Browse: Home / Home

Reel to Real Film Series

By Tamara on February 7, 2012

Several local organizations are collaborating on an ongoing film series that will focus on innovative solutions for living in a changing world.

 

The series will be held in downtown Salida on the third Wednesday of each month, with a break during the summer.  The showings are free of charge, though donations to cover expenses — heat, purchasing new films, etc – are welcome at the door.  For nearby communities that would like to piggyback onto this series, we can lend some films for showings in Leadville, Buena Vista, Westcliffe, Howard, Crestone, Canon City, etc.

 

To kick off the series, we’ll screen DIRT! The Movie – featuring Paul Stamets, Andy Lipkis, Janine Benyus, Fritjof Capra, Wangari Maathai,  Wes Jackson, Alice Waters, John Todd, Vandana Shiva and more.

 

Date:   Wednesday, February 15th

Time:   7:00 PM – 9:00 PM

Place:  Basement of the United Methodist Church

228 East 4th Street in Salida

Cost:   FREE, donations welcome

 

We look forward to seeing you there!

 

Sincerely –

Sandy Cruz and Suzanne Ward,

on behalf of:

Central Colorado Foodshed Alliance

High Altitude Permaculture

Morgan Center for Earth Literacy

Guidestone Colorado

Upper Arkansas Conservation District

Ark Valley Permaculture

Chaffee County Citizens for Sustainability

Greater Arkansas Nature Association

Transition Colorado

 

 

Posted in | Leave a response

Staying Educated about Environmental Issues

By Tamara on January 12, 2012

I see three good reasons to take care of the environment. What do you see?

Do you want to keep your finger on the pulse of events related to the well-being of our environment?

Check out www.sustainabletable.org 

Posted in | Leave a response

Building Farmers Program–Spread the Word

By Tamara on January 6, 2012

Applications are currently being accepted for the inaugural Chaffee County Building Farmer’s Program to be offered in Salida on Tuesday evenings from January 31, 2012 through March 20, 2012.

The Colorado Building Farmers program builds farm community and farmer capacity through classroom and experiential learning for beginning farmers (0 – 10 yrs exp).

The course is a series of 8 evening classes designed to help New Farmers/Ranchers explore farming as a business and provide Intermediate and Experienced Farmers/Ranchers with tools and ideas to refine and enhance their business management, production, and marketing skills.

Classes include Strategic Business Planning, Introduction to holistic management, agriculture modalities, market analysis, land acquisition/leasing, marketing/distribution, financial planning/business organization,
budgeting, food safety and other risk management, production Q & A, and presentations of studentcreated business plans. A variety of local growers and academic specialists make up the cadre of speakers for this eight-week course.

This course is open to new, intermediate and experienced farmers. Intermediate and Experienced farmers fuel the learning environment. Dinner provides time for socializing and networking. Sessions explore content useful to all levels of experience. New farmers learn in this community of farmer students and teachers.
Costs for the course are $200 for new farmers/ranchers, $140 for intermediate farmers/ranchers, and $100 for experienced farmers/ranchers. Course fees include all tuition, expenses, and evening meals each week. Applicants will complete a short questionnaire about their experience and desires for the course, and a local advisory committee will screen applications to determine eligibility.

For more information or an application, contact Kurt Jones at 719-539-6447.
The Colorado Building Farmers program is based upon work supported by NIFA under Award Number 2009-49400-05877 from the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program. CSU Extension programs are available to all without discrimination.

 

Posted in | Leave a response

Member Feature–Hobbs Family Farm

By Tamara on January 5, 2012

Dan Hobbs cleaning seeds. Photo courtesy Hobbs Family Farms

Dan Hobbs cleaning zucchini seeds. Photo courtesy Hobbs Family Farms

To look at Dan Hobbs today, you’d never know he grew up in the city. Hobbs and his partner, Jamie Dunston, live on a 30 acre farm in Avondale, near Pueblo. Hobbs’ love of farming stems from having spent summers during his high school years living abroad with agrarian people. “I enjoyed the lifestyle,” Hobbs said. “I liked the hands-on aspect,” and the fact that farming seems like a “creative occupation.”
Part of Hobbs’ philosophy revolves around the teachings of agricultural visionary Rudolph Steiner, who developed an approach to farming called Biodynamics. Steiner’s philosophy emerged in the early 1900s through a series of lectures. His approach involves using all of a farm’s resources to create a sustainable organism. Hobbs’ take on Biodynamics involves seeing the connection between the farmer and the land. “It’s a relationship between what one wants to do and what the land can do,” he said. Hobbs has tried many different things to see what works.
One of the things that has worked well is garlic. Hobbs has seen garlic adapt to the local environment in the 15+ years he’s been growing it. Hobbs sees garlic as a good niche because there is not a lot of competition from other producers. He grows a variety of crops on his farm, and he also specializes in seed production.
One of the most successful components of a successful farming operation, according to Hobbs, is community. His farm hosts a day long garlic planting party every fall. People help break apart & plant the garlic during the day, and then some stay overnight.
A part of farming that some people might not be aware of is advocacy. Hobbs has invested a great deal of time and energy educating people about the importance of eating local. “It’s great that things are happening at the national and local level,” he said. However, he also stressed the importance of work at the grassroots level. Hobbs believes people need to see the bigger picture of how eating local can impact their health and the environment.
To help people see the bigger picture, Hobbs and a group of six other producers created an organization called Ark Valley Organic Growers, which is a marketing and distribution cooperative . One of their projects was an “Eat Local” campaign and toolkit that included “Farmer Approved” stickers that businesses could post. The group also created a publication called “Farm Beet.”
Hobbs said activities like this take a lot of time, and he encourages people who are not farmers but support eating local to get involved. “Producers need to focus on growing their product and getting it to market,” he said.  The producers rely on activists who understand the importance of eating local to help spread the word.
To read more about Hobbs Family Farm, visit their new website:  www.farmdirectseed.com

Posted in | Leave a response

CCFA Visioning Meeting

By Tamara on September 11, 2011

CCFA Board of Directors, staff, and members Pony Anstine and Nick Francis  recently participated in a visioning meeting. Facilitated by Craig  Nielson of Rising Sun Design-Solutions, the purpose of the meeting was to see if the organization’s mission statement is still aligned with the needs of its members, and to develop a strategic plan for the next three years.

First on the agenda was exploration of several foundational questions:
What business is CCFA in?
How does CCFA make money?
Who are CCFA customers?
What do CCFA customers value?

Participants also reveiwed a summary of answers from the questionaire distributed at the CCFA Annual Meeting.

With this information in hand, participants then created and voted on a list of action items for the next three years.

The top 10 action items (in order of ranking) included:
Continuing
      Farmers Markets
      ShedFest
      Guide to Local Food
      Website
Expanding Local Resources Inventory (rental equipment, maps of fruit trees)
Continuing
      Education Programs
      Equipment Rental
Develop
      Local Currency Program
      Agri-tourism Member Tours
Unite with Colorado Local Market On-Line

Several action items were identified to help implement these action steps, including: freshen current advertising, have a regular presence in the community, update & strengthen the website, develop Promotion  Committee that would include a chairperson passionate about CCFA’s mission, getting business sponsors, developing partnerships with schools, taking programs to the public, securing grant funding, recruiting volunteers, and coordinating efforts with organizations whose mission is similar to that of CCFA.

As you look over the list of action items, what talents and expertise can you share to help us  complete these tasks? You assistance is greatly needed and appreciated by CCFA.

Posted in | Leave a response

Next »