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INVESTIGATOR: Morgan-Hubbard, M.

PERFORMING INSTITUTION:
ECO City Farms
6010 Taylor Road
Riverdale, MARYLAND 20737

FOOD SOVEREIGNTY: GROWING URBAN FARMERS AND FARMS

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: This proposal is a blueprint of a project to amplify, deepen and extend the knowledge and experience ECO City Farms earned over the past six years of offering intensive on-farm internships and apprenticeships, urban agriculture continuing education certification courses, gardening and master composting courses, nutrition education workshops, herbalism trainings and summer-long youth education programs. It test-drives a replicable curriculum and methodology by turning 24 novices, 60% of whom are socially or economically disadvantaged, into confident and competent urban farmers. ECO's educational approach includes comprehensive practical hands-on experiences and one-on-one mentoring/training, and a well-tested graphics-rich (rather than text-centric) culturally appropriate curriculum that includes all of the crop production, farm management, business, and management skills needed for graduates to roll up their sleeves and farm on their own land.In sum, ECO's project consists of all the elements required to become a successful sustainable farmer:1) intensive beginning and more advanced classroom training on a wide range of relevant farming and business topics;2) intensive hands-on experiential training in actual farm work;3) experiencing farming in all four seasons and at a variety of scales;4) tools, seeds and a personal training plot on which to experiment over time;5) a ready market for crops grown;6) a cohort and network of supportive farmers and mentors; and7) an opportunity to compete for placement on farmland in the second year with an experienced farmer close at hand and a small stipend to get started.

OBJECTIVES: Successfully recuit and retain 24 trainees from target audience for two 12 month training cyclesImplement a 12-month culturally competent, multi-modal training for each cohortPlace second year trainees on land, either through ECO or other networks, or otherwise embark on thier farm businessesCreat supportive networks of learning and opportunity for traineesMeasure, share and replicate ECO's beginning urban farmer training model