Hammerstone School teaches Carpentry for Farmsteaders

Groundswell grad Maria Klemperer-Johnson is now a full-fledged beginning farmer, running Hammerstone Orchards with her partner Chad Purdy.  As part of the burgeoning cider revival, they grow exclusively traditional cider varieties of apples for wholesale to local craft cideries, and for you-pick to home cider-makers.

Through the orchard's sister business, Hammerstone School, Maria also teaches carpentry skills to women and to farmstead operators.  On October 12th and 13th Hammerstone is partnering with local cider makers Redbyrd Orchard Cider (also a Groundswell grad!) to present a two-day class in both woodworking and cider making.


New York state has a rich tradition of cidermaking, both hard and sweet. Unfortunately, recent changes in food safety laws requiring expensive pasteurization of cider have put some local custom presses out of business. Now the easiest way to get un-pasteurized cider, either sweet or to make hard cider, is to press your own. Join veteran carpenter and carpentry teacher Maria Klemperer-Johnson and master cidermaker Eric Shatt to build your own rack and cloth press, learn about the history and techniques of cidermaking, and press your first batch of cider on your brand new press.

 On the first day of class, Maria will guide participants through the assembly of cider presses. Frames are pre-cut and drilled for fasteners, but must be assembled. Racks must be nailed together, and the trays must be assembled. In order to have a functioning press by the following class, any remaining work should be done by participants before the second class. 

On the second day of class, Eric Shatt and Deva Maas of Redbyrd Orchard Cider will teach us all about the history of cider, growing apples, making cider, and different apple varieties. Then we will put our presses to the test, each grinding and pressing enough apples to fill a 5-gallon carboy. At the end of the day, you may optionally join us for a tour of the Redbyrd orchard and pressing facility in Hector (about a 15 minute drive away.) 

Students take home a fully functional cider press, as well as 5 gallons of cider ready to ferment.This popular class is the final event of the Finger Lakes Cider Week. More information can be found at www.hammerstoneschool.com or by calling 607-351-6878.

Topics Covered:

• Tool use and safety
• Basic carpentry skills
• Assembly of presses
• History of cider production in NY
• Traditional cider apple varieties (with tasting)
• Growing apples
• Pressing cider
• Fermentation basics

Join Groundswell at the Food Justice Fair!

Food Justice Fair AND Latinos Multicultural Festival!
Saturday, September 27, 12-4pm 

BJM Elementary School
302 West Buffalo Street, Ithaca

Please join Groundswell, GreenStar Community Projects, and a host of community leaders at the 2014 Food Justice Fair! The Fair is a fun and educational gathering for the whole family, celebrating the efforts of this community to build a more sustainable and just local food system. This year the Fair is combined with the Latinos Multicultural Festival for even more fun!

Enjoy LOTS of family activities including an Anarchy Zone run by the Ithaca Children’s Garden in the BJM playground, games and contests with fruit and vegetable prizes, chicken petting, youth cooking demo and free food - delicious seasoned roasted veggies!  Hear from local speakers - including Groundswell's Director, Joanna Green - talking about the great work going on in this community. The  Latinos Multicultural Festival will offer live music, a DJ contest, children’s craft area and food vendors.

WHAT IS FOOD JUSTICE?
GreenStar Community Projects defines Food Justice as... 

• Elimination of disparities in healthy food access and nutrition education
• Transformation of our food system, leading to comprehensive local healthy food distribution
• Support for allied movements for social justice and environmental stewardship.

Mark your calendars and join us for this great community event. Get some family fun while supporting the growing movement to take local control of the food we eat, how it is grown and processed, and who has access to it. You can find more information about the Food Justice Fair on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/FoodJusticeSummitNY.

 

Groundswell's Incubator Farm welcomes New Americans

AP reporter Mary Esch interviews
Ye Myint, originally from Burma

We're fortunate to have people from all over the world living right here in Tompkins County. Many come here to teach or to study. But for others, leaving their home country was a matter of survival, not choice.

Thankfully, there are organizations, teachers, sponsors, and church-based groups who are helping to connect refugees and other New Americans with the things they need to create a new life here in Tompkins County.

Many New Americans bring a huge amount of farming experience from their home countries. The community gardens in Ithaca have long provided an opportunity to grow food, including favorite items from their home cuisine that aren't available in local stores. And now the Groundswell Incubator Farm offers New Americans the opportunity to grow even more food for their families, their communities, and the marketplace.

ESL students admiring Ye's gongura and water spinach crops at the Farm.

To get the word out about the Incubator Farm, we've been working with English as a Second Language programs at TST BOCES and Tompkins Learning Partners. We've made several visits to ESL classes, and last week about 25 students from the TST-BOCES ESL program took a field trip to learn about the Groundswell Incubator Farm.

Even on such a gray and rainy day, the students were smiling and excited to see the Incubator Farm, and they were filled with questions about how the Farm works.  We are so grateful for the enthusiasm of all the students and teachers, and very hopeful that some may be interested and able to farm with Groundswell in the 2015 season. In any case, they will be spreading the word in their communities.

For more information about the Groundswell Incubator Farm and how you can support our work with New American farmers, please contact us at newamericans@groundswellcenter.org

2015 Applications now open for the Groundswell Incubator Farm

Mo Myint trellises cucumbers on his father's plot at the Incubator Farm.

We're now accepting applications for the 2015 season at the Groundswell Incubator Farm, located in the Town of Ithaca, at EcoVillage. The mission of the Incubator Program is to provide access to land, infrastructure, and short-term enterprise incubation for diverse beginning farmers. 

If you or someone you know is interested in applying to Incubator Program, please contact Groundswell Staff as early as possible to get the conversation started. Our Incubator Coordinator, Devon Van Noble, can be reached at devon@groundswellcenter.org or (607)319-5095.

To be considered for early-decisions, application materials are due by November 21st, however applications will continue to be accepted until February 1st, 2015.

At the Farm, you can rent a quarter-acre plot that comes equipped with drip irrigation, tools and equipment including a walk-behind tractor, storage shed, 8-foot deer fence, and a hoophouse. Incubator Farmers also receive one-on-one mentoring from experienced farmers, and participate in a variety of training workshops, Groundswell’s Farm Business Planning Course, and the Finger Lakes CRAFT network.

To learn more about what to expect from the Incubator Program and to download the application materials, CLICK HERE.

Finger Lakes CRAFT Farm Profile: Main Street Farms

Farmers: Allan Gandelman and Bob Cat

Address: 116 North West Street, Homer, NY
Phone: (607) 218-2101
E-mail: info@mainstreetfarms.com

Website: www.mainstreetfarms.com

THE FARMERS 
Allan is a former high school teacher whose passion for food and agriculture led him to end his career as a teacher and start Main Street Farms. He holds two degrees from SUNY New Paltz; a B.A. in Anthrolopoly and an M.A. in Secondary Education. He also holds a certificate in Sustainable Agriculture from Groundswell Center for Local Food & Farming.

Before coming to work at Main Street Farms, Bob Cat spent 5 years as an Outdoor Educator working for Natures Classroom all over New England.  He holds a B.A. in Communication from SUNY New Paltz and has a cetrificate in Sustainable Agriculture from Groundswell Center For Local Food and Farming in Ithaca.  Bob Cat has also spent time WWOOFing in Australia and Costa Rica.

THE FARM
Main Street Farms is an urban aquaponics farm, organic plant nursery, and education center, located in Homer, NY. We are dedicated to sustainable agriculture and local food security. We grow in both water and dirt, utilizing aquaponics techniques (aquaculture plus hydroponics) to raise tilapia in tanks. We feed them and use the waste water to fertilize the plants (lettuce and herbs). The plants in turn clean the water for the fish in a closed loop cycle, creating a symbiotic relationship. We have a wide assortment of sheds and barns to house sheep, horses, hay, and equipment. They are all simple pole barns. 

In 2013 we acquired an amazing 1.5 acre empty city lot in a low income neighborhood in Cortland, which we have converted into the city's first urban farm.  The farm is located on South Ave., and is a pickup location for CSA shares in the 2014 season.

WORDS OF WISDOM FOR A THE BEGINNING FARMER?

When it comes to agriculture risks and challenges are abundant. During our first farm start up we made our share of mistakes around pest management, allocation of time and resources, and choosing which vegetables to grow. Now that we have learned how to deal with these difficulties we hope we won't make those mistakes again.

Volunteer spotlight: Dean Koyanagi

Dean Koyanagi showing young ones the way.

We give thanks for Dean

Dean has an incredible career background: Navy Veteran, Sustainability Coordinator for Cornell, Co-farmer at Tree Gate Farm, and Groundswell Mentor Farmer, now working closely with our Incubator Farmers. Dean has been involved in Groundswell since our beginnings, and quickly grew to be a major part of our organization, helping organize our first ever Mentor Farmer Training in 2011.

We see Dean as a brilliant and dedicated farmer who is especially excited about innovation and novel, efficient farm systems. We remember the enthusiasm he exuded when he came to share several nifty tools (including an electric tractor model!) at the FarmHack Ithaca event in Fall of 2012, an event he was also deeply involved in at the planning level!

Dean has been mentoring our Incubator Farmers since the inaugural year of the program in 2013, and has been an active voice in shaping the 2014 season.  Dean's input and advice about the timing of workshops, mentoring sessions, and topics has helped Groundswell develop a timeline that fits with the rhythms of the farming season. Mentoring a new business owner and food producer can be a VERY tricky task, and but Dean's understanding of the learning process and his patience has made him an invaluable Mentor Farmer.

As Groundswell staff, we feel blessed to be able to work with a Mentor Farmer who has such a commitment to others' education that he takes the time to be critical of the techniques that are not working, and suggest improved methods.  The efficacy of the Groundswell Incubator Program has been tremendously improved by his voice.

Devon Van Noble, Incubator Development Coordinator, and Groundswell staff

Focus on Food Sovereignty

At one of our Groundswell Development meetings last month, the question came up: "What is Food Sovereignty?" We'd like to share with you the 6 food sovereignty principles which were drafted in 2007 at the International Forum for Food Sovereignty in Mali.

Food sovereignty...

1. Focuses on Food for People: Food sovereignty stresses the right to sufficient, healthy and culturally appropriate food for all individuals, peoples and communities, including those who are hungry or living under occupation, in conflict zones and marginalized. Food sovereignty rejects the proposition that food is just another commodity for international agribusiness.

2. Values Food Providers: Food sovereignty values and supports the contributions, and respects the rights, of women and men, peasants and small scale family farmers, pastoralists, artisanal fishers, forest dwellers, indigenous peoples and agricultural and fisheries workers, including migrants, who cultivate, grow, harvest and process food; and rejects those policies, actions and programs that undervalue them, threaten their livelihoods and eliminate them.

3. Localizes Food Systems: Food sovereignty brings food providers and consumers together in common cause; puts providers and consumers at the center of decision-

making on food issues; protects food providers from the dumping of food and food aid in local markets; protects consumers from poor quality and unhealthy food, inappropriate food aid and food tainted with genetically modified organisms; and resists governance structures, agreements and practices that depend on and promote unsustainable and inequitable international trade and give power to remote and unaccountable corporations.

4. Makes Decisions Locally: Food sovereignty seeks control over and access to territory, land, grazing, water, seeds, livestock and fish populations for local food providers. These resources ought to be used and shared in socially and environmentally sustainable ways which conserve diversity. Food sovereignty recognizes that local territories often cross geopolitical borders and advances the right of local communities to inhabit and use their territories; it promotes positive interaction between food providers in different regions and territories and from different sectors to resolve internal conflicts or conflicts with local and national authorities; and rejects the privatization of natural resources through laws, commercial contracts and intellectual property rights regimes.