Education + Job Training
Educating community members on topics of food production and preparation can increase residents’ self-sufficiency as well as build a network of valuable skills within the community. Pairing such skills with education on health and nutrition can also improve both individual and neighborhood health. Furthermore, training community members to develop and implement successful models of food distribution can extend the reach of the Ghettostead’s programming and help to disseminate both food and information throughout the community.
Education
Food Preparation & Preservation | Gardening | Health & Nutrition | Adult EducationThe Ghettostead could offer regular classes or workshop sessions to train interested community members on food security topics such as gardening, food preparation and preservation, health and nutrition, and food distribution. In addition to food-specific topics, the Ghettostead could serve as a site for other educational opportunities relevant to community members’ needs or interests. Possible topics include adult education (English tutoring, GED preparation), financial literacy, or job application and interview skills.
Case StudyCity Slicker Farms - Urban Farming Education Program
City Slicker Farms is “closing the knowledge and skills gap for individuals and communities to grow their own food” (City Slicker Farms). By offering several types of opportunities, City Slicker Farms is able to engage a wide range of community members in their educational programming. The farm offers internships for both youth and adults; a summer Youth Crew that involves teenagers in cultivating fresh produce while learning leadership and job skills and earning a monthly stipend; farm tours and service learning for groups of all ages; and community-based workshops on topics of urban farming and nutrition. |
http://www.cityslickerfarms.org/farm-tours-and-service-learning
Resources |
Job Training
(Youth Development | Leadership Development | Community Organizing)
Educational programming may also take the form of job training to prepare residents for work in the emerging “green economy.” According to the United Nations, a green economy is “low carbon, resource efficient, and socially inclusive” and “results in improved human well-being and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities.” (United Nations, n.d.)
Urban farming and related social enterprises are exemplars of green economy jobs. Such training may be a key opportunity for traditionally hard-to-employ groups such as youth, veterans, or previously incarcerated community members. Case StudyMassachusetts Avenue Project
Massachusetts Avenue Project “teaches teens to solve food access issues in their neighborhoods by growing and selling organic food, learning to run their own business, training others, and working on public policy change” (Building, n.d.) |
http://mass-ave.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/garlic.jpg
ResourcesDigital Literacy Educator Tools
Chrysalis Farmer Veteran Coalition Youth Farmers’ Market Handbook United Nations Environment Programme Green Economy Initiative |
Planning Questions to Consider:
What type of information or skills would be useful to residents in my community? Of these, which would be the most useful?
Am I qualified to teach this information or skill set? If not, how can I become qualified, or how can I partner with a qualified instructor?
What type of space, materials, equipment, or other resources would be necessary to implement this type of programming?
Who is the target audience for this programming?
How will this programming be managed and funded?
Am I qualified to teach this information or skill set? If not, how can I become qualified, or how can I partner with a qualified instructor?
What type of space, materials, equipment, or other resources would be necessary to implement this type of programming?
Who is the target audience for this programming?
How will this programming be managed and funded?
Regulations
Homes in any R zone may be used for what the Zoning Code terms “adult education classes.” The Zoning Code does not define the content or the form of the classes but does state that they are “programs conducted by University Extension of University of California or any other comparable university.” According to this definition, as long as the class is held by an institution like UCLA Extension, the class qualifies. This leave open what kinds of classes can be taught and even who may attend since institutions like UCLA Extension and community colleges have few restrictions on student age. Whether the Ghettostead can qualify as a comparable institution is unclear. However, the operators of the Ghettostead may partner with nearby colleges and universities to offer classes on-site as long as certain conditions are met: no more than thirty students may attend classes on site; and classes can only be held once per week for no more than three hours each for up to 15 weeks per semester.
Tactical Options
- Partner with educational institutions to offer classes on site. No permits or additional discretionary entitlements need to be gained.
- Offer classes independently while advocating for clarity and support for these kinds of uses in R zones in the Zoning Code.
- Gain accreditation from the State Board of Education in order to offer classes by-right in R zones without partnering with current educational institutions.
1) Building the local community through food, urban farming and entrepreneurship. (n.d.).The Massachusetts Avenue Project. Retrieved December 1, 2013, from http://mass-ave.org/
2) United Nations Environment Programme. (n.d.). UNEP. Retrieved December 1, 2013, from http://www.unep.org/greeneconomy/AboutGEI/WhatisGEI/tabid/29784/Default.aspx
2) United Nations Environment Programme. (n.d.). UNEP. Retrieved December 1, 2013, from http://www.unep.org/greeneconomy/AboutGEI/WhatisGEI/tabid/29784/Default.aspx