Kickstart the North Memphis Farmers Collective

July 31, 2015

...stories, there’s a happy ending. What began in one yard has grown into an urban farming movement transforming vacant lots into sources of food and jobs. There’s a Kickstarter: The City of Memphis faces many challenges. Among them are blighted vacant lots, food deserts, health challenges, and unemployment. North Memphis Farmer’s Collective seeks to take these challenges and turn them into solutions by using what others see as waste as the fertiliz...

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Picture Sunday: Images of Detroit

Mrs. Homegrown

June 30, 2013

Picture Sundays

4 Comments

...there’s a 170 acre forest at the edge of her neighborhood, which makes it feel more like the country than the city. Looking at Google images of the Brightmoor areas, I agree. It does have a country feel. There’s lots of open space, lots of green lushness — along with the blighted houses and other signs of urban decay. You can also see this in her work, of course. It looks like a place waiting to wake up and blossom. It just needs caring hands, and...

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Fish Don’t Fart

Mr. Homegrown

June 21, 2009

Aquaculture, Preparedness

20 Comments

...ve it closer consideration. Aquaponics is profiled in the pioneering urban homesteading book, The Integral Urban House: Self Reliant Living in the City and Scott Kellogg and Stacy Pettigrew’s book Toolbox for Sustainable City Living: A do-it-Ourselves Guide which comes out of their work at Austin’s Rhizome Collective. What all of these efforts have in common is a permacultural design principle of turning a waste product into a resource and closing...

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A Sports Utility Bicycle

Mr. Homegrown

July 15, 2006

Bikes

...cess was the ingenious Xtracycle, a cargo bike ideal for the challenges of urban American streets. The Xtracycle extends the back wheel of the bike and is essentially a huge pannier bag with a skateboard-like seat. We’ve managed to haul four bags of groceries, the same amount we used to carry in my car, and we’re talking heavy stuff here including watermelons and glass bottles. The Xtracycle handles well even with heavy loads – the ride is smooth...

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Visit the Eco-Home

Mr. Homegrown

April 3, 2009

Events

1 Comment

Julia Russell is Los Angeles’ original urban homesteader. If you haven’t visited her beautiful “Eco-Home”, now is the time. She’s a pioneer in edible landscaping, solar power, and many other things we all now take for granted. Best of all, you can take a tour: “Since the 1970’s, April has been home to Earth Day. The theme for this year’s Earth Day is “the Green Generation,” and what better way to strengthen your role as part of this movement than...

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