BGiftE FarmS
"Grow soil, Grow People and to Grow a Community of Practice around food sovereignty".
BGiftE Farms, an activity of the Baltimore Gift Economy is a co-creative, ecological permaculture demonstration farming collective, based in the Irvington community of West Baltimore, that engages and supports community members in urban agriculture and community farming enterprise.
Programs
Commons Food Circle: The Commons Food Circle is an engagement effort to connect residents to the sustainable le food economy through active and mutually beneficial urban farming. The circular food economy connects different aspects of food production and consumption so that nothing is wasted and mutually beneficial connections are maximized. The Commons Food Circle foster a community of practice, collaboration, sharing, learning and expanding understanding of food sovereignty. BGiftE Farms Commons Food Circle seeks to integrate nature’s way, using permaculture design principles, to enhance community engagement, co-creation, reflection and nourishment in multiple,reinforcing aspects of human life. The Commons Food Circle is a Community Supported Education membership group that offers program shares to its members. The aim of the Commons Food Circle is to:
"Grow soil, Grow People and to Grow a Community of Practice around food sovereignty".
Our approach:
We will Grow Soil by developing a local system of soil fertility, encouraging a co-creative process with community engagement, to build nutrient-rich, organic soil that sustains life through raising and caring for small animals in urban ecosystems. In this project, members work collaboratively to build awareness around the zero waste movement and will develop social enterprises involving soil amendments derived from the natural processes associated with keeping chickens.
We will Grow People by having built a design and education process for participants that facilitates literacy, creative learning, and service-learning. Participants will learn about, experience, and create various social benefits of participating in the curricular food economy in the realms of ecology, health, economics, and social interdependence. Participants will become agents of transformation for our communities to live a sustainable and a self-sufficient existence.
We will Grow a Community of Practice by building a sharing and learning platform by producing short form videos that build skills in communication, self-development and self-reflection. The videos, print copy and social media segments will be used to share the progress, challenges and best practices of the project activities as our community members share and document their journeys of resilience through our Community Supported Education (CSE) social media platform. In addition, BGiftE Farms projects are developed with an explicit goal of developing community members to take on the role of educators and supporters of others (“teach a person to teach a person to fish”).
One-Seed Club 15 Day Challenge - An environmental, service-learning based educational program around growing food and community sharing, with the included goals of increased nutritious food access, reconnection to nature, and violence reduction. One Seed Club can fit into a classroom setting or a youth group setting.
Community Chicken Fostering: BGiftE Farms will place small flocks and equipment to support community residents' engagement in nurturing the development of chickens from the comfort of their own homes; from hatching, brooding, to backyard flock as part of a community effort to create food sovereignty. Raising chickens provides a wide range of benefits, including: Food sovereignty, including eggs for consumption and for sharing;Emotional value of caring for animals and developing a mutually beneficial relationship;Education and responsibility of caring for livestock on a daily basis;Community-building (both with others who keep chickens and people who are interested)Waste management, as chickens remove substantial organic matter from the .waste stream
BGiftE Farms provides chickens and all necessary equipment (brooder box, mobile coop, composting equipment) and supplies (food, bedding). Chickens are placed based on needs and available resources within the participating community members site for up to 6 weeks at a time. BGiftE Farms establishes a standard of care to ensure the health and well-being of the chickens and may make changes in location and process as appropriate. The care of the chickens is a community process --individuals contribute both by caring for their own chickens and participating in ongoing improvements and learning. There are opportunities for people to take what they have learned and implement it on an individual basis outside of BGiftE Chicken Fostering.
Community Chicken Fostering consists of distinct activities based on the life cycle of the chicken.
BGiftE Farms Chick Nursery (6 weeks) --beginning with fertilized eggs, eggs are incubated, and chicks hatched and supported through about 6 weeks of age. [A SEPARATE BUDGET SECTION DETAILING HOW $ WORK FOR EACH PROGRAM WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL](Draft Price Est. $60 - Community Scale for member residents @ $10 a week using repurposed supplies) (Draft Education Price Est. $225 due to equipment specifications)
Supplies12 Fertilized eggsIncubatorBrooder Box Chick HeaterBeddingFeed for 6 weeksOptional chicks to care for during process
Home visits and farm coachingSite check listWeekly check inHome visits as needed
BGiftE Farms Chicken Raising --young chickens (pullets) are raised from about 8 weeks-16 weeks of age. (Roosters are identified and relocated back to BGiftE Farms during this period). Supplies mobile chicken coop @$250Water systemFeeding systemSupplements
Home visits and farm coachingSite check listWeekly check inHome visits as needed
Zero Waste Chicken CompostingCommunity Scale Compost Collection SiteComposting Systems for Chickens and WormsSifting ProductProduct PackagingDistribution
BGiftE Farms Chicken Farming : Adult, egg-laying chickens are maintained and provide eggs for consumption, trade, and gifting. People participating in BGiftE Chicken Farming are asked to keep as many eggs as they want for household consumption and then to give away the excess eggs to neighbors who want them, creating increased community food sovereignty. .
Supplies mobile chicken coop @$250Water systemFeeding systemSupplements
Egg harvesting, share and maintenance
Home visits and farm coachingSite check listWeekly check inHome visits as needed
Zero Waste Chicken CompostingCommunity Scale Compost Collection SiteComposting Systems for Chickens and WormsSifting ProductProduct PackagingDistribution
Community Chicken Fostering education model: The initial engagement by a household/institutions begins with a 6-8 week fostering (either of chicks or young chickens). This provides hands on experience, supplemented by technical assistance from BGiftE farms. Additional educational supports are provided with educational videos online on key questions and practices.
Some portion of people who begin with this initial 6 week involvement will want to continue with BGiftE Farms, either in Chicken Raising or Chicken Farming. Of those who continue, some will want to develop their own backyard chicken farming practice, using their own equipment and supplies. And others will be prepared to become Chicken Fostering Educators in their own right, working with BGiftE Farms to help others become involved. In this way, the capacity to extend Chicken Fostering Practices is built into the model.
Individual Home Chicken-Raising Launching: BGiftE Farms supports people who have participated in BGiftE Chicken Fostering in setting up and operating their individual home chicken keeping, if they so desire. BGiftE would offer those individuals a Launching Consultation, the option to purchase chickens from BGiftE Farms, the option to purchase a coop from BGiftE Farms, the option to purchase supplies (feed, bedding, etc.) from BGiftE Farms, and the option to distribute excess eggs through BGiftE Farms. These individuals would also continue to have access to the BGiftE community of practice. (Individuals would be expected to get their own permit).