Project Overview
With this project the Kansas City Center for Urban Agriculture (KCCUA) intended to achieve two objectives: First, we aimed to reduce risks to farm profitability by helping about 10 immigrant urban vegetable farmers adopt one or more production, marketing and business management techniques that are proven effective in small-scale vegetable farming (e.g. season extension, organic production, high-value niche marketing and formal budgeting and financial management). Second, we aimed to reduce risks to farm profitability by helping urban immigrant farmers to (a) participate in existing learning networks such as extension services, professional conferences, workshops, online communities, purchasing and marketing coops and less formal growers networks and to (b) develop and lead their own sub-networks. The main activities to achieve these objectives were (1) outreach and networking, (2) a full day of a collaborative workshop using "open space" technology, and covering production, marketing, business management and learning networks, (3) one-on-one technical assistance and (4) relationship-building by KCCUA staff and community leaders. The project served as a pilot for building cross-cultural learning networks by KCCUA and others. We expect to use the techniques and materials developed under this project during similar workshops at the Great Plains Vegetable Growers Conference in coming years.
Looking back, we feel very confident that our objectives have been achieved and in some cases exceeded. What has happened over the past 1.5 years has been an across-the-board deepening of our relationships with immigrant and refugee farmers and with other members of the immigrant and refugee communities. Furthermore immigrants and refugees are increasingly working with each other across significant cultural and educational barriers. This has been truly rewarding and encouraging to see. Thanks to the momentum sparked by this RME project we now have stronger and growing support among many Kansas Citians for the small urban immigrant farming community.
Number of Participants: 20
PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS
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EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS
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REPORTS & EVALUATIONS
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