ventures and landscaping, through nonprofit community agriculture, to utility vegetation management, and now into technology-driven drone services.
Playndirt Crop Swap
