Front Range Bioneers Sessions: Local Plenary, Isabel Sanchez–Urban Permaculture, 11/9/14

By | November 12, 2014

Notes from a brief presentation on the great work Isabel is doing at The GrowHaus in Denver:

 

Front Range Bioneers, November 7-9, 2014

Local Plenary, Isabel Sanchez–Urban Permaculture, Sunday, 11/9, 5-5:15pm

 

Works in Denver at The GrowHaus and lives in Boulder.

In the past 15 months at The GrowHaus, I’ve become the student.

80216: Most polluted area in Colorado. Food desert: closest store 4 miles away, Wal-Mart.

98% of students are on free school lunch. School is right under I-70 which will be undergoing construction for 5-10 years.

The GrowHaus market: set local food at Wal-Mart prices and sell to outside zones. Farther out: sell at regular CSA prices. Also have donation box.

Instructor for The Micro Farm at the The GrowHaus. Had a year to prepare. All hands-on. Teach for 6th grade level education and language barrier. Had to re-work original curriculum considering this. Hands-on, talks, handouts. 20 graduates first round. Added herbs to curriculum because so many don’t have health insurance. Now promoting business incubator using CDOT funds. Grow food and sell out of yard. Sell back to The GrowHaus and we’ll put it in food boxes and sell it. Have opened class to people outside of Elyria-Swansea to allow for networking.

Seed swap: 700 people. Invite locals to cook; some have walked away with $400-600 profit.

Hydroponic farm: sell produce to Whole Foods, local vendors, restaurants to fund projects.

Program to bring in high school kids and teach them to be teachers and work one-on one with kids.

You don’t have to go far. Check in two doors down and see if they have enough food. What are they eating? If everyone helped two people, that’s huge. Having good food is not a privilege, it’s our right as human beings.

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