Category — Funding

Ethiopia. Photo by treesftf. See larger image here.

By Menberu Kitila
Ethiopia, Jimma – University
Email: kitilamenberu@yahoo.com.uk

Currently I am working as the head of the environmental protection and urban agriculture office in Jimma city in Ethiopia. Jimma city is 350 km. from the capital city of the country (Addis Ababa).

Also, I am a student(Msc.) of Horticulture (vegetable crop production) in Jimma University College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine (JUCAVM).
My thesis research also deals with the UA activities (specifically tomato production) in the Jimma area.

Jimma city is one of the biggest cities found in the country and, more than 200,000 people are living here. It is the place where Coffee Arabica originated.

[Read more →]

$100,000 gift helps feed needy – Grant to WSU nourishes urban gardens, other food resources

Darren A. Nichols, The Detroit News
October 17, 2008

Efforts to feed the needy in Detroit with locally grown produce got a $100,000 boost on Thursday from a Ford Motor Company grant.

Wayne State University officials said the money will support the school’s Sustainable Food Systems and Engagement in Detroit (SEED) program. It will aid ongoing efforts to establish urban gardens and other sustainable food resources at Wayne State and throughout Detroit.

[Read more →]

Heifer International based in Little Rock, Arkansas, funds many urban agriculture projects. I counted 22 including: Revision House Urban Agriculture Project, Dorchester, MA; East New York Farms! Brooklyn, NY; The City Farms, New York, NY; God’s Gang Planting Dreams Fish and Worm Project Chicago, IL; Growing Home Urban Farm, Chicago, IL; Somali Bantu Refugee Food Security, Training and Community Building Project, Portland, OR; and Birmingham Urban Gardening Society Community and School Garden Project, Birmingham, AL.

“From rooftops to vacant lots, Heifer International’s Urban Agriculture program is growing goodness, changing lives and building communities in the heart of North America’s big cities. Heifer supports grassroots organizations that help communities reclaim and support local food systems.”  

See Heifer’s urban agriculture projects here.

They also produced a 42-minute video documentary on urban agriculture, titled “Seeds, Hope & Concrete.”

[Read more →]