Logo Logo Logo Logo Logo
DONATE
  • Home
  • Projects
    • Grandmothers Kitchen Garden Project
    • East Africa Permaculture Project
    • Vancouver Urban Food Growing
    • Brazil
  • About
    • Our Team
    • Our Why
    • Our Ethics
  • Join
    • Join The Movement
    • Become A Member
  • News
  • Events
  • Home

  • Projects

    • Grandmothers Kitchen Garden Project
    • East Africa Permaculture Project
    • Vancouver Urban Food Growing
    • Brazil

  • About

    • Our Team
    • Our Why
    • Our Ethics

  • Join

    • Join The Movement
    • Become A Member
  • News
  • Events
FACEBOOK
1 day ago
View on facebook
INSTAGRAM
It’s surreal to think about how much has changed It’s surreal to think about how much has changed since we started this little seed library as a response to COVID-19 in our East Vancouver neighbourhood. On April 5th, 2020 when we posted the first story about our seed library on here we wrote, “This is the time for small grassroots actions like sharing seeds and growing food in urban areas. Margaret Mead’s quote, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has “ is as relevant now as it ever was in the past. Our small actions have impact. They create ripple effects and inspire others to walk down the same path. This is the time to regenerate our relationship with soil. This is the time to reconnect with our food. This is the time to find freedom in food growing.” At least that much hasn’t changed and will only grow stronger as we realize how important local food sovereignty is and that we can all be part of the food justice movement because we eat. Learning about how to grow food, teaching kids about gardening, intergenerational knowledge sharing about our cultural food traditions and learning from Indigenous plant knowledge keepers are the most rational things we can do during this pandemic and ever really. This little seed library represents a new reality where neighbours are involved with each other and connected through food growing and land based learning. Another thing that’s changed though is that our seed box got a makeover with a colourful new floral print! It’s filled with seeds plantable now or really soon in the PNW such as multiple varieties of peas, spinach, kales, collards, calendula and sunflowers. The middle of the street seed library is waiting for you!
Meet one of our Grandmother gardeners, Mama Mary. Meet one of our Grandmother gardeners, Mama Mary. She is the sweetest, kindest woman who is so genuinely grateful and joyful for the new VSLA (Village Savings & Loans Associaton) Initiative. She gave this testimonial at the recent weekly VSLA meeting. We began this project to further the impact of the gardens we installed for the Grandmothers, now providing micro-loans in a self-captilizing model whereby the small interest from their loans is re-invested to other women in their group. Refarmer Patrick is behind the camera interviewing this lovable grandma, "My name is Achen Mary. Those people who have reached at my place they dig for us these vegetables (made a garden) many times but I got it, I sold some and it helped me to help children in school with the books, with the school fees, even if it is very little. But I want you to continue with us so that we gain again. And this project you brought us today, they taught us and we have learned. So we are going to continue with our project. It helped us very much. I have nothing to say more. You continue with us! My age is 66 years of old. I thank you all. I’m still thanking you." This testimonial brightened up our day and shone warmth into our hearts! If you feel like brightening up the day of more women and grandmothers like Mary, please donate to our next VSLA which we are hoping to start for 50 more women. $40 provides one micro-loan and you can contribute at refarmers.org/donate or click the link in our bio. Apwoyo Matek! #vsla #grandmothergarden #villagesavingsandloanassociations #microloans #womenhelpingwomen #womensupportingwomen #womenempowerment #grandmothersrock #womenempoweringwomen #growvegetables #kitchengardenproject #grandmotherstories
We’ve been keeping this a secret because we were We’ve been keeping this a secret because we were very far away from official approval from Vancouver Park Board but now that we are in the community feedback phase and it's out in the open, we thought it was time to finally start talking about what we’ve been working on behind the scenes for 10 months! We are calling our intergenerational, cross-cultural knowledge sharing hub the Vancouver Urban Food Forest (VUFF) and we have been working with so many incredible partners including @kiwassa Neighbourhood House, @lettuceharvest @luisalmazan @earthandcompany and @hives4humanity among many others. We will tell you more in detail in a later post but this is to alert you that @vanparkboard is currently seeking public feedback until February 21st so send them an email at pbgreen@vancouver.ca or get more info at vancouver.ca/burrard-view-garden and tell them how much you love this project! In March, our proposal will be presented at the Park Board meeting and then with fingers crossed we dream to be on the ground developing our new garden by April or May! So excited to finally be here after a long beautiful journey enjoying the process of growing community and explorations in social permaculture <3
Our first VSLA (Village Loans and Savings Associat Our first VSLA (Village Loans and Savings Association) trainings launched this week at Alango East and West in Kitgum, Uganda! In attendance were the local leaders, elders, the Grandmothers from our Grandmothers Kitchen Garden Project and young single mothers. Many of the Grandmothers had begun small businesses selling their vegetables from their kitchen gardens and we wanted to find a way for them to continue their ventures with a little more capital so that they can begin to earn a proper income in order to eventually have enough to send all their grandchildren to school and begin saving among other things. A VSLA is a model that creates self-managed and self-capitalized savings groups that use members' savings to lend to each other. The model has spread to 77 countries with over 20 million active participants worldwide. We have used the $2000 raised during our holiday fundraiser (thank you beautiful donors!) to fund the first VSLA initiative and the continuation of this project should be able to be funded by the small interest repaid by the borrowers which will be relent to more women in the village. Our East Africa Project Manager Patrick Paul says, “There shall be 25 members per group and of $1000 Canadian dollars start up each shall borrow first depending on their business skills and ability to use money, but on average each member is eligible to borrow $40 and repay with $44 as interest for a month and the interest is shared by the members. Meanwhile members savings shall be theirs since we shall encourage them not only to borrow but save weekly in their sittings which shall be agreed upon the day, time and venue with the help of our staff." More updates to come on this exciting new journey for our Refarmers in Northern Uganda! If you would like to contribute to this wonderful new initiative so we can reach more women, please visit the link in our bio. #VSLA #Grandmothers #womensupportingwomen #womensmallbusiness #womengardeners #socialchange #villagesavingsgroups #changemakers #traditionalknowledge #localization #actlocal #actlocalthinkglobal #permacultureliving #regenerativemovement #regenerativeliving
Stay in the Loop
DONATE

contact@refarmers.org

We operate on the unceded, traditional and ancestral territory of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) and səl̓ilwətaɁɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.

REFARMERS is a Canadian Registered Non-Profit Incorporation Number S0072619