We’re moving along. Business plan? Check. Marketing plan? Check. Growing site? Check. Co-working space? Almost check! Great minds? Expected check!
Original Green is gathering urban farmers and homesteaders who are creative, curious and enthusiastic (or people who want to be any of these) for the next phase in developing our co-working space. This space, as we have narrowed it down with assistance from LAEDC, will be located in an area identified as both a food desert and grocery gap area in South Los Angeles. It will offer networking and incubation support for low-income entrepreneurs and their entrepreneurial allies who want to develop their own food production businesses. Our existing growing site will be included as a network node for the community food plan. Our first node connection!
It’s time to DIY, open source and hack the heck out of this thing. And we know you want to. The main lesson learned from our Slow Food series is that people want opportunities to gather and talk about ways they can support emerging communities…in addition to their own. Ask yourself, would you like the hands-on, direct experience of mentoring a resident creating their first mobile food or pastry making service in their neighborhood, while learning how to grow, cook and distribute items, yourself? Or would you participate in a farm and homesteading camp to support a community food system? If the answer is yes, then you’re our type of human.
Gathering and crafting
Our new series, called Food Craft, was tested with success in August. Food craft is the intuitive, traditional and scientific pairings of food flavors, from which guests craft dishes. As the flavors are complementary, almost anything goes! The August pairings were sweet potato, goat cheese and figs, and people came up with wonderful dishes during what basically amounted to a fancy version of playing with our food!
Sweet potatoes, goat cheese stuffed figs and kale on the grill
The next event (more on that soon) will feature the trio of pomegranates, feta and chiles.
It’s not all fun and eats, of course. There is work to be done, and it should be done across a spectrum of experience and ideas. Some of the best ideas for Original Green have come from our gatherings, and have proven that great minds don’t need to think alike, they just need to share (and sometimes create) a meal!
So…great minds, ready to work? Check.
Photo credits: Kiino Villand
home&community inc 