Permaculturists have a saying that “the problem is the solution”. Since its inception, the Resilience Hub has been committed to creating alternatives to the parts of culture we’d like to see change – and building more resilience at the individual, household, and community levels. When the seriousness of the pandemic became clear, we saw the opportunity to act in concert with this vision and take steps to design a better future.
The response is a work-in-progress and has truly been a team effort. Once we identified some ways that our network could potentially be helpful, we sent out a survey to everyone in the Meetup group. The response we got was massive and encouraging, with many offers of time, land, materials, and skills. We want to update you on some of the ways we’ve begun to respond:
- We’ve been talking for a while now about our desire to connect people who are seeking land to grow food and medicine with people who have it and would like to share. It turns out that Land in Common has been working on the Maine Land Share Project for over a year now – they have a fully fleshed-out plan in place and a working group dedicated to the project. We have joined efforts with them to match land seekers and land owners in an intentional and mutually beneficial way. The project is committed to supporting the matches that are made throughout the growing season and beyond. If you are interested in getting involved, fill out one of these forms – whether Seeking Land or have some Land to Offer.
- We have instituted a Garden Mentorship Program – connecting more experienced growers with those who are just getting started. We offer introductions and a set of suggested guidelines for mentors and mentees to build relationships and learn from one another. So far we’ve matched over 70 people based on geographic location and interest.
- We are in the process of coordinating a “pandemic gardens” response for people who are already growing food and/or medicine and would like to grow extra in service to greater food security. We’ve had 80+ people express interest so far, and are working out how we can get this food and medicine from the generous folks who grow it to the people who need it.
- The Education Working Group continues to offer workshops and skillshares virtually. We have identified a few people in the community who are interested in serving on a Communications Working Group so that we can better serve people remotely during this time and in the future.
If you would like to get involved in any of these efforts, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Send me an email at kate@resiliencehub.org or fill out the original survey here.
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