Report for FW09-032

Small urban farming potentially creates more secure food systems for a city by promoting eating locally, bolstering local economies and reducing transportation costs of imported food. However, because of tight settings, using chemical soil treatment can compromise the health of farmers and surrounding residents. This project will help a refugee farmer, James Golo, intensively cultivate a small urban plot through edible cover cropping integrated with bee keeping to discover how to sustainably build soil while creating food products that earn the farmer a livable income. Sustainable methods will be used to build soil, such as organic growing, careful crop rotation and incorporating the natural habits of bees through a series of cover crops that nourish bees through successive flowerings and produce food or fiber products to be sold. Success will help encourage new refugee farmers to begin food production as this removes obstacles of land and equipment costs and provides earning potential through profitable small farms.