This year’s Growing Power Training Weekend on September 24 – 25, 2011 was a rousing success with over 100 people who came to the Amador Hill Farm at the Women’s Environmental Institute to learn sustainable farming methods and practices for urban and rural farming from Will Allen, his Milwaukee WI Growing Power Staff, and WEI’s Staff from the Minnesota Growing Power Regional Outreach Training Center. Participants included a multi-cultural, multi-generations group of emerging farmers, educators, representatives of NGOs, non-profits, corporations, sustainability organizations and schools, along with other community leaders and individuals involved in the struggle for food justice in the Twin Cities, the region and around the world.
A Huge THANK YOU to our Scholarship Funders for this year's Growing Power Training Weekend. Scholarships were awarded to over 20 individuals who applied for special financial assistance to attend the event. To see a list of the organizations and businesses that sponsored students at the training weekend, click on SCHOLARSHIP FUNDING ORGANIZATIONS
The weekend training offered multiple hands-on workshops presented by Will Allen and his Milwaukee-based Growing Power staff, beginning with the hoophouse/aquaponics construction project on Amador Hill. This was a training opportunity for participants to develop the skills needed to build hoop houses at their own local farm projects—mostly in our underserved urban neighborhoods. Will Allen presented his workshops on Microgreens and on Composting and Vermiculture. Growing Power Staff member Sara Christman offered information to those interested in bee-keeping as well as in the composting workshop. In addition, WEI-affiliated local instructors presented other related farmer-training workshops on root-cellar planning and building, organic garlic growing, organic herb growing and gardening, and organic orcharding practices.
The weekend training offered multiple hands-on workshops presented by Will Allen and his Milwaukee-based Growing Power staff, beginning with the hoophouse/aquaponics construction project on Amador Hill. This was a training opportunity for participants to develop the skills needed to build hoop houses at their own local farm projects—mostly in our underserved urban neighborhoods. Will Allen presented his workshops on Microgreens and on Composting and Vermiculture. Growing Power Staff member Sara Christman offered information to those interested in bee-keeping as well as in the composting workshop. In addition, WEI-affiliated local instructors presented other related farmer-training workshops on root-cellar planning and building, organic garlic growing, organic herb growing and gardening, and organic orcharding practices.
Attendees liked the “mix of hands-on and talking, literature recommendations,” “the in-depth info…,” “instructors were excellent teachers and builders (the hoophouse building workshop),” the “education, knowledge/skills building network among all of us together…look forward to the next conference.” Participant enthusiasm and the excellent meals provided by chefs Mariano Espinoza, Sarah Hollows and Carlyle Bowker kept us filled and greatly enjoying each other’s company. Around the bonfire on Saturday night, participants had the opportunity to discuss next steps for spreading the Good Food Revolution, and how to keep networked for future projects and conversations. We look forward to to doing more of this pro-farmer green justice work in the forthcoming year.