Hi Co-opers, I have a request for feedback please on an idea I have been discussing with some people that the Ecoliving Centre has been helping out for a couple of years now.
A local non-gov organisation called Eastern Respite and Recreation runs a weekly gardening group for intellectually disabled young people. A couple of years ago we helped them to design a permaculture garden for the Rosebery Centre where they wanted to run the weekly activities. They also run activities such as learning to cook and other lifeskills activities through this facility. Since then we have been providing assistance to them on a weekly basis (now fornightly) and this provides employment for a skilled active member of Ecoliving which is a great thing - the more green jobs the better! I am sure you would agree with that! They (the support workers) are now starting to look at the financial issues relating to this project and are seeking ways of making it: a) more viable in regards to ongoing running costs and; b) more interesting and multi dimensional. Where they are up to now is that they are producing plenty of great lemons and chillis - more than the gardeners, their families and friends can get through. They would now like to start to sell some of this surplus produce in order to be able to invest in more plants and gardening materials as an ongoing concern and also to make it more interesting for the particpants. The gardening crew are very excited by the idea that they would actually be farmers, producing fresh organic produce which they could sell through an appropriate local outlet. This helps to give their lives an exciting new twist that their families are also proud of and excited about. I know that the Co-op has the cottage industry option and I would like to request that the Rosebery Gardeners might be able to access this program please? Needless to say they would be happy to join and are just as likely to spend some of the money n the shop on some yummy treats whikle they are there. In the future their garden should start to produce other surplus products like herbs. All the produce is organically produced (no chemicals) produced in a garden designed according to permaculture principles and through an extremely ethical process. Could I please get some ideas/feelings about this and a bit of feedback and an indication as to whether this would be a goer as for a trial period for the co-op? Regards, Cameron. Cameron Little Ecoliving Program Manager UNSW Ecoliving Centre 14 Arthur St Randwick NSW 2031 [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.ecoliving.cat.org.au ph. 02 9398 8838 fx. 02 9398 2416 mob. 0414 385 644 If you no longer want to be on this mailing list, please send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with unsubscribe food-co-op in the body text. If it does not work please email me (robert) with your email address in the body text at [EMAIL PROTECTED] - regards :)
