Hi!
We are Kim and Alexis from Vancouver, passionate about social justice issues,
food security and community. Kim is a right to food activist, and urban
agricultural educator working with low income food security at the Downtown
Eastside Neighbourhood House (DTESNH). Alexis is a cook at a bed and breakfast
and often volunteers in her spare time at the DTESNH community kitchens and
food workshops. Through their time working and teaching in this neighbourhood they
have witnessed the barriers that many face to obtain healthy nutritous food in a dignified
way. This has led to many that are hungry and suffering from lack of nutrition
and separated from their food production; therefore, relying on the scraps of a
wasteful food system.
This past summer Kim
taught an Urban Agriculture workshop series for low income residents of the
DTES. It was such a fantastic experience being able to help a marginalized but
fully capable and resilient population grow their own food and gain a measure
of control in their lives. We plan to expand this project next year to touch
more lives and grow more food in the DTES. However, we also realize that this
project is a small piece of a large pie that it will take to create meaningful
and lasting change in dealing with issues of food insecurity not only in
Vancouver but across Canada and worldwide.
In our research to
find more equitable models of food systems working at a community based,
grassroots level we have been intrigued with the urban farming practices
utilized in Cuba. During the 'Special Period' Cuba had to decrease their
dependence on petroleum products including oil, pesticides and fertilizers,
which lead to a country wide shift to small-scale organic farming. Cuba now
grows a huge percentage of its food in its urban centers and urban farmers feed
themselves and their community all while making a better wage than many other
career choices.
Pretty amazing stuff! Which
makes us think, why can't Vancouver do the same? In our journey to try and sort
out why we have connected with a permaculture design course in Cuba led by The
Urban Farmer and the Antonio Nunez Jimenez Foundation for Nature and Humanity,
which strives to teach these very topics. The only catch? The course costs
money...more money than we make working in a non-profit in the DTES and cooking
up delicious breakfasts for guests. So we need your help. We are hoping to
raise $2,800, which will cover a portion of our course fees, and we will be
able to cover the remainder of our fees and travel expenses. While that is a
hefty chunk of change, it will allow us to further develop legitimate skills
that will propel us into new avenues of change-making. We plan to travel to
Cuba from January to March and then return to the DTES to share our learning and
experiences for year two of the Neighbourhood Farm School!
The impact of your donation will
be critical in assisting us in our efforts to live out our passion of helping
to create (and be a part of!) holistic communities that value social cohesion. Any
help would be amazing! While monetary donations
would be the most helpful at this time, we understand that some people just
can’t contribute in the form of cash. If you are interested in helping out in
other ways, please consider sharing our cause with your friends either using
social media or word of mouth!
If you would like more
information and to check out the work we are doing:
Our group’s facebook
page: https://www.facebook.com/RightToFoodCommons
Downtown Eastside
Neighbourhood House's website: http://dtesnhouse.ca/
The Urban Farmer
Permaculture 2014 course: http://theurbanfarmer.ca/cuba-programs/pdc-2014/