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we started this organization five years ago. I have been an urban grower now for about
seventeen years
and I'm I grew up on a farm outside of wichita so I knew about rural agriculture
and then i'd also been community gardener and a home gardener in cities
after I had left the midwest
what I saw as an urban gardener was that there was some unique dynamics and
opportunity around
growing food to feed other people in city neighborhoods and I wanted to help kansas city take advantage
of that
the idea behind this garden, behind this farm
which is just
under an acre and a half cultivated is to show other people
to teach other people that farming in the city
is a viable way make a living
every person here is an educator we do what we do because we are passionate about it
because we're interested in it because it gives us energy and enthusiasm it makes us
feel good it challenges us and so we want to share that with other people
any farm you go to
has a special energy
whether it's quiet peaceful or next to an interstate highway like this one
you learn different things
from each one mostly you
learn about yourself
it's life. it keeps me when i say it keeps me going it actually keeps me going
it gives me something to wake up in the morning to know where i'm going and what i'm doing.
the kansas city center for urban agriculture has three main components we have our own farm
the kansas city community farm which is an organic
vegetable farm on two acres in kansas city, kansas
the farm is a working vegetables farm
we train apprentices there we sell through a community supported agriculture program
CSA is a growing trend in the country
and stands for community supported agriculture
is it the easy way to start reconnecting with nature and actually have the kind of
dialogue again
with our natural environment
i love the idea
i love the idea that folks come to the farm and get to know the farmers and get to know
the soil
to see their vegetables growing
we buy a bag of vegetables from them every week during the summer
and I thought wow this is great it's locally grown which i like and support
and it's good food
and I think it makes a lot of sense for folks to be able to grow food in their neighborhood
that their gonna eat that's going to be health for them the it's going to be something that
physically engages them I think it makes us a better community
we farm organically both on our own farm and at juniper gardens
training farm which is where we are now this is in northeast kansas city kansas were across
the river from downtown airport
on this piece of land which is eight acres thats been loaned to us by the kansas city kansas
housing authority
we help fourteen farmers learn to farm and be business people
and sell their produce at market we work with refugee women to help them start and run their own vegetable
businesses we help them
translate the skills they already have to their new home and this
new climate
once she get this job
she learned that any she has to do by herself and and she learned from experience
now she knows how to plant
and also the other benefits for her family
as the plants start to grow
and then she sells it to the
market and she
also has a chance to
bring back home and
eat the fresh plants
her family is happy because of that
gardeners and growers are
gardeners and growers no matter what country they're from and I think that we all have
this
hearts we all have this feeling for what we do at the end so I have a wonderful that photograph
of a woman from the sudan wearing a hat from one of the burmese women harvesting
tomatillos for the farmers market
for white customers
and I just think that you know and that's a wonderful thing
so the kansas city center for urban agriculture helps grow urban farmers we do that
through our urban farm development program where we can get technical assistance to farmers
all across towns we help them figure out how to start a farm sometimes helping them with land
sometimes helping them with figuring out how to get access to water
we've helped them with production schedule marketing business management
i apprenticed before I started my farm at the kansas city center for urban agriculture so I got a
really good idea of
how much to plant what to plant what did well in this area
a lot of experiences working in the field realizing what could work it was hard work
that's how to grow how to start transplants how to
make my own soil mix i learned a lot about
different plant diseases and how to
be a better grower
it's it's emotional
it's one of the best things in my life being outdoors and growing
also this
you know being able to feed people feed my family
fresh vegetables and the kind of food that our parents and grandparents grew up on is
incredibly scarce in urban areas so this not only teaches us how to grow food an urban
area
it also connects people to food that they might not otherwise connect to what I have found
is that
when folks get a chance to taste
good fresh home cooked vegetables
they like it
what our organization does is it creates space for us to
come together around thatcommon mission of the feeding other people
and build meaningful relationships and connections and and learning with each other
I just love the program I mean I wish there were more people involved
you know and we knew that a lot of volunteers so come out and
join in
lets play in the mud together