growing power

last year local urban farmer, will allen, was awarded the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation's "genius" grant. a prize of $500,000 big ones. working in northern milwaukee he is seeking to educate others about the benefits of investing in local economies. he advocates growing food in a novel way.



allen's growing power organization has six greenhouses and eight hoophouses for greens, herbs and vegetables; pens for goats, ducks and turkeys; a chicken coop and beehives; and a system for raising tilapia and perch. There’s an advanced composting operation — a virtual worm farm — and a lab that is working on ways to turn food waste into fertilizer and methane gas for energy.

i've visited a few times, but never met the man. his operation blows me away every time i step through the doors and into the humidity of his hoophouses. i ran across a new article in the new york times sunday magazine [july 5, 2009]. in it the genius outlines his dreams for his organization, explains his concept of 'food deserts,' and offers insight into a radical shift in social perception.

there's a bunch of videos on youtube, but here's one that explain allen's mission pretty well...





mr. allen said he learned it all from his parents. “we’re having to go back to when people shared things and started taking care of each other,” he said. “that’s the only way we will survive.”