Troy Gardens, Madison, Wisconsin USA

Martin Bailkey

In 1995, the State of Wisconsin offered for sale 6 hectares of former farmland on the north side of Madison, the state capital. For several years, a local anti-poverty NGO had been permitted to manage community garden plots on the site, with gardeners drawn from both the surrounding neighbourhood and elsewhere in Madison. Upon hearing of the state's wish to sell the land, gardeners and neighbours who valued the implicit quality of the site as informal public open space, organised to develop a strategy for keeping the rural character of the property. This began a 6-year effort that resulted in the sale of Troy Gardens (named after Troy Drive, which borders the land) – and to which the state added an adjacent 6 hectares – to the Madison Area Community Land Trust (MACLT) in 2001. MACLT now leases 10 hectares to the Friends of Troy Gardens (FTG) as undeveloped conservation land that will, by mutual and legal agreement, remain as open space for the community's benefit, and will build 30 residential units on the remaining land under the co-housing model (see www.cohousing.org). MACLT will price 20 of these units at levels affordable to lower-income home buyers, in keeping with its organisational mission to make housing affordable in Madison's increasingly expensive real estate market. For their part, FTG, a membership organisation run by a board of directors composed of community members, manages the different community-oriented programmes occurring on the site throughout the year.

Children proudly display the vegetables grown in the Kid's Garden program at Troy Gardens.

From its beginnings as a citizen reaction to the state's plan to sell the land, Troy Gardens has been marked by active community involvement. The existing community gardens established urban agriculture as a key component of the community's vision for Troy Gardens, and ideas for involving stakeholders with urban farming evolved over the years of discussion and planning. Part of the richness of Troy Gardens is based upon the fact that these stakeholders are not drawn from a single social group, but include middle- and upper-middle class whites, a strong community of Hmong refugees from Laos and Southeast Asia, local school-age youth, and smaller groups of African-Americans and Hispanics. Today, Troy Gardens forms a rich display of community-based urban agriculture, both in form and in culture. About one-half of the almost 300 community garden plots of 50m² are efficiently farmed by Hmong families, who typically grow high quantities of indigenous vegetables. The remaining garden plots are equally divided into an organic, non-tilled section and a section tilled before each growing season.

A short distance away from the community garden plots, past the displays of edible and Hmong medicinal plants, and past the 2 hectares of tall-grass prairie now being restored by community volunteers, sits Madison's first urban farm for larger-scale production. This 2-hectare community supported agriculture (CSA) farm completed its fourth year of operation in 2005. Under the CSA structure, individuals and families purchasing a share in the Troy Gardens farm prior to the growing season receive a steady supply of fresh, certified organic produce from June into October. There were 89 shareholders in 2005; of these 9 were worker shares (discounted shares for those doing significant farm work) and 4 were shares for low-income families, subsidised through outside donations of money. In addition to distribution through CSA shares, the Troy farm sold fresh produce once a week at an on-site market stand, and at two Madison farmers' markets. Produce was also sold at Madison's leading cooperative grocery. The farm generated an income of US$ 54,700 in 2005, and FTG, the farm's manager, projects an increase to over US$ 65,000 in 2006.

Multiple functions

The food production activities at Troy Gardens provide the framework for a rich variety of community-building activities. In addition to the daily sharing of experience among the community gardeners and CSA farm workers and volunteers, a number of programmes reach out directly to schoolchildren and high school students from Madison's north side. The successful Farm and Field programme offers job training and other skills to high school students aged 14-17 each summer through exposure to ecological restoration, organic farming and the marketing of farm products. And the Kid's Garden programme provides gardening, arts, nutrition, cultural and environmental education to children from the area's primary schools. The programme is designed to coordinate school curricula with on-site activities at Troy Gardens. The children plant and maintain their own garden beds and participate in arts and crafts projects that enhance the garden's appearance. Food grown in the Kid's Garden is brought home to participants' families, used for cooking lessons or donated to community centres and food pantries. In addition to youth activities Troy Gardens hosts several public events tied to the seasons, including a Savour the Summer Festival in August and a Harvest Festival in autumn. Whilst being a celebration of food and the changing seasons (important in the northern climate of Wisconsin), these events are enhanced by performances of Hmong music and dancing.

High schools students learn sustainable urban agriculture methods through the Troy Gardens Field and Farm project.

The permanence of Troy Gardens is a testament to the ability of several Madison NGOs with different missions to find common ground and work together on behalf of Madison's north side community, independent from significant government involvement. The community land trust model has been a valuable tool in ensuring that the acquisition of the land from the state occurs in the best interest of the surrounding neighbourhood (Caton Campbell and Salus 2003). Faculty and students from the University of Wisconsin-Madison managed to overcome community concerns that they would impose their own agendas and have become valued players in, among other roles, developing the Troy Gardens site plan, guiding the prairie restoration and improving the productivity of the CSA farm. Recently, as a way to introduce the local Hispanic community to Troy Gardens, the University helped FTG develop a production and marketing plan for huitlacoche, a naturally occurring corn fungus that has been a delicacy in Mexican cuisine for centuries.

Challenges

As with many similar projects, the success of Troy Gardens as an example of Community-Based Urban agriculture (CBUA) is balanced by several challenges. With no direct government support, Troy Gardens, like so many similar CBUA activities in the US, is dependent on grants and donations. The small FTG staff must thus spend significant amounts of time and energy seeking funds to continue basic operations. A second challenge has been to broaden the ethnic diversity of Troy Gardens' users. Apart from those participating in the youth programmes, the involvement of the surrounding Hispanic and African-American communities remains low, despite a number of outreach efforts. Finally, with the maturity of Troy Gardens as a coordinated series of community-based activities, the boundaries of its "community" are sometimes blurred. In most regards, Troy Gardens remains solidly-rooted in Madison's north side. Yet it is increasingly seen as a valuable amenity to the entire city of Madison. Given this perception, Troy Gardens' leadership has discussed the possibility of applying its community-building expertise in other Madison neighbourhoods, particularly those with low-income residents.

Troy Gardens was born under special circumstances. But hard work among dedicated community members, combined with outside involvement by individuals respectful of keeping ownership within Madison's north side community, has resulted in an exemplary model of CBUA – one that combines urban agriculture with other activities to form an integrated set of place-centred community-building practices.

The Troy Gardens farmer leads one of the many tour groups that visit the urban CSA farm each growing season

Reference

Caton Campbell, Marcia and Danielle A. Salus. 2003. Community and Conservation Land Trusts as Unlikely Partners? The Case of Troy Gardens, Madison, Wisconsin. Land Use Policy 20: 169-180.

Project 'Patio Comunitario': a community initiative to produce sustainable food

Justo Torres Lazo
Francisco Paz Barada

Background

The project "Patio Communitario" addresses the issue of access to food, which is one of the most severe problems impacting the quality of life of the Cuban population. The elderly, women, housewives, and children are the groups most affected by this problem. This lack of access to sufficient food has its origin in the economic crisis known as 'período especial' (special period) in Cuba in the late eighties, early nineties. The U.S. blockade and the disintegration of the European Socialist Block (that always supported Cuba before) made the Cuban government redirect the country's food production strategy towards organic production. It also provided greater entitlement of land to the people by forming new cooperative organisations known as 'Unidades Básicas de Producción Cooperativa' (basic units of cooperative production).

In Cuba's urban areas, agricultural activity has increased through 'organopónicos', (intensive organic gardens), state agricultural enterprises and small plots cultivated by individuals or labour centres. This redirection of urban activities has resulted in the ability to maintain an acceptable level of food products in the lunchrooms of schools, kindergartens and labour centres and in farmers markets. However, in spite of these advances, it has not been possible to provide food at reasonable prices to the majority of Cuban families.

One of the neighbours is harvesting from the patio garden

In Cuba, and particularly in the city of Havana, the resources designated for collection, transportation and disposal of urban waste have been significantly reduced during the crisis years. The situation has now become critical in terms of the risks to human health and the environment due to an increase of uncontrolled garbage dumps that have sprung up everywhere. The number of reported environment-related illnesses has increased. Respiratory diseases, allergies, intestinal diseases and recent epidemics of dengue are amongst these. Studies have revealed that about 60 percent of all household waste comprises of organic material (see chapter 8). Such a high volume of organic waste provides an excellent opportunity to produce organic fertiliser for plants (edible, condimental, medicinal and ornamental) and to provide food for small animals that are authorised to be raised in urban zones.

Canal District in the Cerro municipality

The 'Consejo Popular' (people's council) of the Canal district in Havana is aware of these problems related to waste management. Being one of the oldest neighbourhoods in the city, it has a high density of people living in deteriorating urban infrastructure. Local health statistics indicate a high incidence of environment-related diseases including stress. Community alternatives to deal with this issue and to create a change in the district's culture towards the environment and hygiene hardly exist.

The Canal district has many houses with 'patios' (courtyards) which could be used as spaces to raise animals, to grow fruit trees and gardens of medicinal plants, vegetables and spices. Up to now, the patios have not been used in this way. This provides an opportunity to encourage people to use the patios for small scale organic gardens. People in this district have a high sense of ownership, which makes it easier to develop participatory projects that transform and benefit the neighbourhood.

The 'Taller de Transformación Integral' (Workshop on Integral Transformation – which is an institution of local government in Cuba dedicated to community work) of the Canal district has worked for years in collaboration with the population to support and create various social projects. They are aware of the necessity to take action on the issues mentioned above. And among the inhabitants there is enough knowledge and experience that could be used to jointly find local solutions to the problems.

The project 'Patio Comunitario', created in 1998, has been working for eight years on these topics and promoting urban agriculture within the community and has gained the people's recognition as well as the support of social organisations and the local government.

Main Activities of 'Patio Comunitario'

Household food production

The project 'Patio Comunitario' promotes urban agriculture using permaculture designs in small spaces within houses (courtyards, balconies, flat roofs, gardens, lots, etc.) with the aim of producing vegetables, fruits, spices, medicinal and ornamental plants, and raising rabbits, chicken and guinea pigs. This activity contributes to improving family incomes in two ways: the participants don't have to buy those products which they produce and at the same time earn an extra income by selling the excess harvest to neighbours (mostly fruits). There are currently 20 family gardens in the district involved in the activities of this project. The project also aims to recover plant varieties that were traditionally used in Cuban kitchens, but have become scarce or are in danger of extinction. Chayote, Ñame, and Caimito (Cuban vegetables) are a few examples.

Recycling domestic waste

Another activity of this project is the recycling and reuse of a significant volume of the solid organic waste generated in households. This includes kitchen food waste used in vermiculture systems, for compost making and feeding small animals, and other waste such as boxes, bags, old tyres, car batteries, wash basins, containers etc. which are filled with soil and used as planting receptacles. Reusing waste in this manner diminishes environmental pollution and mitigates health risks caused by open waste dumps on the streets.

Environmental education and community training

The neighbourhood environmental education and training component is accomplished by hosting workshops, courses and conferences on a variety of environmental topics. These training courses are held periodically in the demonstration courtyard at the project's headquarters. The project pays special attention to environmental education of young people, who as future citizens would have the responsibility to continue and improve the work accomplished today. At the headquarters of Patio Comunitario, two environmental interest circles (groups) are being hosted. These circles use methods of non-formal education and are attended by 20 of the district's primary school students.

Once a week (on Wednesday) the children learn the importance of living in harmony with the elements of nature. They are confronted with the benefits of the trees, medicinal plants, and different forms of reuse and recycling in the community, while getting to know healthy lifestyle habits and how to contribute to keep the environment of their district and of Havana Bay clean. They receive this knowledge from volunteer instructors who are members of the project management group. The learning process is supported by the pedagogical techniques of 'Educación Popular' (Popular Education), through which the children come to understand the relationship between human beings, nature and society by the collective construction of knowledge and through their everyday experiences. Next to didactic games, drawings, songs and theatrical representations, they take on homework tasks of practical activities at home, in their block or at school, based on what they learn during each meeting. The children participate in preparing and planning these activities.

To support neighbourhood-level environmental education and training, the project has recently set up a Centre of Environmental Community Information. The information centre has a library with resources on the environment and healthy living. Workshops and conferences for plant and animal producers, housewives and children of the community are also being held at the centre.

Healthy Food Fairs

A healthy food fair takes place on every last Saturday of the month at the headquarters of Patio Comunitario and is the activity that generates the highest level of community participation. The fairs are organised by the neighbours with the support of community organisations and the Taller de Transformación Integral of the Canal district. The neighbours cook vegetable dishes and present them to the audience. The winners are selected by a community jury and receive a popularity prize. Specialists give lectures about healthy nutrition and lifestyles. The fair also places emphasis on the community's artistic talents. A children's procession, a painting exhibition and troubadours are among the activities organised that feature in the fairs for the enjoyment of the community.

The healthy food fair combine recreational activities with provision of information.

These fairs in the Canal district of Cerro demonstrate that it is possible to create community-initiated recreational activities which at the same time provide information on a healthy lifestyle. This initiative has allowed 'Patio Comunitario' to promote environmental lifestyle to parts of the population which don't have formal ways of receiving this environmental education, such as housewives and retired people. About 270 people have participated in this activity in the neighbourhood.

These activities have a significant environmental and social impact. They contribute to improving the quality of life in the community as well as to strengthening the cooperation among of all the social actors. These are the first important steps toward making implementation of the Local Agenda 21 in the district a reality. The achievements of this project will be used as good practice examples in the country to realise the dream of constructing sustainable communities that live in harmony with their natural surroundings.

Resources

Farming Inside Cities: Entrepreneurial Urban Agriculture in the United States.
Jerry Kaufman and Martin Bailkey. 2000. Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.
This working paper explores the feasibility of for-market city farming as a means of using vacant parcels in the centre of US cities, particularly those suffering the effects of deindustrialisation. Boston, Philadelphia and Chicago are used as case studies. The authors try to balance the opportunities of urban agriculture, particularly as a tool for community and economic development, with a series of constraints that must be addressed for these opportunities to be realised.

Entrepreneurial Community Gardens: Growing food, skills, jobs and communities.
Feenstra, Gail, Sharyl McGrew and David Campbell. 1999. DANR Publication No. 21578. Davis, CA: University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources
This study focuses on 27 projects in the US that started off as traditional community gardens and added on entrepreneurial components with the intention of increasing their community value. The projects are compared on a number of aspects: site characteristics, production and marketing models, participants and employment generated, levels of economic self-sufficiency, and other individual and community benefits.

CitiesPeoplePlanet
Herbert Girardet. 2004, Wiley-Academy
This book is of interest to any practitioner or policy maker involved in urban agriculture. In chapter 12, "Relearning Urban Agriculture", the author discusses the beginnings of urban agriculture, how it has developed through history and from developing countries to the USA.

Continuous Productive Urban Landscapes: Designing Urban Agriculture for Sustainable Cities
Edited by A. Viljoen, 2004. Architecture Research Unit, University of North London, U.K. ISBN 0750655437
This book takes an architectural perspective on urban agriculture. It proposes a design for a new kind of sustainable urban landscape. The innovative concepts put forward in this book have substantial potential to enhance the future quality of life within our cities. The book is well illustrated with lots of photos, diagrams, maps and tables.

Agriculture in the City, 2001 Maria Caridad Cruz & R, Sanchez Medina, IDRC
In the 1990s Cuba instituted a food programme that included urban agriculture and farming in the city. Free markets were reinstated, production coops were linked with markets, land was redistributed and areas under export crops were converted to domestic food crops. This book describes Cuba's urban agriculture programme and could be of particular interest to municipal, local and community authorities.

Gardens of Hope, Urban Micro-farming and HIV/Aids
De Zeeuw H. ETC Urban Agriculture, Abalimi and CTA.
ETC-Urban Agriculture in cooperation with Abalimi Bezekhaya (Cape Town) and the financial support of CTA (the Netherlands) organised a study visit cum workshop in South Africa (Johannesburg and Cape Town) on "Micro-farming and HIV-Aids" in August 2005. Twenty persons/organisations from Southern and Eastern Africa participated in the study visit/workshop and shared their experiences. The proceedings of this event are available at www.ruaf.org, and also published on this DVD.

www.foodsecurity.org/list.html
The COMFOOD listserver is a primary link between individuals and organisations addressing community food security in the US, Canada and globally. The listserver hosts discussions on current food security issues and announcements of relevant projects, conferences, articles, etc.

www.city.toronto.on.ca/health/tfpc_index.htm
A completely refurbished website with links to, among others, the Toronto New Food Charter and the "Growing Season" report by the Food and Hunger Action Committee of the City of Toronto.

www.eco-farm.org
The Ecological Farming Association, formerly the Committee for Sustainable Agriculture, is a non-profit educational organisation that promotes ecologically sound agriculture.

www.cbnrm.net
The Community-Based Natural Resource Management Network's web site provides a powerful set of broad, robust and useful networking tools aimed at linking stakeholders.

www.worldhungeryear.org/fslc
This online Food Security Learning Centre is created to provide site visitors "with an in-depth look at common hunger and poverty issues facing many U.S. communities." It contains subject categories on Family Farms and Nutrition, and subcategories such as Community Supported Agriculture, Community Gardens, Food Policy Councils, Farmers' Markets, Farm to Cafeteria, and more.