North Portland Community Orchard Groundbreaking!

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North Portland Community Orchard* Groundbreaking
Saturday April 6th
10am-1pm

Join Portland Fruit Tree Project, Village Gardens, and North Portland community members for the first planting of the new North Portland Community Orchard!  Saturday April 6th 10am-1pm near the intersection of N Alaska and N Trenton (light snacks and refreshments will be provided)

The event will begin with introductions from the orchard partners, Home Forward, and special guest, Mayor Charlie Hales!

After presentations, we will commence planting of various fruit trees and plants, shrubs and bushes, and other beneficial perennials. We will also be installing a mulched bed near some existing fruit trees and mulching around all the new plantings.

Following the work party will be time to enjoy some light snacks and refreshments and celebrate the launch of this exciting new community orchard.

If you are interested in helping with the planting please register so we know how many tools to provide (if you don’t register, you are still more than welcome to come, but understand that we might not have enough tools for unregistered attendees). If you have tools (shovels, forks, soil rakes, etc.) please bring them, and let Spencer know what you are bringing (spencer@portlandfruit.org,503-284-6106)!

*The orchard is located just north of Village Gardens’ Seeds of Harmony Garden (at the intersection of N Alaska and N Trenton near the Charles Jordan Center – 9009 N Foss Ave). Please park near the Seeds of Harmony Garden and walk on the sidewalk (on the east side of the garden) north to the Orchard (note: there is no parking adjacent to the orchard).

Oregonian Article Featuring VG Spring Fundraiser

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Asha Gebibo, 64, makes injera every other day at the Village Market in New Columbia. Casey Parks/The Oregonian

Asha Gebibo, 64, makes injera every other day at the Village Market in New Columbia. Casey Parks/The Oregonian

University of Portland will host a fundraiser Friday for the nonprofit Village Gardens. The evening will include food from James Beard Nominee Cathy Whims of Nostrana, community participant presentations, videos and a silent and live auction.

Most people know Village Gardens through its corner store Village Market. The store in New Columbia offers fresh produce, take-out food from different countries and staples such as milk, bread and spices.

The organization also runs the Food Works farm on Sauvie Island and sponsors individual and family garden plots in low-income areas. The nonprofit it also offers employment opportunities for adults and teens, as well as after-school and summer activities for children and homework clubs. It also runs a livestock project, a community health worker program and a youth-run entrepreneurial business that grows and sells salad mixes at local farmers markets.

For the past 10 years, the nonprofit has focused on using grants to pay for its programs in low-income areas such as St. Johns Woods. It’s never asked for donations before. The new campaign hopes to build a network of donors. The money raised at this event will support families as they launch small market garden and farm businesses. It will create an incubator kitchen at the Village Market. And it will establish a seasonal community street farmers market in New Columbia.

They’re still looking for businesses to sponsor tables. So far, sponsors include University of Portland, and its School of Nursing, Bon Appétit, Nostrana, Portland Nursery, and New Seasons Market. Partners for the dinner include Columbia Distribution, Deschutes Brewery, Widmer Brewery, Casa Bruno, A to Z Wineworks, Alpenrose Dairy, Dry Soda and Batchpdx.

Tickets for the event, which runs 6-9 p.m. in the Bauccio Commons on campus, tickets are $40.

First Annual Spring Fundraiser

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Join Village Gardens for our first annual spring fundraising event, an inspiring opportunity to celebrate and learn about Village Gardens work to create a more just and healthy food system in Portland. The evening will include food from James Beard Nominee Cathy Whims of Nostrana, community participant presentations, brief videos highlighting program successes and a silent and live auction. 

Event Details

Friday, March 15 6:00-9:00pm

Bauccio Commons, University of Portland (Directions and Map)

Funds raised at this event will be used to further the work of Village Gardens. In 2013 Village Gardens plans to focus on Growing a Neighborhood Food Hub From Seeds to Sales by Supporting families to launch small market garden and farm businesses, creating a community incubator kitchen in partnership with the Village Market community-run health corner store, and establishing a seasonal community street farmers market in New Columbia. The project will support the development of a full-system, comprehensive approach to ensuring a just and thriving neighborhood food economy by supporting vibrant sustainable farms and gardens, healthy people, and strong community relationships.

Attend the Event

Individual tickets for our Spring Fundraiser are $40.

Buy Tickets Online ~ Purchase tickets online now and pick up your tickets at the door at will call.

Mail a Check~ Print out a registration form and mail your payment to Village Gardens, c/o Janus Youth, 707 NE Couch St, Portland OR, 97232. Tickets will be held at will call at the event.

Connect with Village Gardens Staff ~ VG staff and community leaders are currently selling tickets in person. Connect with Wasongolo, our Community Organizer, at ewasongolo@janusyouth.org to purchase tickets from a community leader.

Sponsor a Table

A Table Sponsor helps to support a successful event and fills the room with individuals interested in learning more about how Village Gardens is building a healthy, community-based food system. Your $350 table sponsorship includes 8 tickets to the event, recognition on table place cards, event program and online materials. Become a Table Sponsor online today.

Become an Event Sponsor

We are grateful for partner organizations, sponsors, funders, and volunteers who make our work possible each year. Please consider supporting the Village Gardens Spring Fundraiser by becoming an event sponsor. Download our Event Sponsorship Flyer or contact Amber Baker at abaker@janusyouth.org or contact Rosalie at 503.542.4605 or rkarp@janusyouth.org for more information. Thank you for your support!

Many Thanks to Our Current Event Sponsors!

Thanks to our partners at Columbia Distribution, Deschutes Brewery, Widmer Brewery, Casa Bruno, A to Z Wineworks, Alpenrose Dairy, Dry Soda, and Batchpdx for the generous contributions to the dinner!

March 15 is just around the corner…

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Thanks to all our supporters and partners for their amazing contributions to our Spring Fundraiser Auction! Check out the list below for a sampling of some of the great items you could leave with March 15th!

Live Auction

  • One Year supply of dairy products from Organic Valley
  • One night stay for two at Breitenbush Hot Springs 
  • Food Works CSA membership for the 2013 season
  • Dinner at Wildwood Restaurant, two tickets to a dance performance at Body Vox and one night stay at Inn at Northrup Station
  • Farm Dinner for 10 guests at Red Truck Farm
  • Garden Install by the Food Works Crew. The package includes: Two cedar raised beds, compost fill, vegetable starts for the entire season and a Gardening Workshop taught by Food Works Youth Leaders
  • Gardeners Package: Gift certificates from Wild Garden Seed and Territorial Seed, gift basket from Portland Nursery, Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, Bogs Boots and a one hour on-site garden consultation with Garden Fever Manager Patty Hune.
  • One night stay in Astoria at the Cannery Pier Hotel and dinner at Fort George Brewery
  •  Ethiopian dinner and coffee ceremony for 10 guests. An in-home meal cooked by Village Gardens own Asha Geibibo

Silent Auction

  • Eastside Distilling tasting & tour for 10 guests
  • Gift basket from The Olive & Vine
  • Tattoo from Corey Crowley of Atlas Tattoo
  • 10 passes to Hollywood Theatre
  • $50 gift certificate to One Green World and a one hour consultation with Core Home Fruit Services
  • Variety of wines donated by Daniel Johnson of  Wine Is Serious Business
  • Two hour private ceramics instruction with Gabriel Parque of Lewis and Clark College
  • A cooking class for two at Portland’s Culinary Workshop
  • Gift Certificate to Johns Street Cafe
  • $50 Gift Card to People’s Co-op
  • Ticket to Forktown Food Tour
  • One Hour Thai Massage from Emily A Gowen Bodywork, LLC
  • $100 Gift certificate to Alberta Co-op Grocery
  • Acupuncture and sauna session at Mandala Medicine Acupuncture
  • Dinner at Toro Brovo
  • Two bicycle tune-ups at Weirs Cyclery
  • Fragrances from OLO Fragrance
  • Gift Certificate to any McMenamins
  • Hand printed cards from Curiocity Printing
  • Gift Basket from City Farm
  • Photo gift cards from Caldera Press
  • Garden Fever Gift Card

Village Gardens’ Master Gardener Training

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Top Left: Linda painting community plot sign; Top Middle: Map of community designed Unthank Eilliot Garden site; Top Right: Community harvest from Seeds of Harmony Garden; Bottom Left: Barbara leading seeding training; Bottom Right: Seeds of Harmony…

Top Left: Linda painting community plot sign; Top Middle: Map of community designed Unthank Eilliot Garden site; Top Right: Community harvest from Seeds of Harmony Garden; Bottom Left: Barbara leading seeding training; Bottom Right: Seeds of Harmony community-led gardener meeting. 

For the past 6 years Village Gardens has been partnering with the Oregon State University Extension. Many community members have a big desire to start gardening but don’t, do tolack of knowledge or fear of killing all their plants and seeds. We have been able to offer the amazing educational opportunity of 11 weeks of intense gardening training through OSU’s Master Gardener Program . All Master Gardener classes are given by experts in the field and most if not all have PHD’s in their respective fields. After the 11 weeks of training, community members are then required to return to the Village Gardens’ urban garden sites and support new gardeners by sharing the knowledge that they learned during the course.

The Master Gardener Training is not only an opportunity to learn more about plants, but it also is the perfect environment for community members to branch out and get to know other like minded citizens who have similar passions for growing plants and vegetables. This is where the magic starts to bubble. Community members’ skills and confidence grow like a tomato plant in late July. Connections are made, friendships are cultivated and unity is palpable. All of this has been supported by the OSU Extension. Their generosity has been so impressive that the entire 11 week series of training has been provided free to Village Gardens’ participants. This has been by far one of the most generous acts of support we have had at Village Gardens. For one individual to attend the training’s, the costs is around $400 dollars.

This year we have 5 participants who are comprised from two different Portland communities. Trish has been a Seeds of Harmony Garden Leader for 2+ years and for the first time is taking the Master Gardener Class. Jean  has been working with Village Gardens planning and designing the new Market Gardening project, where 3-5 families will be growing on a 1/4 acre located on Sauvie Island. Stephanie, Mary, and Kathy are all new gardeners from the newest Village Gardens Community Garden, Unthank Eliot Memorial Garden. These 3 women have been carpooling and then holding study hours during the week to practice for the tests and review the material.

This really sums up why the Master Gardener training is  so much more than garden education. It is about more than growing red tomatoes, or greening the grass.  For Village Gardens’ participants the training has provided an opportunity to grow connections and build community through shared experiences. The knowledge and resources that are gleaned during the trainings last for decades back in the community gardens. We have gardeners who participated in the OSU Master Gardener training 6 years ago and are still leading workshops on invasive weeds and how to safely remove them, and others who are training new gardeners on the art of composting.

From all of us at Village Gardens we thank you Oregon State University Extension and a specific thank you and gratitude to Mr. Weston Miller who has made this possible.

Help Spread the Word.

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Village Gardens’ 1st Annual Spring Fundraiser is Friday March the 15th from 6:00pm to 9:00pm at Bauccio Commons, at the University of Portland.

3 Reasons you should put March 15 on your calendar:
Youth Farmers.

Food Works Farm empowers 30 urban teens to build leadership and employment skills through operating a 2 acre organic market farm business.  These youth farmers are improving their local food system by promoting community health through Veggies on the Street community cooking & nutrition demonstrations and distributing over 3,000lbs of organic produce directly to their community.

Real Community. Real Food.

Community-Led Seeds of Harmony & New Beginnings Gardens provide over 35,000 square feet of vegetable gardens and a 30 fruit/nut tree orchard located in St. Johns Woods, New Columbia and Tamaracks housing communities. The gardens provide an affordable source of healthy, organic fruits and vegetables for over 300 neighborhood residents each year. They also provide a safe place to relax with friends as well as opportunities for civic engagement and leadership development for volunteers. In 2012 Garden Leaders supported 40 new gardeners to build a community garden in the Unthank Plaza and Elliot Square communities.

Just Food.

In 2013 Village Gardens plans to focus on Growing a Neighborhood Food Hub From Seeds to Sales by Supporting families to launch small market garden and farm businesses, creating a community incubator kitchen in partnership with the Village Market community-run health corner store, and establishing a seasonal community street farmers market in New Columbia. The project will support the development of a full-system, comprehensive approach to ensuring a just and thriving neighborhood food economy by supporting vibrant sustainable farms and gardens, healthy people, and strong community relationships.

Funds raised at this event will be used to further the work of Village Gardens.

New Community Orchard: Portland Fruit Tree Project Partnership

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Left & Lower Right: Village Gardens gardeners participating in orchard pruning trainings. Top Right: Community led planning meeting at Village Gardens.

Left & Lower Right: Village Gardens gardeners participating in orchard pruning trainings. Top Right: Community led planning meeting at Village Gardens.

We are very excited to announce that Village Gardens and Portland Fruit Tree Project are partnering to bring a new Community Orchard to North Portland! The orchard will be located in the Portsmouth neighborhood, just north of Village Gardens’ Seeds of Harmony Garden and directly adjacent to the Tamaracks Apartments (see here). Not only will the Portland Fruit Tree Project be supporting Village Gardens in designing and then building a community orchard but they also will be holding trainings on the how-to prune and care for fruit trees.

So if you are interested in taking part in this new and exciting project please come to the design meeting Saturday, February 2nd, 10am-12pm at the Charles Jordan Center (9009 N Foss Ave) – Chief Joseph Room. Free snacks and drinks will be provided!This will be your opportunity to help decide what trees & plants will go into the orchard, brainstorm other community uses for the site, and meet with fellow community members excited about creating this wonderful new orchard!If you’re interested in attending this event, please RSVP by calling 503-284-6106, or sending an email to spencer@portlandfruit.org.

Food Works Farm Planning

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Food Works Farm Planning 2013

People often ask the Food Works Crew what they do in the winter as farmers. The answer is PLANNING. As soon as the winter squash and root crops are harvested and sold, the team gets busy planning for the the next season. We have a four step process to farm planning at Food Works.
Step 1 -Crop Evaluation and New Trials
One of the key skills to have in organic agriculture is keen observation. The crew puts those observation skills to the test by evaluating each crop from the past season. The youth create a criteria for what makes a successful vegetable.  Then they put each crop into one of three categories; “Definitely”, “Maybe” or “No Way”. If they are not in agreement, they use consensus decision making to get the vegetable into a category. Once they have decided on the crops from last year, the team has a opportunity to select  new vegetables to trial the upcoming year. If it’s in a seed catalog we’ll try it, but they have to give three reason why it would be a good fit on the farm and get the consensus of the whole youth crew.
Step 2 -Farm Map
Once the team knows what they are going to grow, the next step is to figure out where on the farm it will grow. Using organic crop rotation practices, the team figures out where their Spring Brassica, Salad Mix, Summer Crops, Succession Crops, Fall Brassica and Cover Crop  block sections will go. Each block section is about 1/4 acre. Using a large map and color coded strips of paper for each block section, the team decides what will be in each bed, all 130 of them. Food Works generally grows around 60 different vegetables from year to year, so it is no small task to fit them all in.(picture bottom left)
Step 3 – Variety Selection
This is the teams favorite part of farm planning every year! It’s the time when the youth get to pour over all the seed we have on hand (left over or donated) and look through those amazing seed catalogs newly arrived in the mail. This is one of the most empowering parts of planning for the team, they have the opportunity to make some big decisions on the direction of the farm for the next year.  Some new crops they are trying this year are fennel, dry beans and kholrabi.
Step 4 – Farm Calendar
The last step to planning and probably their least  favorite is the farm calendar. They have determined the what and the where, now they have to figure out the when. Using their projected harvest days (farmers market and CSA days) they count back the vegetable’s days to maturity to find out when they should plant that crop. From there they count back the days the plant start will be in the greenhouse (from seeding to the time they are ready to transplant) to figure out when they need to seed that crop in the greenhouse. (picture top right)

The farm planning has played an important role in the youth ownership of the Food Works Farm and is an opportunity for youth to make empowered choices individually and as a team. 

Winter Campaign Update

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This past fall we  launched our Seeds for Soul Food Winter Campaign and hosted our Seeds for Soul Food presentation and celebration. The goals of our Winter Campaign were to plant the seeds for success in 2013 by reaching our fundraising goal , engaging individual donors, building our online network , and recruiting volunteers .

We are excited to share that we raised  $26,773.50 with over 50 individuals making contributions!!!

We want to take this opportunity to thank our many supporters, partners, friends, and community members who have contributed to our Seeds for Soul Food Winter Campaign!  Big thanks to our grassroots organizers! We are grateful for the support and excited for the 2013 season.

We came up short on a few of our winter campaign goals…We are still flirting with 700 likes onFacebook at 689 and we have several volunteer opportunities still available in the spring of 2013. So please continue to “like” and share about our work online and continue to spread the word about opportunities to volunteer with Village Gardens.

Thank you again for being part of our village!

Seeds of Harmony Photography Exhibition

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University of Portland hosts “Seeds of Harmony” photography show by Jeff Kennel, Feb. 11-March 7 in Buckley Center Art Gallery

University of Portland will host a photography exhibit by local videographer and photographer Jeffrey Kennel titled “Seeds of Harmony” from Feb. 11 through March 7.  The exhibit will be in the Buckley Center Art Gallery on the University campus, 5000 N. Willamette Blvd. An artist’s reception will take place on Friday, Feb. 15, from 5 to 7 p.m. in the gallery. The exhibit and reception are free and open to the public.

The exhibit features portraits of gardeners who live near the University and run a community garden in New Columbia, one of Portland’s largest public housing projects. The garden, called Seeds of Harmony, is the epitome of diversity, with people from all walks of life taking part in its care and cultivation.

“There are at least 14 nationalities represented,” explains Kennel, “and you are as likely to hear Oromo or Chuj spoken in the garden as you are English. My intention is to introduce viewers to these amazing people and to encourage them to hear their stories and share their own, and maybe to take a trip to the garden to see for themselves.”

Kennel works in the University’s marketing and communications office as a videographer and photojournalist and is a former resident of New Columbia. See more of Kennel’s work at www.jeffkennel.com.

Gallery hours are Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-8 p.m., Saturdays 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. For more information contact the performing and fine arts department at (503) 943-7228 or pfa@up.edu.

Village Gardens: Seeds to Soul Food

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Dear Village Gardens Community,

We want to take this opportunity to thank our many supporters, partners, friends, and community members who have contributed to an outstanding 2012 season.  It takes a village to create transformative change, so we thank you for being a part of our village.  

In the past few weeks we have launched our Seeds for Soul Food Winter Campaign, and are grateful at the participation and response we have seen from our community, whether that has been through volunteer commitments, attending our Seeds to Soul Food event last Friday, spreading the word about our work on Facebook, or making a contribution to support the program.  Each and every act is a gift.

We hope that your holiday season is filled with goodness, hope, health, and great food.

With thanks and holiday wishes,
The Village Gardens Team

This Friday! Help Plant a Seed For 2013!

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Friday, December 14, 7:00pm to 9:00pm – A delicious, authentic Ethiopian dinner will be available on a $5 to $10 sliding scale!

Join Village Gardens for Seeds to Soul Food, an inspiring opportunity to celebrate and learn about Village Gardens work to create a more just and healthy food system in Portland. The evening will include food and drink, community participant presentations, brief videos highlighting program successes and an opportunity to join our work.

Event Details

Who: Friends, Partners, Neighbors, Supporters ~ All are welcome!

What: Celebration of Village Gardens work this 2012 season. 

  • A full Ethiopian dinner will be available on a $5 to $10 sliding scale
  • Ethiopian Appetizers, Tea, and Coffee
  • An update on Village Gardens progress and vision for 2013.
  • Short videos sharing program successes and community leader stories.
  • Inspiring testimonials by current Village Gardens gardeners, community leaders, health workers, youth leaders, and other program participants.
  • Purchase your very own Village Gardens Soul Food T-shirt! ($15)

Where: New Columbia, CEC, 4625 N Trenton Portland, OR 97203

When: Friday, December 14, 7:00pm to 9:00pm

  • 7:00p ~ Reception, Refreshments, Ethiopian Cuisine
  • 8:00p ~ Presentation and film screening

Why: Seeds for Soul Food, represents our work at Village Gardens. Each year community leaders, neighbors, partner organizations,  funders, and volunteers plant the seeds to grow a more just food system in Portland.

In 2013 Village Gardens plans to focus on Growing a Neighborhood Food Hub: by Supporting families to launch small market garden and farm businesses, creating a community incubator kitchen in partnership with the Village Market community-run health corner store, and establishing a seasonal community street farmers market in New Columbia. The project will support the development of a full-system, comprehensive approach to ensuring a just and thriving neighborhood food economy by supporting vibrant sustainable farms and gardens, healthy people, and strong community relationships. This is real Soul Food.

Join us for an evening of celebrating the seeds of 2012: the passion, dollars, volunteers, sweat, advocacy, and yes, vegetable seeds that made this year a success. Listen to the Soul Food Stories told by community leaders and staff.

Find out how you can join our Village in planting the Seeds for Soul Food in 2013!

Community Profile: Unthank Plaza / Eliot Square Community Garden

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In the beginning of 2012, residents of Unthank Plaza and Eliot Square expressed a desire to start a community garden. In March of 2012, Village Gardens partnered with these communities to help make their vision a reality.  Formally, a brick wall physically divided the two communities, but in an effort to unify the housing properties, the wall was removed, creating a central space for the garden. This location enables open access for residents in both Unthank Plaza and Eliot Square. “One of the goals of the garden is to bridge the divide between the two communities,” says Jason, Community Programs Supervisor of Village Gardens who was key in initiating this project. At first glance, the two communities might seem quite different from each other: Unthank Plaza is designed for people over 62 years old and/or people with disabilities, while Eliot Square is composed of single-family dwellings. But the garden project opened up a new arena for dialogue, socializing, team work, and community building, which revealed to residents just how much they actually have in common.
It started with “building consensus and community,” Jason says. “The first step in our partnership with these communities was just to get to know each other and build trust with each other.” It was a process of making new connections between community members, residents, and volunteers of Village Gardens, Unthank Plaza, and Eliot Square. To start these dialogues, Village Gardens Community Leaders Barbara, Helen, and Trish led workshops at Unthank Plaza/Eliot Square. They started working together in March, and by May, what had once been an empty patch of grass had been transformed into a beautiful community garden.
The garden is composed of twenty-five cedar raised beds, built by the Oregon Trades Women, as well as in-ground plots. The landscaping was planned very intentionally, with five-foot wide pathways designed to accommodate mobility scooters and wheel chairs, and beds raised tall enough for easy access. The pathways were created with gravel and metal edging to control weed growth, but also for general walkability. “The garden was really designed so that everyone can be a part of it and work in it,” Jason explains, “no matter what your access of ability or mobility may be.”
To start the planting, Community Leaders Trish and Barbara held plant sales, and mentored Unthank Plaza/Eliot Square residents throughout the process to teach them how to hold plant sales themselves. There were three sales throughout the season, where residents could chose from a wide array of plants and vegetables to grow in their plots. These plant starts were grown and cared for by Village Gardens participants.Thegarden was created as a place open to all. With a commitment to donating eight hours of time a growing season to upkeep a plot and attend meetings, anyone in the community who wants a plot in the garden can have one for free.
Jack, Lissa, and Michael, three passionate gardeners and residents at Unthank Plaza, describe some of the successes, challenges, and highlights of the first season of the garden project. They continuously describe the process of building the garden as a “real community effort.” Jack says that everyone found a different way to contribute, regardless of ability: “Some could do physical labor, and those who couldn’t were baking and bringing out lemonade.” Lissa says she would bring coffee and ice water to everyone gardening. “It brought us together, to be more of a community,” explains Michael. “People are befriending one another a lot more because now they have interacted…it’s a good tool to actually befriend a new neighbor. It really changed the environment. You see a lot     more people being friendlier with each other.”
They also explain how exciting it was to grow their own produce, watching the whole life cycle from seed to vegetable. Lissa says, “when I saw my first tomato, I was like, ‘I got a baby!’ It was so exciting!” Jack says he was “amazed” at the variety of plants they were able to grow: “We had zucchini, cucumbers, corn, watermelon, greens, tomatoes, eggplant, hot peppers, cantaloupe, green beans–it was a farmers market!” Jack took on a leadership role by planting two ground plots not for himself, but for the community. He planted one bed with cucumbers and the other with watermelons. Lissa also made a significant contribution by volunteering to water other people’s plots when they were not feeling up to it themselves. The garden produced more vegetables than they ever could have imagined. Jack says, “we had so much produce at one point, so we put boxes together for the fire department, because they do a lot for us.” “Next year we want to give to the fire department again,” Lissa adds, “keep that as a tradition.”
People had such an abundance of produce that they didn’t know what to do with it. To help folks learn a new, creative way to get the most out of their harvest, Village Gardens Community Leaders led a pickling and canning workshop that was very successful. Community Leader Trish also taught everyone how to make zucchini bread as part of the workshop. Jason says that “the purpose of these workshops is to empower people to ‘do it themselves’ by learning new skills and knowledge.” Lissa says the preserving workshop was one of the highlights of the season. “That canning, I was so proud of myself! I made it for my husband. He loved it. He wanted me to make more!” Jack says that he has “always been afraid of canning” because he thought “it was too complicated,” but he says “Jason made me realize its not, its actually pretty simple.”
Although the garden was very successful in many ways, the project still faced many challenges. Michael said that at times there would be arguing and bickering, but in the end it ultimately brought people together. “We can agree to disagree,” says Michael. “I learned that on a different level.” Jack and Lissa say that everyone learned a lot that will help them to be even more successful the following season. “I think this first season was a real learning experience for everyone. We made a lot of mistakes. But next year, we won’t make those same mistakes,” explains Jack. Michael says that the hard work in the garden “helped [them] to be a better community.” “Inside,” he says, “we have a TV, and people would argue over the channel. But outside [in the garden], everyone is working together.” In addition, Michael explains that they were inspired by each other to try new things: “I [grew] tomatoes and greens–I started with what I knew of. But then I saw people growing lemon cucumbers and watermelon– and now I want those, too! Now I’ve seen other people growing different things that I think would be cool to grow.”
Jack describes how the garden project helped improve the health of the community. “Gardening is a therapeutic activity. Its good to get out there in the sunshine, get exercise. And to actually see things growing. I started eating more vegetables. I wasn’t a big vegetable eater. I started eating fresh vegetables and I started feeling better. I even talked to my doctor about it.” Furthermore, the garden project has helped Unthank Plaza and Eliot Square better the health of the environment. “There was no compost here before the project,” Jack says. “Right now, I’m concentrating on composting. I’ve been saving all my kitchen scraps to add to the compost.”

With the help of Village Gardens Community Leaders, the residents of Unthank Plaza and Eliot Square have come together to create something truly amazing. The garden is a physical way to connect the two communities, and the opportunity to work towards shared goals inspires new friendships to form. Garden parties and workshops provide a space for folks to share skills, knowledge, and ideas aroundgardening, and encourage people to spend more time outside and start friendships with people they’ve never talked to before. Michael says, “the best is seeing the final outcome. Its like, if you stand looking in the womb, you aren’t going to like what you see. But at the end, its like WOW! Look at the end result! It’s really cool.” The garden was extremely productive and abundant–full of beautiful, colorful plants and vegetables. But Jack reminds us: “Not only are we growing vegetables, but we’re growing relationships.”

To get involved with the garden project at Unthank Plaza/Eliot Square, stay tuned at villagegardens.orgto learn about volunteer opportunities next spring.

Community Leader Profile: Yvette

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Meet Yvette, an enthusiastic Community Health Worker, passionate leader, and committed activist. Yvette has been involved with Village Gardens for almost two years, and during this time has been a member on the advisory committee of the Village Market and an active gardener at Seeds of Harmony. Most recently, Yvette has become a member of the bike committee called “We All Can Ride” and has been engaged with “The Hub” bike project in New Columbia, right next to the Boys and Girls Club on North Trenton Street. At The Hub, community members can bring their bikes for basic repairs and can participate in workshops. “We teach the community how to take care of and repair their own bikes,” Yvette explains, “as a way of empowering people and building capacity and independence.” She has also been very active with the Urban League of Portland, a community-based organization that works to empower African Americans and other Oregonians to achieve equality in education, employment, health, and economic opportunity. What follows is Yvette’s own descriptions and reflections on her work with Village Gardens.

Describe some of the work you do as a Community Health Worker: 

As a Community Health Worker, my work that I feel most connected to is the Urban League. Village Gardens and the Community Health Worker Program has facilitated my connection with the Urban League. They brought me an application for the Social Justice Civic Leadership Program, which is part of the Diversity Leadership Program. I feel very connected there.
 Urban League offers many trainings. They work with you and teach you classical organizing….We use the Midwest Academy Manual for Activists–all organizers that I know consider it their bible. They use techniques based on that book. They train us with that book so we can further develop our organizing skills and perspectives. They offer opportunities in the community to apply to the world. With the Urban League, we have been going to Salem to advocate for better policies in health care, such as incorporating cultural competency in health care so that people of color can have better health outcomes. We also work with Community Education Partners, where we are working to reduce, if not eliminate, the disproportionate kids of color that are receiving discipline in schools. We are trying to reduce disparities in discipline referrals. We’re involved on that with Portland Public Schools.
Through Village Gardens, I’ve been able to go to conferences like the Food Policy conference, and another one for activists mobilizing for power. I was able to take three classes there, one called “An Ounce of Prevention.” I feel extremely fortunate that I’ve been able to go to these conferences. That’s one of the things I really like to do: to talk to people. 

What does being a Community Health Worker mean to you?

Before Village Gardens, my daughter and I were homeless for twelve years, sleeping on couches. It sounds kind of not so scary–to sleep on someone’s couch seems like a community solidarity thing–but every place we lived the people were bad. We didn’t like it. It wasn’t acceptable for us. It was never a good living environment. Yeah, we had a roof over our heads, but it wasn’t good.
I knew if I were going to be alive, the only way I could live and be healthy and sane would be to live by my values. My values were to support the work of being a mom. Everything I did as a mom was preparing me to do what Community Health Workers do for the community.  What it means for me is that Community Health Workers have the same goals as myself. Really. The shared goal is being care givers in the community, empowering people and building capacity. Without even knowing it, Community Health Workers was what I had been living for all that time, by being a mother to my daughter.
So called “minority communities” are effected by [systems] in society in ways that mainstream people are not. I’ve always been an advocate. Coming back to my daughter, to my being her mom, I honestly feel like I am a mom for everyone. There’s not a distinction because she’s connected to the rest of the world. Her safety is dependent on everyone else’s safety. I can’t be a mom in a void. We don’t live in a void. People can’t fight for a right in a void. There has to be community. I had to look years ahead, think about the future. It’s a lot more work than changing diapers. That’s why I feel connected to community health work. Its for overall well-being. Not just physical health, but also spiritual,social, political…more intangible things.
The ultimate goal of community health and public health is justice and equity. I try to do the work at the front end like that. I’d rather do preventative work, looking at the social determinants of health…[To combat this], I supported my daughter’s education because I knew it was the number one way to get out of poverty. I didn’t want her to be in poverty. I didn’t know if these things would work, but I had no choice. I could make a mistake for myself, but not with my daughter. I tried to support her, empower her. Build capacity. That’s what Community Health Workers do. We build capacity and empower people. We do work so that people can be empowered.

As a Community Health Worker, what are your visions for the future?

I still have personal unfulfilled goals. I want to start a really good mom’s group. It can also be political, but just an ultimate mom’s group. A support group where moms can come. The main idea is that they can get together and talk.  The first step is making people welcome and willing to speak, willing to share, willing to connect.  The second step is organizing to develop a shared political analysis. You come together. You assemble. You know, [exercise] the right to assemble. So you can be united. And therefore empowered.

What is your “soul food”?

Soul Food to me is whatever is good for the soul. To me it’s more like a feeling. A warm fuzzy, kind of. It’s solidarity. Where you feel positive. To me, the way to get that is through community. I think that’s what people need. Otherwise we’d be hermits. We have to have positive connections and relationships with people. Thats what I think soul food is–whatever transpires in those connections, it could be anything. Kind of like storytelling.

Why is Village Gardens important for this community?

I think that Village Gardens really understands that communities need to be communities. And that they need to be healthy. We are all united behind well-being. Health is not just the physical body. It’s the community as a whole. It’s about social relations too. But at the same time, you need all hands on deck. Even though these are the bigger, ultimate ideas, we also need direct service to deal with immediate need, which is health. Like the gardens. Fresh, organic food is really important. So that’s what unifies people. We can all agree that this is vital. 
Poor people are treated so badly. Poor people are constantly blamed, the individual is blamed, as if power or the government doesn’t have any effect on them. The only way you can dismantle those things are programs like Village Gardens. Bringing connections to the community and building partnerships–that is essential. And this is ultimately a life or death issue. People can die from social policies. People do die from social policies. Not just that, its what I said earlier. I would rather die than to live a life exploited. I would rather die than to work for the “other side” or for someone I don’t authorize to steel my labor. I don’t want to contribute to that. Village Gardens is a way to reverse that cycle of systemic oppression so that people aren’t used and insulted. 
If Village Gardens wasn’t here, then people living here would continue to be pummeled by the system and always be last, at the bottom of the totem pole, disrespected, made to feel worthless. Village Gardens is a statement against that. Village Gardens empowers people to stand up against those kinds of things. To take charge of their own lives and do something positive. It is crucial to have someone to stand up for you. Otherwise there is always going to be a large group of poor people that are being walked on unless someone stops it. It has to happen on the ground. It has to happen through partnerships. It’s the most important work in the world, period. There is nothing else that can compare.

Seeds for Soul Food Winter Campaign

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Seeds for Soul Food, represents our work at Village Gardens. Each year community leaders, neighbors, partner organizations,  funders, and volunteers plant the seeds to grow a more just food system in Portland.

Our Winter Campaign goals are focused on the seeds for success in 2013: growing our network, engaging individual donors, reaching our fund raising goal, and recruiting volunteers. 

Winter Campaign Goals

Grow our network –  We hope that our work can help to support positive community development in other areas around Portland and the country. Help us spread the word. Share about our projects with everyone you know. Our goal is to reach 1,000 likes on facebook this winter. 

Engage individual donors – Your contribution will empower Village Garden’s community leaders to strengthen their community by creating an accessible local food economy, encouraging positive food and health choices, creating opportunities for economic development and a vibrant community of diverse people and cultures. Our goal is for 200 individuals to support the work of Village Gardens by making a donation this winter.

Reach our fundraising goal – Our winter fundraising goal is to raise $30,000 dollars. In 2013 Village Gardens plans to focus on Growing a Neighborhood Food Hub: by Supporting families to launch small market garden and farm businesses, creating a community incubator kitchen in partnership with the Village Market community-run health corner store, and establishing a seasonal community street farmers market in New Columbia. The project will support the development of a full-system, comprehensive approach to ensuring a just and thriving neighborhood food economy by supporting vibrant sustainable farms and gardens, healthy people, and strong community relationships. This is real Soul Food.

Recruit volunteers – Our programs are led by residents of the communities we work in, but it takes a village to improve our food system. Join our team in 2013 and volunteer with one of our programs. Our goal is to recruit 40 volunteers for 2013 this winter.

Join our village.  Plant a Seed for Soul Food this winter.

Grab your very own Village Gardens Soul Food T-Shirt at the Village Market this week. T-shirts are only $15. All proceeds from T-shirt sales support Village Gardens programing. Show your enthusiasm for Village Gardens with this stylish t-shirt or grab one for a friend!

Village Market is located in N. Portland at 4632 North Trenton Street

Save the Date for our Winter Campaign Celebration

Join us for an evening of celebrating the seeds of 2012: the passion, dollars, volunteers, sweat, advocacy, and yes, vegetable seeds that made this year a success. Listen to the Soul Food Stories told by community leaders and staff.

Find out how you can join our Village in planting the Seeds for Soulfood in 2013! Make a contribution, pick-up your own Soul Food T-shirt, learn about volunteer opportunities in 2013, and listen to Village Gardens season highlights and vision for 2013.

Community Leader Profile: Wasongolo

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Wasongolo was born a community organizer. His work at Village Gardens as the official community organizer is just a continuation of the work he has been doing his entire life in Africa. He has worked for years across the globe leading and organizing people through crisis. Village Gardens didn’t mold or shift him into a community organizer; Wasongolo came with these skills.

Wasongolo grew up and spent much of his life in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Burundi. After graduating from high school, Wasongolo spent three years teaching math and biology to seventh, eighth, and ninth graders. Looking to try something new, Wasongolo left teaching to attend the Higher Institution of Development (ISDR Bukavu) where he studied social organizing. “The idea of the school is to have trained professionals who can work for change, and work with people,” Wasongolo explains. “We learned about how you can organize [people], how you can come up with ideas that actually work. We get these ideas by making the community’s needs a priority.” After finishing school, Wasongolo completed a six-month internship in Burundi with LVIA, “an Italian organization dealing with solidarity and international cooperation,” which works “with the aims of fighting social inequality, food insecurity, and poverty and of operating concretely for peace and human development” (www.lvia.it/en). With LVIA, Wasongolo worked with marginalized populations and gained hands-on experience in community organizing, establishing a microcredit project with inspiration from the writings of Nobel Peace Prize recipient Muhammad Yunus and Cameroonian priest Jean Marc Ela.

After his internship in Burundi, Wasongolo returned to the Congo where he started working with various Catholic charities, namely Caritas-Development. He was in charge of many projects, but his overall role was going into communities, talking to people, and hearing directly from them about their actual needs. Wasongolo’s work changed again in 1994, when over 4.5 million refugees from Burundi and Rwanda fled to the Congo. Wasongolo became a supervisor for seven refugee camps, and in conjunction with the United Nations Refuge Agency (UNHCR), worked to get people connected to various social services, such as identifying women who were pregnant and providing them supplemental nutrition and clinical care. He was also in charge of burial materials and procedures, as people were dying every day. In addition, Wasongolo was involved in creating a program where refugees could make art to be sold in town, as a form of gaining income. In September of 1996, the First Congo War started, and after three years of doing this work, it became dangerous for Wasongolo and his family. He says that people working to help refugees, specifically people who believed in the rights of refugees, were the first to be targeted. So he and his wife left to Zambia, where they lived for seven years. His first year in Zambia, Wasongolo lived in a refugee camp. While in the camp, he organized a group of students from Burundi, Rwanda, and the Congo with the hopes of getting them back into school. Furthermore, Wasongolo started working with the Jesuit Refugee Program and the UNHCR in order to fight for the rights of refugees, including the right to education and the right to work. Wasongolo had a vision of finding ways to let refugees utilize their skills for economic agency. “Refugees are also human beings,” Wasongolo would advocate. “They cannot be considered objects.”

During this time, Wasongolo received a large sum of money through a connection with a Catholic nun from Portugal that was trying to help in their efforts of finding sustainable settlements for refugees. This money was intended for Wasongolo’s personal use, but he did not see it this way. “For me, this money was like ‘okay, now I can help people. I have to fight for the right of refugees.’” Wasongolo helped start a new effort to find new settlements for refugees. In conjunction with the Jesuit Refugee Program and other refugees, Wasongolo worked to get people relocated abroad. As Wasongolo describes it, this was a process of understanding the needs of the refugees by “meeting them where they are” and “listening, seeing, and taking action” in order to find the appropriate resettlements. After lots of grueling, hard work, these efforts enabled more than 600 families and individuals to resettle in the United States, Canada, Australia, and various European countries. After prioritizing others’ needs before his own and letting many, many people go ahead of himself on the list for resettlement, Wasongolo’s turn finally came. He and his family were relocated to the United States, which brought him here– to Portland, Oregon.

Wasongolo became involved with Village Gardens five years ago, when he moved to New Columbia and became a gardener at Seeds of Harmony. After a year of having his own garden plot, Wasongolo became a garden advocate. Through this position, Wasongolo shared his skills, knowledge, and ideas in the garden, and truly began to shine as a leader. After a year as a garden advocate, Wasongolo was hired as the Community Organizer for Village Gardens.

As a community organizer, Wasongolo says his job is “empowering community members and acting as a bridge and cultural mediator.” One of his biggest roles with Village Gardens has been getting folks in the community trained as Community Health Workers. In conjunction with the Community Capacitation Center at the Multnomah County Health Department, Village Gardens has trained over fifty Community Health Workers over the course of the past three years. Wasongolo organized all of these trainings, and has been a huge support in connecting Community Health Workers with different organizations around Portland. Wasongolo is a strong networker, and has connected Village Gardens with numerous groups and facilities such as the North Portland Clinic, Community Cycling Center, the Office of Equity and Inclusion, African Partnership for Health, Portland African American Leadership Health Committee, African Committee Advocacy Council, Family Advocacy Council, ACHIEVE, University of Portland School of Nursing, and many more. Wasongolo says that he aims to provide a wide diversity of workshops, trainings, and services, which motivates him to connect Village Gardens with as many different resources as possible.

Wasongolo explains that getting Community Health Workers educated and trained in public health is an important way to empower the community. To enable this to happen, Wasongolo has organized Village Gardens’ participation in various conferences, such as a conference in New Orleans held by the Community Food Security Coalition (CFSC) and a public health conference hosted by Kaiser. In addition, Wasongolo has organized the community’s involvement in Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR), in which communities and academic institutions partner to promote health equity and social justice. Wasongolo explains that CBPR is an empowering and dynamic process in which “researchers aren’t just plugging things on people,” but rather, the community drives and designs all aspects of the research including research structure, research questions, outcomes, evaluation, collaborative solutions and dissemination of their findings.

Wasongolo says that the place of Community Health Workers in the community is essential. “Community Health Workers are the bridge between different services and programs that have to be connected with the community. Community Health Workers are like vessels bringing those things. Its like Village Gardens is a big river, and we have to make sure that people living around Village Gardens are getting water from Village Gardens. Community Health Workers have a big role to play because they are transferring their knowledge, deciding and directing our philosophies and services, and connecting people to their neighbors, community members, and beyond.”

Another important component of Wasongolo’s position is helping immigrant families adjust to their new residency in North Portland. His ability to speak many languages is key to this process– Wasongolo speaks Swahili, Kibembe, Nayanja, Kirundi, Kinyarwanda, French, Lingala, and English–languages of Zambia, Burundi, Rwanda, and the Congo. Wasongolo supports immigrants in various areas, including finding a job, filling out paperwork such as Section 8 or medical forms, and helping them become involved in their children’s education.  As an immigrant himself, Wasongolo has great compassion for other immigrants in his community and is highly skilled at helping them assimilate. “Being new in a country, we are always frustrated,” Wasongolo says. “And a big issue comes up when we don’t know the language. Language is one way that makes people feel like they are accepted. [So when you don’t know the language], you are so frustrated and you feel like you are not accepted.” Wasongolo passionately expresses his desire to support his fellow community members transition into their new lives in Portland. Another way he does this is through his work with the African Women Coalition. “The big goal is to empower African woman,” Wasongolo says. By mobilizing and advocating for African woman in the community, Wasongolo says immigrant families can create a culturally supportive and nurturing environment. “Language is one barrier of communication, integration, and making friends,” he explains. “People want to make friends, but because the communication is breaking down, nothing can come out.” The African Woman Coalition is a supportive, safe space for the development of new friendships and opportunities.

Wasongolo is a passionate advocate for others, and always puts others’ needs in front of his own. In Africa, he advocated for the rights of refugees, and here in Portland, he continues to fight for the rights of marginalized populations. He continues to do what he did in African–but in the Portland context. His organizing and connectivity within the African community in North Portland is key to Village Gardens’ success. His ability to speak many languages is invaluable, and Village Gardens has had a huge increase in participation of African families because of Wasongolo’s engagement.

When reflecting on his work with Village Gardens, Wasongolo speaks of the importance of unity among people, programs, and services. “What I believe in, its not just this [Village Gardens] office. My belief is in the community. If we can share with the community, we can make more change, we can make more available information, affordable services, and we can share knowledge and build acceptance. And that can be an integrative process. The most important thing is to be connected. I think we need to have the same language.” Similarly, Wasongolo describes “soul food” as a way in which people come together. “Soul food means for me justice, living together, sharing together, and integrating those processes.” Through his dedicated work and committed activism with Village Gardens, Wasongolo is contributing to his vision of a socially just, united community.