Growing Power, Inc: A Movable Feast

In September, former NFL star Will Allen shook former President Bill Clinton’s hand onstage. As CEO of Growing Power, Inc., Allen, a big guy in a cutoff green t-shirt and powerful arms equally capable of plowing soil as hugging a child, has a new mission. It was the culmination of a lot of hard work and dedication, not in the world of sports, but rather urban farming. In 2008, Allen won the MacArthur Foundation Award and pledged support from Clinton to raise $1.9 million for his global urban agriculture project to reproduce his American initiative in Zimbabwe and South Africa.

South Africa has some of the richest agricultural lands in Africa, but much of it is still in the hands of Afrikaans citizens who have held it for generations through sheep farming and vineyards. Although these farms have been mostly successful in the world markets, few if any of the economic or nutritional gains have trickled back down to some of the country’s own citizens. During Apartheid, black Africans were relegated to cramped, nutrient-poor lands within the major cities, thus cut off from their ancestral heritage.

Over the decades, whole generations of young Africans “forgot” the self-sustaining benefits of being in control of their own land, which resulted in bitter land occupation wars in the courts as well as riots in the streets. Landlessness is more than just a social and economic issue. It also has an effect on people’s ability to eat healthy, accessible food. Growing Power’s initiative can be seen as one answer to the question of how to repatriate and reeducate urban Africans while providing livelihood, a sense of self-worth, as well as a healing tool for social unrest between groups historically at odds for power and influence in both countries.

At the Fifth Annual Global Initiative meeting, Clinton and many world leaders gathered to discuss ideas designed to address issues such as this, and pledge real substantial “commitment to action”. Clinton’s belief in the need for governments to collaborate with non-governmental organizations and the private sector to fill in gaps of services is a driving force behind this mission worldwide. The food issues in Zimbabwe and South Africa will also bring up necessary topics such as government corruption and infrastructure investment, two areas that exacerbate the problems in these countries. World hunger directly relates to security issues, and if the government in office siphons money away from serving its people, the result is dissatisfaction, a weak rule of law and desperate people doing whatever they can to survive. The initiative aims to provide food for schoolchildren and their caregivers, directly addressing nutritional needs and caring for many orphaned by AIDS. The cost-effective methods the organization uses focuses on maximizing yield in small urban spaces while providing high-quality food at below-market prices.

In America, Growing Power’s network has spread to 300 farms working towards the same goal. The original farm is located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with a projects office in Chicago, Illinois. The organization has three areas of focus: Grow (projects and growing methods), Bloom (education and technical assistance), and Thrive (food production and distribution). There are community meals that look like the Security Council’s regular meetings; a veritable gathering of all corners of the Earth dedicated to enriching the body as well as the spirit. Indeed, the annual meetings of the Global Initiative included Nobel Peace Prize winners, major philanthropists, and CEOs from various leading companies. The 2009 action areas include building human capital, harnessing innovation, strengthening infrastructure, and financing an equitable future. The best gift that this organization can give goes beyond healthy food, however. Young people learn how to come together in a supportive, positive environment and learn how to feed their minds as well as their bellies and reproduce this knowledge as a workable skill set. This can be a revolutionary factor in combating poverty, illiteracy, and an overall isolation from society.

For more information, please check Growing Power Inc.’s website: http://www.growingpower.org/about_us.htm. Become a fan on Facebook, contact your local urban gardens and universities, and learn about how to make them more involved in this movement! Think globally, act locally.

Sources:

http://www.growingpower.org/about_us.htm

http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/62766677.html

http://www.landaction.org/display.php?article=137

http://www.clintonglobalinitiative.org