Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
The goal ofCULTIVATE!: Launching and Supporting Indigenous, Spanish-Speaking and Underserved Beginning Farmersis to provide a pathway for beginning farmers, with a focus on underserved indigenous, Spanish-speaking Hispanic, and other farmers to learn efficient and sustainable farming practices, gain access to land for their farms, develop viable business plans, link to markets to sell their products, and launch commercially and ecologically sustainable small farms that provide for improved quality of life for their families. Outcomes for this project will include: at least 18 new farms for Spanish-speaking farmers, and a community farm or farm network for indigenous farmers to address food insecurity within their tribe.The programprovides skill development across 9 core agricultural domains including: safe & sustainable practices, soil science & composting, ecological horticulture, irrigation, integrated pest & pathogen management, regenerative animal agriculture, season extension practices, principles of direct marketing and small farm business planning, and emphasizes 7 tenets of small-scale agriculture including practices that focus on: organic/regenerative; diversified; direct-marketed; incorporation of animals; minimal mechanization; soil-based; amid urban development.The CULTIVATE!project, based east of Los Angeles, is founded on a partnership between the Five Keys Schools and Programs' Ecological Agricultural Training Cultural Center (EAT!), which has run three apprenticeship cohorts (each one is 900 hours over 10 months), tuition-free, for beginning farmers; the Shiishongna Tongva Nation Corona Band of Gabrieleno Indians, which addresses food insecurity by cultivating traditional indigenous plants; Gaytan Family Farms, a successful Hispanic family farm that will serve as an inspiration and practical model to Hispanic beginning farmers; the City of Norco, which is providing land and classroom space for the project, waiving fees for a farmers' market and more; and a collaborator, the Riverside Food Systems Alliance.TheShiishongna Tongva Nation Corona Band of Gabrieleno Indianshas about 500 enrolled members with an additional 500 people who identify as Shiishongna Tongva. Tribal leaders say food insecurity is common among their members, many of whom are lower income, and that their community needs to cultivate food sources and medicinal herbs that were traditionally gathered by indigenous Californians for both physical, community and spiritual health.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
The goal of Cultivate: Launching and Supporting Indigenous, Spanish-Speaking and Underserved Beginning Farmers is to provide a pathway for beginning farmers, with a focus on underserved indigenous, Spanish-speaking Hispanic, and other farmers to learn efficient and sustainable farming practices, gain access to land for their farms, develop viable business plans, link to markets to sell their products, and launch commercially and ecologically sustainable small farms that provide for improved quality of life for their families.
Project Methods
1) Recruitment: Use existing email networks, our web page, fliers, and connections, such as the Riverside Food Systems Alliance, to advertise the Spanish language Small Farm Apprenticeship program. If needed, have bilingual instructor/farm ambassador visit farms to hand out fliers and answer questions. (Obj. 1, 2, 3, 4)2) Teach three Spanish language cohorts of the Small Farm Apprenticeship Program, with a minimum of 12 and maximum of 20 Spanish-speaking participants. The program will emphasize land access, production, and entrepreneurship with a strong business planning and marketing component. It will combine seven tenets of small scale agriculture that have been most successful around the globe: organic and regenerative; diversified; direct-marketed; incorporation of animals; minimal mechanization; soil-based; amid and on the edge of urban development.Farming methods taught will increase biodiversity, enrich soils, land, improve watersheds, and enhance ecosystem services. (Obj. 1)3) Purchase Spanish-language resources for the agricultural resource library with input from the bilingual instructor/farm ambassador and Spanish language cohort participants. Translate curricular materials into Spanish. (Obj 1, 3, and 4) 4) Work with cohort members to develop "viable" business plans, as determined by instructors using a rubric. Members of the Corona Band may choose to create plans for operating a cooperative farm or network of small farms, including how food will be distributed to tribal members, and financial objectives will be met. (Objs. 1, 2 and 3)5) Offer a pathway to land access for graduates of the Spanish language apprenticeship program and Corona Band cohort graduates. (Obj. 1 and 2)a) EAT staff and advisory council advertise and network within the community to build a property network - a list of people who have property they would like to cultivate in partnership with Cultivate apprenticeship graduates.b) Each member of the Spanish language cohorts have the opportunity to farm 300 square feet of land in the EAT Educational farm for 10 months. Apprentices from the Corona Band will have the option to instead participate in a larger, joint demonstration farm at the EAT educational farm where they can grow plants traditionally used by local indigenous people. Interested apprentices will make a portfolio of their work to share with landowners from the property network.c) After program completion, apprentices present the portfolio to landowners in the property network with the goal of coming to a land use agreement that gives them the opportunity for their first farm.6) Apprentices and beginning farmers in the community have access to tool lending library. EAT continues to build tool library using USDA funds to meet demand. (Obj. 1, 2, 3 and 4) 7) EAT hosts 10 workshops annually on topics of interest to beginning farmers. They are open to the public. (Obj. 1, 2, and 4) At least six feature simultaneous Spanish translation. Two workshops annually are in Spanish and open to apprentices in the Spanish language cohort only.8) Partner Gaytan Family Farms hosts an additional 4 workshops annually for apprentices in the Spanish language cohort, showing them different aspects of the farm business (on field trips), sharing about their business and production model, and answering questions. (Obj. 1) 9) Approximately 4 Corona Band members will be enrolled in either the existing English or new Spanish language apprenticeship program annually, focusing on regenerative, organic production, business planning and sustainable agriculture. (Obj. 2)10) EAT will provide a demonstration farm space for the Corona Band to cultivate crops and medicinal plants that were traditionally consumed by Tongva Gabrieleno indigenous peoples. (Obj. 2) 11) Corona Band members will organize four workshops annually for members of their community, and the wider Inland Empire community, themed on traditional indigenous ecological practices. They will incorporate knowledge from sister communities in Santa Ynez and San Pascual. (Obj. 2) 12) EAT will provide Spanish language cohort participants with assistance in obtaining the following certifications: Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), Egg Handler, and California Certified Producers through workshops and seminars. EAT will connect them with resources like Cultivate collaborators Riverside Food Systems Alliance that offer funding to assist with certification. (Obj 1, 3) 13) EAT will facilitate linkage for Spanish language apprentices to buyers for their farm products.a) Once per cohort, EAT will host farmer/chef mixers to introduce area restaurants to Spanish language cohort members. (Obj 3) b) EAT will add stalls to its Farmers' Market for Corona Band and Spanish language cohort members. (Obj. 1, 2, 3) c) Once per cohort, EAT will invite coordinators for the Riverside Unified School District Food Hub and the Riverside Food Coop to present on how to participate. (Obj 3)