Insatiable: How Forward-thinking Cities are Feeding Themselves Now and in the Future – forthcoming book in 2011

Farmland celebration called Farmchella. It began at 5:45 a.m. with a native American blessing of the land.

Canadian author’s Book Blog features stories from her forthcoming book

Jennifer Cockrall-King is currently at work on a book on global movements in urban agriculture and urban food issues. Insatiable: How Forward-thinking Cities are Feeding Themselves Now and in the Future (working title) will be published by Prometheus Books in late 2011. Visit her website to read engaging stories about her visits to Paris, Cuba and LA doing urban agriculture research.

What became of the South Central Farmers of the Academy Award-nominated documentary, The Garden?

Excerpts from June 13, 2010 entry:

But that’s actually where the story of the South Central Farmers begins again. Many of the farmers have been finding land wherever they can to continue to grow food, create CSA farms and supply their old neighbourhoods with fresh, organic, fruits, veggies and nuts. Two years ago, the group got access to an 85-acre piece of farmland in Buttonwillow, CA.

Travelling author Jennifer Cockrall-King visits City Farmer’s garden in Vancouver.

Buttonwillow, CA. (This is a small town of 1300 people two hours north of Los Angeles; the soil is rich but water issues are the limiting factor. Where the irrigation canals and wells occur, this farmland is home to large conventional produce farms. Evidence of former large dairy and cattle operations abound, but it looks like it has moved mainly to large squares of monocrop vegetable, fruit and nut farms.)

The South Central Farmers now have a farm which can never been taken from them. They don’t own it, but it has been set up so that the farmers will always have access to it, and if they choose not to use the land at some point, another group can come in a farm the land. First the land needed to be cleared of the native scrubbrush and bunch grasses.

Oh, and it doesn’t end there. The dream of restoring The Garden on its original piece of land in South Central LA hasn’t died. They are confident, in fact, that they will once again turn the once-again blighted, unused and unloved stretch of innercity land in a “food desert”* into an edible victory garden.

See more of Jennifer’s wonderful blog here.