http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow 854 Million people are suffering from hunger and almost 16,000 children die every day from hunger related causes (breadfortheworld.org). Our project aims to work with impoverished communities, namely schools and orphanages, in the developing world by teaching children and their teachers the skills to grow and maintain a vegetable garden on the school premises. Children will grow seeds at school and take them home to where their knowledge for growing a garden will be passed onto their parents and ultimately the garden they start up at home. The concept is designed to reach the community at large by educating children first. Organic seeds and compost will be used in addition to local foods 854 Million people are suffering from hunger and almost 16,000 children die every day from hunger related causes (breadfortheworld.org). Our project aims to work with impoverished communities, namely schools and orphanages, in the developing world by teaching children and their teachers the skills to grow and maintain a vegetable garden on the school premises. Children will grow seeds at school and take them home to where their knowledge for growing a garden will be passed onto their parents and ultimately the garden they start up at home. The concept is designed to reach the community at large by educating children first. Organic seeds and compost will be used in addition to local foods Sun, 29 Jun 2008 17:56:33 -0500 comment http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment8219 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment8219 854 Million people are suffering from hunger and almost 16,000 children die every day from hunger related causes (breadfortheworld.org). Our project aims to work with impoverished communities, namely schools and orphanages, in the developing world by teaching children and their teachers the skills to grow and maintain a vegetable garden on the school premises. Children will grow seeds at school and take them home to where their knowledge for growing a garden will be passed onto their parents and ultimately the garden they start up at home. The concept is designed to reach the community at large by educating children first. Organic seeds and compost will be used in addition to local foods Sun, 01 Jun 2008 22:41:14 -0500 comment http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment7486 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment7486 yes, to all of the above... thank you! Sat, 31 May 2008 16:02:38 -0500 advice http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice2189 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice2189 Hi, It would be best, if you can, to purchase the items you need in Nigeria as it adds to the local economy. I haven't read all the comments, but I assume you have contacts, etc., and know people in the country. You'll need that to do anything. Plus it's probably easier to bring money into the country than other items. Other items often get taxed. Sounds like a wonderful idea. I hope you're using seeds of foods that the people are used to eating. I hope you're using non-chemical fertilizer. Rachel Sat, 31 May 2008 15:41:33 -0500 advice http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice2188 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice2188 Hey Natalie, I have another resource for you: Geoff Lawton, the amazing permaculturist. He is based in Australia and doing some absolutely amazing things in the world with permaculture projects. His site is: http://www.permaculture.org.au/ I am going to be working with an Australian friend of mine on a project designed with Geoff in regards to bringing permaculture to everyone, this is going to be a world wide project. Keep in touch with me and I will let you know when it has come to the surface. you can contact me through the idea blob site, I have my email on my profile. All the best, Erin Sat, 31 May 2008 09:51:49 -0500 advice http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice2184 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice2184 Thanks Jessy for your words of encouragement. I have actually changed my project idea and that is to focus on schools and orphanages as a way of bringing the nutritional needs to the community at large: teach the children at school (allow them to grow seeds at school) who in turn bring the garden concept to their homes. I think it's a much more practical solution. I will look into raising chicks... thanks for your input on that. Good luck! I hope you win! natalie Sat, 31 May 2008 09:28:11 -0500 advice http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice2183 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice2183 854 Million people are suffering from hunger and almost 16,000 children die every day from hunger related causes (breadfortheworld.org). Our project aims to work with impoverished communities, namely schools and orphanages, in the developing world by teaching children and their teachers the skills to grow and maintain a vegetable garden on the school premises. Children will grow seeds at school and take them home to where their knowledge for growing a garden will be passed onto their parents and ultimately the garden they start up at home. The concept is designed to reach the community at large by educating children first. Organic seeds and compost will be used in addition to local foods Sat, 31 May 2008 03:55:03 -0500 comment http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment7438 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment7438 854 Million people are suffering from hunger and almost 16,000 children die every day from hunger related causes (breadfortheworld.org). Our project aims to work with impoverished communities, namely schools and orphanages, in the developing world by teaching children and their teachers the skills to grow and maintain a vegetable garden on the school premises. Children will grow seeds at school and take them home to where their knowledge for growing a garden will be passed onto their parents and ultimately the garden they start up at home. The concept is designed to reach the community at large by educating children first. Organic seeds and compost will be used in addition to local foods Sun, 25 May 2008 12:49:14 -0500 comment http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment7324 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment7324 854 Million people are suffering from hunger and almost 16,000 children die every day from hunger related causes (breadfortheworld.org). Our project aims to work with impoverished communities, namely schools and orphanages, in the developing world by teaching children and their teachers the skills to grow and maintain a vegetable garden on the school premises. Children will grow seeds at school and take them home to where their knowledge for growing a garden will be passed onto their parents and ultimately the garden they start up at home. The concept is designed to reach the community at large by educating children first. Organic seeds and compost will be used in addition to local foods Sun, 25 May 2008 04:46:43 -0500 comment http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment7321 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment7321 To "grannybev" who advised me above. I'm sorry, I don't know how I missed your advice, which I only picked up today. Please write to me if you wouldn't mind sharing with me how one goes about setting up the water system you have proposed. This would be such an amazing thing to be able to set up. natalie Thu, 22 May 2008 14:14:09 -0500 advice http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice2081 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice2081 Thank you Erin! Thank you all for such valuable resources; your input and your support. I'm not likely to win this race, but it's certainly been worthwhile! Warm wishes to all. natalie Thu, 22 May 2008 14:10:24 -0500 advice http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice2080 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice2080 854 Million people are suffering from hunger and almost 16,000 children die every day from hunger related causes (breadfortheworld.org). Our project aims to work with impoverished communities, namely schools and orphanages, in the developing world by teaching children and their teachers the skills to grow and maintain a vegetable garden on the school premises. Children will grow seeds at school and take them home to where their knowledge for growing a garden will be passed onto their parents and ultimately the garden they start up at home. The concept is designed to reach the community at large by educating children first. Organic seeds and compost will be used in addition to local foods Thu, 22 May 2008 09:27:30 -0500 comment http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment7280 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment7280 Congratulations Natalie!!! Thu, 22 May 2008 02:29:07 -0500 advice http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice2072 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice2072 ops, it looks like my html code did not work...the website is: www.benevon.com Erin Wed, 21 May 2008 23:26:09 -0500 advice http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice2068 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice2068 Hi, I agree with earlier information in regards to fundraising. I have done a lot of fundraising, everything from product sales, grant writing, events & direct donation. There are some excellent resources for top quality fundraising help in regards to the "ask". One of the best are the programs from Terry Axelrod at: <a href="http://www.benevon.com/">Benevon</a> Good luck! Erin Wed, 21 May 2008 23:24:39 -0500 advice http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice2067 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice2067 And... I just visited your site which is now officially bookmarked! What a wonderful resource! Wed, 21 May 2008 23:13:48 -0500 advice http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice2066 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice2066 Thanks Katyaa! I have a friend whose forte it is to do fundraising events. She will be my key link to getting the initial seed money available (in addition to authentic collectibles that I am selling to raise the funds). You read my mind; I was thinking of targeting celebrity gardeners as a way of increasing awareness and donations. Thanks for checking in with me. I really appreciate that you took the time to give me such amazing advice. I'll try to find that NY Times article. natalie Wed, 21 May 2008 23:11:42 -0500 advice http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice2065 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice2065 I'm happy to offer some fundraising advice. You have all the ingredients for an extraordinary fundraising effort - so I'd think about ways to fundraise online. You have or could have the cornerstones of a successful program: 1. Tangibility and specificity: You have a very specific project that is compelling and immediately understandable to donors, which is great. Project-based fundraising is on the rise, because it's a good response to donor concern about impact and skepticism about money reaching people in need. 2. You're close to your fundraising goal: A few months back, the New York Times had a great article in the Sunday magazine about research into fundraising results. It found the most effective positioning of an "ask" was to show you're close to a fundraising goal. People like to think their gift will lifet a project over a fundraising goal. 3. You have a relatable cause: It's hard to raise money internationally unless people have a personal or emotional tie to the cause, and you have great potential audiences among US gardeners and farmers! Wed, 21 May 2008 20:02:03 -0500 advice http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice2057 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice2057 Thank you. I would eventually like to be able to build on a larger scale as you have suggested. There are so many avenues to explore. Thank you for the advice. I'll google it and take a look. natalie Tue, 20 May 2008 09:51:00 -0500 advice http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice2032 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice2032 You may want to consider a broader approach. A service group provides education and support for a village in Guatamala to develop their own economy. They combine agriculture, aquaculture and farm animals on a small scale. The organization bought land and in exchange for some of the crop sold the land to the individual farmer. They tought the people to market the rest of what they produced and did not need for themselves. The name is something like Agros. Tue, 20 May 2008 02:01:37 -0500 advice http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice2027 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice2027 HI NATALIE, I AM AWARE THAT MOST AREAS ARE NOT ONLY HARD UP FOR FOOD BUT ALSO WATER. MOST AREAS IN THESE COUNTRIES CARRY THEIR WATER FOR MILES TO JUST SUPPLY HUMAN NEED. IHAVE STARTED RAISING PLANS HYDROPONICLY RUNNING SOLLAR PUMPS TO SUPPLY WATER FROM THE RESERVE WHICH IS NUTRIENT RICH AND REFILLED ONLY WEEKLY NO LAND IS NEEDED AND THE SETUP REQUIRED LITTLE SPACE AND AFFORDS MAX YIELD. SETUPS ARE CHEEP AND CAN BE MADE WITH LITTLE EFFORT. A LARGE PLASTIC JUG FOR EACH PLANT A FEW PIECES OF HOSE A LARGE BARREL FOR RESIVOIR AND MOST OF ALL AIR STONES TO MIST AND A SINGLE SOLAR CELL AND A PUMP. NUTRIENTS CAN BE MADE FROM MANEUR AN WATER AND OTHER ELEMENTS LIKE IRON ETC. GOOD LUCK Mon, 19 May 2008 17:09:15 -0500 advice http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice2021 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice2021 Thanks Michelle for taking the time to write. I too have been thinking about small/cheap live stock, namely chickens, as a way of increasing people's nutrition and income. Perhaps there is a way of getting involved with Heifer International; something I plan to explore. I also enjoy the idea of solar ovens (which can easily be made with few materials/low cost) being part of every - micro - garden that is created. This may also offer additional income in an indirect way i.e. women do not have to spend their hours looking for firewood, but can cook "to go" food in the solar oven for people commuting to and from work etc. There is so much to explore. Thanks again! natalie Thu, 15 May 2008 23:13:34 -0500 advice http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice1970 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice1970 I loved the idea I had seen a while back to give chicklets and raising chickens, with the goal of giving away from the initial target to another family. I think cheap livestock that can be used to provide more livestock to others in the community is a great idea. Michelle InventorSpot.com - #1 Advice Resource for Inventors Thu, 15 May 2008 11:36:18 -0500 advice http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice1952 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice1952 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmlrtHdREVw Video Title: Israel Boasts Agricultural Innovations Thu, 15 May 2008 03:56:02 -0500 advice http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice1946 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice1946 854 Million people are suffering from hunger and almost 16,000 children die every day from hunger related causes (breadfortheworld.org). Our project aims to work with impoverished communities, namely schools and orphanages, in the developing world by teaching children and their teachers the skills to grow and maintain a vegetable garden on the school premises. Children will grow seeds at school and take them home to where their knowledge for growing a garden will be passed onto their parents and ultimately the garden they start up at home. The concept is designed to reach the community at large by educating children first. Organic seeds and compost will be used in addition to local foods Mon, 12 May 2008 16:35:20 -0500 comment http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment7079 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment7079 Thank you once again! Penn State sounds like a wonderful opportunity for students, such as myself, to get involved with sustainable projects. It's very interesting to see that Lake Victoria is mentioned; I recently saw Darwin's Nightmare and thought of ways in which the quality of life in Tanzania could be uplifted via a school, Earth Gardens and so on. The abundance of their fresh water is an extremely inviting aspect of doing work over there. Wonderful resources. Thanks again. natalie Tue, 06 May 2008 15:05:41 -0500 advice http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice1816 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice1816 Natalie, Here's a link to a paper that talks about lessons learnt working on an entrepreneurial project in east africa...for whatever its worth: http://www.nciia.org/conf08/assets/pub/mehta.pdf Tue, 06 May 2008 12:22:38 -0500 advice http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice1810 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice1810 Thank you for your advice and for viewing my idea profile. As mentioned to Amarjeet, the relationship in the village of Odi has been built since 2002. They also have a project manager on the ground in Nigeria. That is part of what is so nice about starting a pilot project there. With regards to new communities that I plan to work with, I agree that the social context needs to be understood in order to work with the people. That is where research and volunteers on the ground in that country will come in. There is also an amazing networking ability via websites such as idealist.org I am aware of the water crises that exist in certain countries--particularly in Africa. For this reason, I will primarily focus on areas that do have access to water and then look at ways in which water can be introduced i.e. working with other non-profits that drill water wells for example. I see the collaboration of working with other non-profits as such an exciting and necessary part of development; it's the joining of hands that allows us to achieve even greater goals through the work that we do as individual organizations and that of working together. Thanks for the NutriBusiness link. Pregnant women are among the largest pool of people who are affected by a lack of nutrition. The original idea of The Earth Garden Project was to work with pregnant and breast-feeding mothers. I was deeply affected by a personal experience of mine a couple of years ago. The circumstances of these women has been stirring in my consciousness ever since. With regards to the website: I am currently building a website, but am reluctant to publish it as The Earth Garden Project has not been established as a non-profit as yet. This is something that will change over the next few weeks. Lastly, thank you for the heads up on Paul Polak--I'll take a look. I would love to hear more about your project. Sincerely, natalie carter Tue, 06 May 2008 00:31:59 -0500 advice http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice1804 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice1804 854 Million people are suffering from hunger and almost 16,000 children die every day from hunger related causes (breadfortheworld.org). Our project aims to work with impoverished communities, namely schools and orphanages, in the developing world by teaching children and their teachers the skills to grow and maintain a vegetable garden on the school premises. Children will grow seeds at school and take them home to where their knowledge for growing a garden will be passed onto their parents and ultimately the garden they start up at home. The concept is designed to reach the community at large by educating children first. Organic seeds and compost will be used in addition to local foods Mon, 05 May 2008 16:33:23 -0500 comment http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment6961 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment6961 854 Million people are suffering from hunger and almost 16,000 children die every day from hunger related causes (breadfortheworld.org). Our project aims to work with impoverished communities, namely schools and orphanages, in the developing world by teaching children and their teachers the skills to grow and maintain a vegetable garden on the school premises. Children will grow seeds at school and take them home to where their knowledge for growing a garden will be passed onto their parents and ultimately the garden they start up at home. The concept is designed to reach the community at large by educating children first. Organic seeds and compost will be used in addition to local foods Mon, 05 May 2008 13:05:27 -0500 comment http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment6959 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment6959 Also, check out the NutriBusiness concept: http://www.jneb.org/article/S1499-4046(07)00966-9/abstract I am working with the author of the paper - Audrey Maretzki to set up a similar initiative in Tanzania - with significant value addition. Feel free to email me... Sun, 04 May 2008 23:55:20 -0500 advice http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice1789 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice1789 I completely agree with Amarjeet You really need to understand the social context before you jump into this project. Maybe you have already done that - in that case, a simple website explaining the bug picture would be very helpful. Before you teach them how to build these gardens, have you looked at what indigenous knowledge they may already have? In lot of developing countries, one of the primary challenges is irrigation. I would strongly recommend Paul Polak's book "Out of Poverty". He also has some great videos on youTube - just google up Paul Polak What is the motivation/incentive for the people to maintain the garden? Can they make more money this way than in their traditional ways? What equipment do you need to purchase for the garden? What is the total cost? Sun, 04 May 2008 23:19:47 -0500 advice http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice1786 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice1786 854 Million people are suffering from hunger and almost 16,000 children die every day from hunger related causes (breadfortheworld.org). Our project aims to work with impoverished communities, namely schools and orphanages, in the developing world by teaching children and their teachers the skills to grow and maintain a vegetable garden on the school premises. Children will grow seeds at school and take them home to where their knowledge for growing a garden will be passed onto their parents and ultimately the garden they start up at home. The concept is designed to reach the community at large by educating children first. Organic seeds and compost will be used in addition to local foods Sun, 04 May 2008 00:44:09 -0500 comment http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment6933 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment6933 854 Million people are suffering from hunger and almost 16,000 children die every day from hunger related causes (breadfortheworld.org). Our project aims to work with impoverished communities, namely schools and orphanages, in the developing world by teaching children and their teachers the skills to grow and maintain a vegetable garden on the school premises. Children will grow seeds at school and take them home to where their knowledge for growing a garden will be passed onto their parents and ultimately the garden they start up at home. The concept is designed to reach the community at large by educating children first. Organic seeds and compost will be used in addition to local foods Sat, 03 May 2008 17:00:37 -0500 comment http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment6929 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment6929 854 Million people are suffering from hunger and almost 16,000 children die every day from hunger related causes (breadfortheworld.org). Our project aims to work with impoverished communities, namely schools and orphanages, in the developing world by teaching children and their teachers the skills to grow and maintain a vegetable garden on the school premises. Children will grow seeds at school and take them home to where their knowledge for growing a garden will be passed onto their parents and ultimately the garden they start up at home. The concept is designed to reach the community at large by educating children first. Organic seeds and compost will be used in addition to local foods Fri, 02 May 2008 21:56:02 -0500 comment http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment6924 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment6924 854 Million people are suffering from hunger and almost 16,000 children die every day from hunger related causes (breadfortheworld.org). Our project aims to work with impoverished communities, namely schools and orphanages, in the developing world by teaching children and their teachers the skills to grow and maintain a vegetable garden on the school premises. Children will grow seeds at school and take them home to where their knowledge for growing a garden will be passed onto their parents and ultimately the garden they start up at home. The concept is designed to reach the community at large by educating children first. Organic seeds and compost will be used in addition to local foods Sun, 20 Apr 2008 08:46:05 -0500 comment http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment6669 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment6669 854 Million people are suffering from hunger and almost 16,000 children die every day from hunger related causes (breadfortheworld.org). Our project aims to work with impoverished communities, namely schools and orphanages, in the developing world by teaching children and their teachers the skills to grow and maintain a vegetable garden on the school premises. Children will grow seeds at school and take them home to where their knowledge for growing a garden will be passed onto their parents and ultimately the garden they start up at home. The concept is designed to reach the community at large by educating children first. Organic seeds and compost will be used in addition to local foods Sun, 20 Apr 2008 03:52:30 -0500 comment http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment6666 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment6666 854 Million people are suffering from hunger and almost 16,000 children die every day from hunger related causes (breadfortheworld.org). Our project aims to work with impoverished communities, namely schools and orphanages, in the developing world by teaching children and their teachers the skills to grow and maintain a vegetable garden on the school premises. Children will grow seeds at school and take them home to where their knowledge for growing a garden will be passed onto their parents and ultimately the garden they start up at home. The concept is designed to reach the community at large by educating children first. Organic seeds and compost will be used in addition to local foods Sat, 19 Apr 2008 16:34:50 -0500 comment http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment6638 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment6638 854 Million people are suffering from hunger and almost 16,000 children die every day from hunger related causes (breadfortheworld.org). Our project aims to work with impoverished communities, namely schools and orphanages, in the developing world by teaching children and their teachers the skills to grow and maintain a vegetable garden on the school premises. Children will grow seeds at school and take them home to where their knowledge for growing a garden will be passed onto their parents and ultimately the garden they start up at home. The concept is designed to reach the community at large by educating children first. Organic seeds and compost will be used in addition to local foods Sat, 19 Apr 2008 16:34:49 -0500 comment http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment6637 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment6637 This is an admirable idea! You have my vote. Wed, 02 Apr 2008 18:10:03 -0500 advice http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice1147 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice1147 854 Million people are suffering from hunger and almost 16,000 children die every day from hunger related causes (breadfortheworld.org). Our project aims to work with impoverished communities, namely schools and orphanages, in the developing world by teaching children and their teachers the skills to grow and maintain a vegetable garden on the school premises. Children will grow seeds at school and take them home to where their knowledge for growing a garden will be passed onto their parents and ultimately the garden they start up at home. The concept is designed to reach the community at large by educating children first. Organic seeds and compost will be used in addition to local foods Tue, 01 Apr 2008 14:53:54 -0500 comment http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment6155 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment6155 854 Million people are suffering from hunger and almost 16,000 children die every day from hunger related causes (breadfortheworld.org). Our project aims to work with impoverished communities, namely schools and orphanages, in the developing world by teaching children and their teachers the skills to grow and maintain a vegetable garden on the school premises. Children will grow seeds at school and take them home to where their knowledge for growing a garden will be passed onto their parents and ultimately the garden they start up at home. The concept is designed to reach the community at large by educating children first. Organic seeds and compost will be used in addition to local foods Sat, 29 Mar 2008 05:40:13 -0500 comment http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment6039 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment6039 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFLq_e-tgN0 Wed, 26 Mar 2008 02:41:20 -0500 advice http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice1060 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice1060 854 Million people are suffering from hunger and almost 16,000 children die every day from hunger related causes (breadfortheworld.org). Our project aims to work with impoverished communities, namely schools and orphanages, in the developing world by teaching children and their teachers the skills to grow and maintain a vegetable garden on the school premises. Children will grow seeds at school and take them home to where their knowledge for growing a garden will be passed onto their parents and ultimately the garden they start up at home. The concept is designed to reach the community at large by educating children first. Organic seeds and compost will be used in addition to local foods Sat, 22 Mar 2008 00:11:53 -0500 comment http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment5892 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment5892 854 Million people are suffering from hunger and almost 16,000 children die every day from hunger related causes (breadfortheworld.org). Our project aims to work with impoverished communities, namely schools and orphanages, in the developing world by teaching children and their teachers the skills to grow and maintain a vegetable garden on the school premises. Children will grow seeds at school and take them home to where their knowledge for growing a garden will be passed onto their parents and ultimately the garden they start up at home. The concept is designed to reach the community at large by educating children first. Organic seeds and compost will be used in addition to local foods Fri, 21 Mar 2008 13:08:56 -0500 comment http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment5863 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment5863 854 Million people are suffering from hunger and almost 16,000 children die every day from hunger related causes (breadfortheworld.org). Our project aims to work with impoverished communities, namely schools and orphanages, in the developing world by teaching children and their teachers the skills to grow and maintain a vegetable garden on the school premises. Children will grow seeds at school and take them home to where their knowledge for growing a garden will be passed onto their parents and ultimately the garden they start up at home. The concept is designed to reach the community at large by educating children first. Organic seeds and compost will be used in addition to local foods Fri, 21 Mar 2008 11:48:13 -0500 comment http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment5861 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment5861 854 Million people are suffering from hunger and almost 16,000 children die every day from hunger related causes (breadfortheworld.org). Our project aims to work with impoverished communities, namely schools and orphanages, in the developing world by teaching children and their teachers the skills to grow and maintain a vegetable garden on the school premises. Children will grow seeds at school and take them home to where their knowledge for growing a garden will be passed onto their parents and ultimately the garden they start up at home. The concept is designed to reach the community at large by educating children first. Organic seeds and compost will be used in addition to local foods Fri, 21 Mar 2008 10:36:28 -0500 comment http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment5858 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment5858 854 Million people are suffering from hunger and almost 16,000 children die every day from hunger related causes (breadfortheworld.org). Our project aims to work with impoverished communities, namely schools and orphanages, in the developing world by teaching children and their teachers the skills to grow and maintain a vegetable garden on the school premises. Children will grow seeds at school and take them home to where their knowledge for growing a garden will be passed onto their parents and ultimately the garden they start up at home. The concept is designed to reach the community at large by educating children first. Organic seeds and compost will be used in addition to local foods Thu, 20 Mar 2008 13:43:10 -0500 comment http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment5847 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment5847 854 Million people are suffering from hunger and almost 16,000 children die every day from hunger related causes (breadfortheworld.org). Our project aims to work with impoverished communities, namely schools and orphanages, in the developing world by teaching children and their teachers the skills to grow and maintain a vegetable garden on the school premises. Children will grow seeds at school and take them home to where their knowledge for growing a garden will be passed onto their parents and ultimately the garden they start up at home. The concept is designed to reach the community at large by educating children first. Organic seeds and compost will be used in addition to local foods Tue, 18 Mar 2008 19:07:48 -0500 comment http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment5818 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment5818 854 Million people are suffering from hunger and almost 16,000 children die every day from hunger related causes (breadfortheworld.org). Our project aims to work with impoverished communities, namely schools and orphanages, in the developing world by teaching children and their teachers the skills to grow and maintain a vegetable garden on the school premises. Children will grow seeds at school and take them home to where their knowledge for growing a garden will be passed onto their parents and ultimately the garden they start up at home. The concept is designed to reach the community at large by educating children first. Organic seeds and compost will be used in addition to local foods Tue, 18 Mar 2008 18:49:54 -0500 comment http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment5817 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment5817 854 Million people are suffering from hunger and almost 16,000 children die every day from hunger related causes (breadfortheworld.org). Our project aims to work with impoverished communities, namely schools and orphanages, in the developing world by teaching children and their teachers the skills to grow and maintain a vegetable garden on the school premises. Children will grow seeds at school and take them home to where their knowledge for growing a garden will be passed onto their parents and ultimately the garden they start up at home. The concept is designed to reach the community at large by educating children first. Organic seeds and compost will be used in addition to local foods Mon, 17 Mar 2008 16:48:36 -0500 comment http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment5792 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment5792 854 Million people are suffering from hunger and almost 16,000 children die every day from hunger related causes (breadfortheworld.org). Our project aims to work with impoverished communities, namely schools and orphanages, in the developing world by teaching children and their teachers the skills to grow and maintain a vegetable garden on the school premises. Children will grow seeds at school and take them home to where their knowledge for growing a garden will be passed onto their parents and ultimately the garden they start up at home. The concept is designed to reach the community at large by educating children first. Organic seeds and compost will be used in addition to local foods Mon, 17 Mar 2008 16:09:15 -0500 comment http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment5789 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment5789 Thank you Michael. This kind of feedback is certainly useful. I will look into this option and bounce it off the local community that I plan to work with in Nigeria in the near future. Thank you for your support! natalie Sun, 16 Mar 2008 11:52:06 -0500 advice http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice944 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice944 Natalie - I have a friend in Zambia who owns a government and World Bank supported flower farm. Flower farms generate lots of jobs and the export directly to EU flower market so direct foreign earnings inflow. Greg used to work for the world bank and is an awesome guy. You should reach out to him for advise as I think that your idea should be supported by/ added onto these types of activities with government and WB support. I do not think it should be given for free. Sub-Saharan Africa would be PRIME target for this initiative. Sun, 16 Mar 2008 09:56:20 -0500 advice http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice942 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice942 854 Million people are suffering from hunger and almost 16,000 children die every day from hunger related causes (breadfortheworld.org). Our project aims to work with impoverished communities, namely schools and orphanages, in the developing world by teaching children and their teachers the skills to grow and maintain a vegetable garden on the school premises. Children will grow seeds at school and take them home to where their knowledge for growing a garden will be passed onto their parents and ultimately the garden they start up at home. The concept is designed to reach the community at large by educating children first. Organic seeds and compost will be used in addition to local foods Sun, 16 Mar 2008 09:50:09 -0500 comment http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment5759 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment5759 Sounds like a great idea Nat! I order a lot of my seeds for a CA company thru their webiste www.groworganic.org. I wonder if they would be willing to contribute to you project. Then again, I guess you would need seeds and garden minds geared towards the soil needs of the community inwhich you will implement the project. I love to garden. Let me know if I can do anything to support you or your project. My company has a donation matching project. I would be happy to contribute some of my money and theirs too! Very cool stuff! Best wishes on winning the grant. Warm Regards, Sherry Sun, 16 Mar 2008 08:18:33 -0500 advice http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice941 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice941 854 Million people are suffering from hunger and almost 16,000 children die every day from hunger related causes (breadfortheworld.org). Our project aims to work with impoverished communities, namely schools and orphanages, in the developing world by teaching children and their teachers the skills to grow and maintain a vegetable garden on the school premises. Children will grow seeds at school and take them home to where their knowledge for growing a garden will be passed onto their parents and ultimately the garden they start up at home. The concept is designed to reach the community at large by educating children first. Organic seeds and compost will be used in addition to local foods Sun, 16 Mar 2008 02:45:36 -0500 comment http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment5757 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment5757 854 Million people are suffering from hunger and almost 16,000 children die every day from hunger related causes (breadfortheworld.org). Our project aims to work with impoverished communities, namely schools and orphanages, in the developing world by teaching children and their teachers the skills to grow and maintain a vegetable garden on the school premises. Children will grow seeds at school and take them home to where their knowledge for growing a garden will be passed onto their parents and ultimately the garden they start up at home. The concept is designed to reach the community at large by educating children first. Organic seeds and compost will be used in addition to local foods Fri, 14 Mar 2008 03:10:44 -0500 comment http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment5709 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment5709 854 Million people are suffering from hunger and almost 16,000 children die every day from hunger related causes (breadfortheworld.org). Our project aims to work with impoverished communities, namely schools and orphanages, in the developing world by teaching children and their teachers the skills to grow and maintain a vegetable garden on the school premises. Children will grow seeds at school and take them home to where their knowledge for growing a garden will be passed onto their parents and ultimately the garden they start up at home. The concept is designed to reach the community at large by educating children first. Organic seeds and compost will be used in addition to local foods Fri, 14 Mar 2008 02:25:45 -0500 comment http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment5708 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment5708 854 Million people are suffering from hunger and almost 16,000 children die every day from hunger related causes (breadfortheworld.org). Our project aims to work with impoverished communities, namely schools and orphanages, in the developing world by teaching children and their teachers the skills to grow and maintain a vegetable garden on the school premises. Children will grow seeds at school and take them home to where their knowledge for growing a garden will be passed onto their parents and ultimately the garden they start up at home. The concept is designed to reach the community at large by educating children first. Organic seeds and compost will be used in addition to local foods Thu, 13 Mar 2008 10:57:42 -0500 comment http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment5688 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#comment5688 Brilliant! I would love to get involved and help however I can! Thu, 13 Mar 2008 03:17:48 -0500 advice http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice875 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice875 Thanks for your comments and suggestions Amarjeet. Unfortunately, the site doesn't offer enough space to go into depths for the project. To answer some of your questions: ERI is part of bigger collaboration of non-profit organizations that are working toward a common goal to increase people's quality of life in Africa. Each of these organizations offer different skills and services to help build communities i.e. one organization builds sustainable housing, another drills water in villages for a water supply and so on. My contribution to the common vision of all these organizations is to provide vegetable gardens. As far as the land is concerned, the eco-village is already being built and the land has been secured for these people. There are many methods of farming; they don't necessarily have to be large scale projects. For example, people in South Africa are building french/door gardens as well as drum gardens (small gardens that are grown in empty barrels or even car tires that are stacked up high) in the townships. The people that live in these townships are essentially landless, but they have access to the land for a long period of time. Where I'm heading is that each project will need to look at all these aspects, but one cannot paint all people that live in a certain area with the same brush. There is a lot of work to do in several countries in Africa, and people will embrace this project with open arms. I have the contacts; I would like to be able to contribute a small portion of the bigger piece of the pie by helping people to grow gardens. Of course, there is an issue with landlessness, but in the interim, people are dying because they need food now--whether the gardens are temporary or not. Thanks for taking the time to write. natalie Wed, 12 Mar 2008 18:45:33 -0500 advice http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice865 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice865 There is more to do before one can even get on to teaching them to grow food. Gaining the confidence of the local community is the first and the toughest. Piggy backing on ERI is a great start and you can get more inputs from them as to what it takes to gain their confidence (since you would like to work in close contact with the people you want to help). Is there anything unique in your Earth Garden project that ERI is not doing right now? If yes, then why did they chose to not do it? Another important consideration is that those dying out of hunger (people you want to help), typically do not own any land. Have you thought about means of procuring land for them (in cheap lease) to grow on? These people wake up every morning unsure if they will be able to feed themself for that day. You can not expect them to work on gardens and farms only when the produce will take a few months. How do you plan to address this issue (working on farms part time while continuing their daily wage work but then do they get enough time?). There are a lot of background things that would need a dedicated effort to understand, before one can even start working on the actual project. It will be useful for you to look into these issues by doing some ground work with say homeless people here in LA, peep into their lives, learn how they think, how they can be influenced. Things will be more complex when you get yourself into a completely different culture in Nigeria but at least you will know what you are getting into. Wed, 12 Mar 2008 17:28:02 -0500 advice http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice864 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#advice864 What are additional ways in which our target communities can earn extra income (simple business ideas such as small livestock & solar ovens)? Wed, 12 Mar 2008 14:30:44 -0500 challenge http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#challenge1097 http://ideablob.com/ideas/rss/1786-The-Earth-Garden-Project-Empow#challenge1097