You know, I’m not the least bit into gardening. Ever since I killed my tiny little dorm room cactus, I’ve steered clear of trying to grow things. So while I like the idea of growing your own veggies, that is definitely not an area where I walk the walk.
Still, I think it’s super cool (you know, in principle). So this? This is pretty exciting. Will Allen, founder of the urban farming organization Growing Power, is bringing his urban farming expertise to the Twin Cities. If you’ve seen one of the local screenings of the documentary FRESH, you know of Will Allen.
The first pilot project will be at Little Earth of United Tribes in south Minneapolis. Valerie Martinez is the executive director of the Indigenous People’s Green Jobs coalition, which is working with Allen. She said the project started today [Aug 19, 2009] with a workshop on composting and vermaculture.
“We had 40 community members signed up, as well as 25 different people from other outside organizations,” Martinez said. “So it’s really about building coalitions to come together to make sure this really urban farm project happens here at Little Earth.”
Martinez said a busload of people went to Milwaukee to see Allen’s farm. She said the group came back excited about the possibilities for growing food, developing jobs and even preserving traditional culture.
(Here’s more on vermiculture.)
He’s working in conjunction with the Women’s Environmental Institute. See the Twin Cities Daily Planet on Allen’s August visit to kick off the Little Earth program.
This FRESH trailer features Will Allen.
(via Colin Kloecker)
