GREEN MAP
Urban Agriculture:
- Introduction
Prepared by: Cara Nichols, April 2007
Introduction:
What is Earthshare?
Earthshare is a non-profit organization, which consists of a diverse group of Manitoban’s that provide training, support and employment for refugees with agricultural backgrounds. They also operate a shared-farm based on community economic development principles. Co-op members support the programs for refugees and share in the risks and bounty of farming in Manitoba by purchasing a portion of the vegetables harvested and work as volunteers in the operations of the Co-op (Earthshare Almanac, 2006, 8).
A Brief History
In the early nineties, a group of El Salvadoran refugees approached the Manitoba interfaith Immigration Council and Jim Wolfe, an Anglican Pastor who was on the board, because they wanted to farm. Jim Wolfe just happened to own a piece of property near Anola, which he let the refugees use, and they began food production in 1991. In 1992 Jim Beckta became involved with the refugees and organized a number of farm visits near Winnipeg. The purpose of the visits was to enlighten the refugees to the various examples of farming methods which did not demand massive capital. One of the farms visited in St. Norbert, had just adopted a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) method. Because the refugees also had very little funding, it was decided that they would adopt the CSA model as an entry point. With some fundraising enough money was raised to build a greenhouse on a farm near Landmark and to buy some basic farming equipment. Four years later, a board of directors of urban Winnipegers was formed to support the refugees and has continued until today (Beckta, 2007).
