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(frog croaking)

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(upbeat music)

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You know, there are few activities

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more soul-soothing and inspiring

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than turning fresh earth in spring.

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You sense the great surge of microorganisms in the soil,

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an indulgent outlandish optimism about the fabulous crops

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that will spring from the ground this year.

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Hello, I'm Des Kennedy,

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and this program is about the power of soil

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to change people's lives, about how growing food can be

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a revolutionary act, reconnecting people with themselves,

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the Earth and the human community.

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Come along with me

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and we'll visit some remarkable gardeners in Canada

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and the United States who are helping

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reinvent the world by using

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garden power to cultivate radical change.

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Our first stop is inner city San Francisco.

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What happened, I was chairing a community meeting

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about two years ago,

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and just after the community meeting started,

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the door opened up and about 15 or 20 black male adults came

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in between 20 and 30 years old.

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So we went to this meeting,

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and it was Captain Roth's meeting,

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and he wasn't expecting us.

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Catherine was amongst him, but I didn't notice Catherine.

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I was very apprehensive.

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You know,

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the people in our program didn't have positive feelings

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about law enforcement.

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And at the end of the meeting, there was public comment.

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And one-by-one,

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they got up and they talked about how the Garden Project had

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changed their lives,

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and they told about how Catherine was the founder

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of the Garden Project, and she was here.

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All the program people got up and talked

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about the program and why it was

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important and why we were seeking funding and asking

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for the help of the police commission

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and the members of the community.

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So these live testimonies these men were giving

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brought tears to some of the audience's eyes

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and they were crying themselves,

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because it was so wonderful
(gentle music)

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that the garden,

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the farming that they were doing transformed their lives

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and took 'em off crack cocaine, took 'em off

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breaking into cars, took 'em off assaulting people

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and dealing drugs.

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After the meeting, Captain Roth came over,

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'cause he didn't even know this was here.

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He came over and he was talking to the guys and, you know,

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the captain said, well, boy, your garden is so nice,

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I wish that we had some landscape and the guys were like,

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well, we'll come look.

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And they went over there and they started pulling weeds,

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and then they said, well, we've gotta plant flowers there.

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And I was like, well, you know, we got a lot to do,

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you know, if we could fit it in.

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They were like, oh no, we we'll do it.

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And they did it on their own time.

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We have a problem in inner city areas of mistrust

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with the police.

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We also have a problem with police

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not trusting or working together with the community.

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We also have the inherent problem of police not interacting

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with ex-felons, ex-offenders.

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And they normally don't trust each other.

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The police valued what they were doing and,

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you know, told them that this garden

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was really nice and it made them

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feel good about themselves.

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And so we now landscape this station

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and about five other stations throughout the city.

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The very next day,

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she delivered a tray of pastries

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to me at the police station.

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And if you know police officers,

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she got my attention real quick with a tray of pastries.

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It was not quite as good as a dozen donuts,

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but it was a tray of pastries.

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And we talked from there.

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Sort of building a relationship with the police department

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and with law enforcement and helping our folks

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to see people

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in law enforcement in a different way, in a positive way.

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The United States has the dubious distinction of having

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the highest incarceration rate in the world.

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People of color are disproportionately caught in a downward

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spiral of poverty, crime and imprisonment.

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Catherine Sneed saw the discouraging patterns every day

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in her work as a prison counselor in San Francisco,

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she asked what would break the cycle?

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What would help former inmates and inmates with little

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reason for hope begin to value themselves

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and their community?

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She didn't look to another study. She looked to the soil.

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(gentle music)
Armed with little more than

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a few packets of seeds and simple garden tools and a lot

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of determination, she took that idea and ran with it.

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Well, it began in 1984.

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I was a counselor here working at the jail and it became

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clear to me that the people were here because they didn't

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have any job experience,

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any and limited educational experience,

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and criminal records.

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And I, as a counselor was really frustrated

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at the rate at which

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people continued to come back to the jail.

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And if they didn't come back,

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they got killed at an amazing number,

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and it was frustrating.

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I think the reason that gardening and what we're doing here

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has been so effective is,

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and this is stuff that people have said to me

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over the years, they feel connected

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to something bigger than themselves

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and connected to people and they learn how to care

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for the plants,

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and then gradually they learn how to care for themselves.

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This is something that we really encourage,

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but also I think they get in touch.

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They get to experience nature.

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Unfortunately, most of what these people

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haven't had any experience

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with nature growing up in the ghettos or whatever.

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You know, the poor parts of San Francisco

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or this country.

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I've had children tell me

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they've never had grapes before.

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You know, growing up in California,

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that's pretty awful, you know, but it's indicative of,

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I think poor people throughout the city.

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They're not getting nutritious food.

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Some of the seniors that we're delivering food to,

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the vegetables that we bring

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are the only vegetables they have.

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(gentle music)

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Yeah, I think there is a link with poor nutrition

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and addiction.

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Yeah, okay.

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A key part of Catherine's strategy has been bringing

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the police and community together to plan projects such

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as distributing food grown in the gardens to schools

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and to low income seniors.

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But more than that,

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the regular contact has offered the opportunity to see

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each other differently, past the stereotypes

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and to build relationships.

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Get a couple cameras and (indistinct)

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So we have a whole bag of candy?

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Well, no, no.

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You know, a little white bag or whatever,

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and put a handful of candy in, not a whole bag.

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I'll tell you about what (indistinct)

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Sure, just kick around.

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You know, I'm just bringing up.

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(construction machines rattling)

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(kids chattering)

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What is it that helps turn people's lives around?

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Imprisonment takes many forms,

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and most of us have experienced the need

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to break free of something.

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And all of us, whether we're ex-cons or police officers,

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or just you and me have the same basic needs.

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Because what we do is really valued.

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It helps the people that are in this program feel valuable,

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that they're not just taking, that they're not just hurting,

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but that they can be a contributing member of society.

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I think we just, as we arrest people

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and spend money on that,

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and incarcerate them, we have to spend money

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on helping them when they leave the jail.

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And I'm working very hard to help people to see that,

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and accept that responsibility,

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because it doesn't make sense otherwise.

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(gentle music)

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But I think the, again, the wonderful thing

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for most of the people that I hear talk

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about it is is that they began to appreciate something

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bigger than themselves,

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and that is all these beautiful green things, the blue sky,

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the birds that they've never, ever even known existed.

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And they begin to feel, I know with our Tree Core program

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that they're making a lasting contribution

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to their communities and something

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that they can take their children to and say, look,

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I planted that tree and see the tree get bigger and bigger

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and bigger and bigger, to be able to bring in boxes

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of broccoli, all of this, I think,

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helps people to feel that they matter.

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And that's how people turn around.

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I believe there is something special that gardening does.

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And I think there's very few things you do

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in a day's course where you put in the work

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and you see results.

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And yes, I do believe the answer is to growing things,

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and we have to be able to, and by growing plants,

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I think we do grow ourselves.

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Work.

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We all need to feel useful and productive,

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and the lucky ones among us have work

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that is both enjoyable and meaningful.

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But what if you've been pushed to the margins of society

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because of mental illness?

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Is there a way that food can be used to help people get back

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on their feet, working and feeling

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as though they're making a contribution?

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This is the Raging Spoon,

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which is a restaurant and catering business.

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We opened our doors three and a half years ago.

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And it's unique in that all the staff here,

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all the management here are psychiatric consumer survivors.

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I really like this place that I work in.

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I've been at this job for,

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at the Raging Spoon for three years in February.

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And I enjoy working with the people,

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and I enjoy serving the people.

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And I just enjoy it.

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I think that because people who have had some experience

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with the psychiatric system,

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the institution known as psychiatry have basically been,

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whether it's been institutionalized or medicated

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or whatnot,

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have found it very, very difficult to find employment.

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And so what we do is offer employment

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to people who have had

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experience with the system,

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knowing that the reason that they can't find work isn't

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because the skills aren't there,

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isn't because the desire to work isn't there,

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but because there are these barriers that exist.

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There's something very therapeutic about preparing food,

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about the science of it, about how you start

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with a raw product and you end up with a finished product

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which you then consume,

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which I think is like also satisfying.

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And I think also if you look at the skills people have,

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generally speaking, people have some experience

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with food somewhere,

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whether it's that they like to cook,

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whether it's that they've washed dishes in a restaurant,

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whether it is that they, you know, have, I mean, we have,

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you know, chefs working here.

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I think for the actual cooking aspect of it,

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certainly, there's a feeling

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of like accomplishing something.

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There's a feeling of producing something from its beginning

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to its end,

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and also about learning too, right?

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Like when you are cooking, you make mistakes

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and you correct those mistakes and maybe

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you create something better.

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And so it's this ongoing process.

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And all the people take pride in the work and anywhere

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from the people in the cook, the cooks,

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to people who prep food, which I do that from time to time.

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So it's like, there's two sides to it, you know?

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It's like a little piece of it's food,

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but everything is flown through that.

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Like, it's interesting to look at it that way.

265
00:13:49.620 --> 00:13:52.620
It's like food is the means by which we are creating change.

266
00:13:53.543 --> 00:13:54.763
That's good.

267
00:14:01.930 --> 00:14:05.960
In the process of looking at food as a change agent,

268
00:14:05.960 --> 00:14:09.170
as a means for transforming society,

269
00:14:09.170 --> 00:14:13.640
it was obvious that it was the best vehicle

270
00:14:13.640 --> 00:14:15.320
that I had found.

271
00:14:15.320 --> 00:14:19.513
And that's because food is both a metaphor and a tool.

272
00:14:21.940 --> 00:14:25.333 line:15% 
Food is an intimate commodity. It's a lovely term.

273
00:14:26.470 --> 00:14:31.430 line:15% 
It's the only thing that we ingest, take internally

274
00:14:31.430 --> 00:14:34.440 line:15% 
on a regular basis that we consume.

275
00:14:34.440 --> 00:14:36.317
We have a special relationship with food

276
00:14:36.317 --> 00:14:38.430
and the transnational corporations

277
00:14:38.430 --> 00:14:41.090
and a lot of the politicians

278
00:14:41.090 --> 00:14:43.220
and a lot of the industry people

279
00:14:43.220 --> 00:14:45.170
just see food as a commodity,

280
00:14:45.170 --> 00:14:48.310
as within is as with any other commodity.

281
00:14:48.310 --> 00:14:52.730
And what we try to say is, no, food is something special.

282
00:14:52.730 --> 00:14:56.470
Using food as both a metaphor and a tool underlies

283
00:14:56.470 --> 00:14:58.833
FarmFolk/CityFolk, the organization

284
00:14:58.833 --> 00:15:02.770
Herb Barbolet helped found in 1993.

285
00:15:02.770 --> 00:15:06.640
Based in Vancouver, BC, its holistic view of food

286
00:15:06.640 --> 00:15:09.490
and agriculture has let it both initiate

287
00:15:09.490 --> 00:15:14.090
and respond to a whole variety of food related projects.

288
00:15:14.090 --> 00:15:16.940
One such project is the Mayan Garden,

289
00:15:16.940 --> 00:15:19.190
located at the University of BC's

290
00:15:19.190 --> 00:15:22.180
faculty of agriculture property.

291
00:15:22.180 --> 00:15:25.400
We are ourselves a network.

292
00:15:25.400 --> 00:15:28.040 line:15% 
We work with other networks and try and link them,

293
00:15:28.040 --> 00:15:30.213 line:15% 
health, environment, all the rest.

294
00:15:31.300 --> 00:15:36.300 line:15% 
These form webs of larger institutional organizations.

295
00:15:37.360 --> 00:15:39.370
And what we do is we look at the webs and see

296
00:15:39.370 --> 00:15:42.510
where the nodes are that with the least amount of energy

297
00:15:42.510 --> 00:15:46.340
we can have the most amount of effect.

298
00:15:46.340 --> 00:15:49.560
And so some people approached us.

299
00:15:49.560 --> 00:15:54.310
They were representing people who were from immigrant groups

300
00:15:54.310 --> 00:15:58.330
who came from Latin America, Somalia, Kurdistan,

301
00:15:58.330 --> 00:16:03.320
other places, who have peasant backgrounds and backgrounds

302
00:16:03.320 --> 00:16:06.660
in food and agriculture,

303
00:16:06.660 --> 00:16:09.870
and find themselves in dense urban areas in Eastside

304
00:16:09.870 --> 00:16:13.543
of Vancouver or elsewhere, and are really lost,

305
00:16:15.240 --> 00:16:17.993
and really desperate to get back to the land.

306
00:16:18.970 --> 00:16:20.820
So what we've done is we've helped them

307
00:16:20.820 --> 00:16:23.503
to find heritage seeds from their own cultures.

308
00:16:25.290 --> 00:16:28.760 line:15% 
In all the members of this organization,

309
00:16:28.760 --> 00:16:31.080 line:15% 
of the Mayan Society of BC,

310
00:16:31.080 --> 00:16:34.770 line:15% 
we came from Guatemala and we came to Canada

311
00:16:34.770 --> 00:16:37.830 line:15% 
as a refugee claimants or refugees now, or some of us,

312
00:16:37.830 --> 00:16:41.100
we are citizens now in Canada, but we keep that idea.

313
00:16:41.100 --> 00:16:44.050
We still, we still Mayans wherever we go

314
00:16:44.910 --> 00:16:49.890
and to keep our tradition, to keep our ways,

315
00:16:49.890 --> 00:16:52.380
to look after the land, to get what the land is going

316
00:16:52.380 --> 00:16:57.040
to give us is one of the main things that keep us

317
00:16:57.040 --> 00:16:59.343
together doing what we are doing here.

318
00:17:04.950 --> 00:17:06.540
Since the beginning of time,

319
00:17:06.540 --> 00:17:11.540
according to the Mayan religion, we came from corn.

320
00:17:11.870 --> 00:17:13.400
God make us from corn.

321
00:17:13.400 --> 00:17:16.840
That's why we have the corn on this side,

322
00:17:16.840 --> 00:17:21.310
and there is something that you can find in the Mayan books

323
00:17:21.310 --> 00:17:26.310
that one day the food become become garbage.

324
00:17:26.350 --> 00:17:28.930
And that's what we are seeing somewhere,

325
00:17:28.930 --> 00:17:31.350
some industry, the big industry of the food,

326
00:17:31.350 --> 00:17:33.340
they are just selling garbage to the people

327
00:17:33.340 --> 00:17:34.950
and people is eating.

328
00:17:34.950 --> 00:17:38.200
Now we can see, oh, that is the really it's coming true

329
00:17:38.200 --> 00:17:40.520
what is is in our books,

330
00:17:40.520 --> 00:17:42.260
and that's why we want to keep this.

331
00:17:42.260 --> 00:17:44.380
And we respect the land this way.

332
00:17:44.380 --> 00:17:46.993
The land is giving us everything that we need.

333
00:17:50.250 --> 00:17:53.878
This is another plant that we use as a medicinal plant.

334
00:17:53.878 --> 00:17:57.240
It's called (foreign language),

335
00:17:57.240 --> 00:17:59.190
it's lion's hand.

336
00:17:59.190 --> 00:18:00.670
What does it do?

337
00:18:00.670 --> 00:18:03.360
That is really good for the stomach.

338
00:18:03.360 --> 00:18:04.943
This is what we call haba.

339
00:18:15.630 --> 00:18:20.350
When we pick something, we try to leave something back here,

340
00:18:20.350 --> 00:18:23.764
like all this, if we take that,

341
00:18:23.764 --> 00:18:25.650
it's going to be more garbage in the city.

342
00:18:25.650 --> 00:18:28.780
But if it's here, it's going to be more nutrients

343
00:18:28.780 --> 00:18:31.047
for the, that is haba.

344
00:18:31.047 --> 00:18:32.240
It looks like a lima bean.

345
00:18:32.240 --> 00:18:33.693
Lima bean. That's right.

346
00:18:35.540 --> 00:18:37.990
We save seeds. We save seeds.

347
00:18:37.990 --> 00:18:40.440
Most of the things that you are seeing now

348
00:18:40.440 --> 00:18:41.913
is for seeds next year.

349
00:18:45.180 --> 00:18:47.050
And next year we switch,

350
00:18:47.050 --> 00:18:51.504
the bean is going, they're going to be here.

351
00:18:51.504 --> 00:18:53.140
And we switch every everything,

352
00:18:53.140 --> 00:18:54.780
and we come with new products,

353
00:18:54.780 --> 00:18:57.970
products who are going to help to keep

354
00:18:57.970 --> 00:19:01.923
all the nutrients from the ground.

355
00:19:05.120 --> 00:19:08.363
Food is a basic need of the humans.

356
00:19:10.340 --> 00:19:13.410
Foods, we have to eat, and after we do religion

357
00:19:13.410 --> 00:19:15.440
or we do politics.

358
00:19:15.440 --> 00:19:16.633
Foods, we have to eat.

359
00:19:21.730 --> 00:19:25.490
Who is going to own the food in the future?

360
00:19:25.490 --> 00:19:27.821
You can see that there are big companies that they want

361
00:19:27.821 --> 00:19:31.250
to own the food of the poor people.

362
00:19:31.250 --> 00:19:34.703
That's mean they are going to administrate our hunger, too?

363
00:19:36.730 --> 00:19:39.890
I think all of us, all humans, we are in this struggle.

364
00:19:39.890 --> 00:19:41.820
If we, all of us, we are in this planet,

365
00:19:41.820 --> 00:19:43.510
we have to look after the planet,

366
00:19:43.510 --> 00:19:46.533
and look after the planet means look after ourselves too.

367
00:19:50.010 --> 00:19:53.580
Mara Jernigan and her partner Alphonse Obererlacher

368
00:19:53.580 --> 00:19:55.110
worked for years as chefs

369
00:19:55.110 --> 00:19:57.800
in some of the world's top restaurants,

370
00:19:57.800 --> 00:20:00.630
but a growing awareness of where the food they cooked was

371
00:20:00.630 --> 00:20:03.160
coming from and how it was grown

372
00:20:03.160 --> 00:20:05.959
led them to the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island.

373
00:20:05.959 --> 00:20:07.210
(gentle music)

374
00:20:07.210 --> 00:20:10.240
Here, they now grow organic food and help further

375
00:20:10.240 --> 00:20:13.513
the work of FarmFolk/CityFolk in their community.

376
00:20:15.520 --> 00:20:16.353
In the beginning,

377
00:20:16.353 --> 00:20:18.400
we thought that we'd use all the land to grow grapes.

378
00:20:18.400 --> 00:20:22.280
And then I quickly realized that, for us,

379
00:20:22.280 --> 00:20:23.410
I didn't think it was a good idea

380
00:20:23.410 --> 00:20:25.123
to put all our eggs in one basket.

381
00:20:26.650 --> 00:20:29.160
As a cook, I was really interested in trying to produce

382
00:20:29.160 --> 00:20:31.450 line:15% 
as much of my own food as I could.

383
00:20:31.450 --> 00:20:36.450 line:15% 
So we raised chickens and ducks and turkey.

384
00:20:38.840 --> 00:20:41.410
We have a couple of sheep, rare breed sheep,

385
00:20:41.410 --> 00:20:42.810
rare breed goats.

386
00:20:42.810 --> 00:20:44.210
We raise pigs.

387
00:20:44.210 --> 00:20:47.040
And then we have gardens where we grow as much

388
00:20:47.040 --> 00:20:49.600
of our own food as we possibly can

389
00:20:49.600 --> 00:20:54.223
in the summer and into the fall and late spring.

390
00:20:55.870 --> 00:20:56.873
I love food.

391
00:20:57.740 --> 00:21:00.640
My love of food has not diminished at all since the day

392
00:21:00.640 --> 00:21:04.150
that I started cooking and or went to cooking school,

393
00:21:04.150 --> 00:21:07.240
but I've watched things evolve and change to the point now

394
00:21:07.240 --> 00:21:11.860
where a lot of working in the kitchen just involves,

395
00:21:11.860 --> 00:21:15.210
you know, cutting open a Cryovac bag of steaks

396
00:21:15.210 --> 00:21:18.930
and throwing them on the grill, and the skills that,

397
00:21:18.930 --> 00:21:20.230
the time-honored skills that were

398
00:21:20.230 --> 00:21:23.330
so important and such a integral part of the apprenticeship

399
00:21:23.330 --> 00:21:25.030
were disappearing, and I think what we're seeing

400
00:21:25.030 --> 00:21:27.250
is a de-skilling of the labor force.

401
00:21:27.250 --> 00:21:31.070
I remember sitting, towards the end of my years

402
00:21:31.070 --> 00:21:33.130
working as a chef, I remember sitting

403
00:21:33.130 --> 00:21:37.240
negotiating a contract with a salesperson

404
00:21:37.240 --> 00:21:40.290
to buy pre-chopped romaine lettuce

405
00:21:40.290 --> 00:21:45.290
from California that was harvested, chopped

406
00:21:45.530 --> 00:21:48.530
and put in a plastic bag right in the field in California.

407
00:21:48.530 --> 00:21:52.780
And that's when I realized it's all about money,

408
00:21:52.780 --> 00:21:57.500
and we're selling our expertise away

409
00:21:57.500 --> 00:21:59.263
and we're selling our jobs away.

410
00:22:00.950 --> 00:22:02.200
And that the time-honored ways

411
00:22:02.200 --> 00:22:03.850
of doing things are disappearing.

412
00:22:05.770 --> 00:22:08.490
My interest in food was still there, but it's, to me,

413
00:22:08.490 --> 00:22:11.270
it's almost farming is taking it to the next level.

414
00:22:11.270 --> 00:22:15.640
It's to the production, to growing it myself,

415
00:22:15.640 --> 00:22:19.633
and just getting back to the basics.

416
00:22:22.770 --> 00:22:26.050
It's a real learning curve.

417
00:22:26.050 --> 00:22:28.460
I mean, 20 years in the restaurant business,

418
00:22:28.460 --> 00:22:29.710
you're dealing with the customer,

419
00:22:29.710 --> 00:22:32.380
you're dealing with the finished product on the table.

420
00:22:32.380 --> 00:22:36.020
And I never really thought of where it really came from,

421
00:22:36.020 --> 00:22:40.250
what was put into it, how much, how many chemicals,

422
00:22:40.250 --> 00:22:42.253
how much nature was in there.

423
00:22:43.250 --> 00:22:47.960 line:15% 
And this is a real eye opener, having this little farm,

424
00:22:47.960 --> 00:22:52.960 line:15% 
seeing how hard it is and how challenging it is to produce

425
00:22:53.100 --> 00:22:56.880
some good food, good quality food

426
00:22:56.880 --> 00:23:00.400
without using any pesticides or any chemicals.

427
00:23:00.400 --> 00:23:03.970
I started to become aware of organic food

428
00:23:03.970 --> 00:23:07.593
in the mid to late '80s in Toronto,

429
00:23:08.480 --> 00:23:11.330
from a chef named Michael Stadtlander and an organization

430
00:23:11.330 --> 00:23:12.980
in Ontario called Knives and Forks

431
00:23:12.980 --> 00:23:15.800
that started an event called the Feast of Fields,

432
00:23:15.800 --> 00:23:20.310
and started to bridge the gap between farmers,

433
00:23:20.310 --> 00:23:22.350
organic farmers who had a lot of integrity,

434
00:23:22.350 --> 00:23:25.300
but they clearly had their head down working

435
00:23:25.300 --> 00:23:27.080
in their fields, and they weren't connected

436
00:23:27.080 --> 00:23:29.050
with where their food was ending up.

437
00:23:29.050 --> 00:23:31.420
And chefs, on the other hand, weren't connected

438
00:23:31.420 --> 00:23:33.420
with where their food was coming from.

439
00:23:33.420 --> 00:23:36.630
So I work with FarmFolk/CityFolk,

440
00:23:36.630 --> 00:23:40.450
the nonprofit society that works all around food issues

441
00:23:40.450 --> 00:23:45.410
and try and improve the connection between farmers and chefs

442
00:23:45.410 --> 00:23:48.670
and the general public, and do education work

443
00:23:48.670 --> 00:23:51.060
to make people more aware of the food choices

444
00:23:51.060 --> 00:23:53.192
they make and what they're eating.

445
00:23:53.192 --> 00:23:54.880
I feel so much better now

446
00:23:54.880 --> 00:23:58.010
since I'm not eating whatever.

447
00:23:58.010 --> 00:24:01.199
I'm eating what's good, what's healthy.

448
00:24:01.199 --> 00:24:02.550
(gentle music)

449
00:24:02.550 --> 00:24:05.970
It's a complete change of lifestyle for me.

450
00:24:05.970 --> 00:24:08.130
And I'm really glad it happened.

451
00:24:08.130 --> 00:24:11.290
And Mara was actually the one who really pushed

452
00:24:11.290 --> 00:24:13.360
for this one, and it was one of the best things

453
00:24:13.360 --> 00:24:16.943
that happened in the last few years.

454
00:24:24.830 --> 00:24:28.140
Rooftop gardening in large urban centers is finally

455
00:24:28.140 --> 00:24:31.330
beginning to earn respect for both its environmental

456
00:24:31.330 --> 00:24:33.750
and aesthetic benefits.

457
00:24:33.750 --> 00:24:36.350
Rooftop gardens help clean the air,

458
00:24:36.350 --> 00:24:39.900
provide food and look wonderful.

459
00:24:39.900 --> 00:24:42.330
In Vancouver's Downtown Eastside,

460
00:24:42.330 --> 00:24:45.600
there's a rooftop garden that has added another dimension,

461
00:24:45.600 --> 00:24:48.210
helping heal and inspire residents

462
00:24:48.210 --> 00:24:51.660
of one of Canada's poorest neighborhoods.

463
00:24:51.660 --> 00:24:55.600
Located on the roof of the innovative Bruce Eriksen Place

464
00:24:55.600 --> 00:24:58.030
and linked to FarmFolk/CityFolk,

465
00:24:58.030 --> 00:25:02.963
this remarkable garden is coordinated by Lona Cunningham.

466
00:25:04.420 --> 00:25:08.060
We're at the corner of Main and Hastings

467
00:25:08.060 --> 00:25:09.980
in downtown Vancouver.

468
00:25:09.980 --> 00:25:14.450 line:15% 
It's one of the poorest coastal codes in all of Canada.

469
00:25:14.450 --> 00:25:17.910
There's a lot of crime in this area,

470
00:25:17.910 --> 00:25:21.503
a lot of drug abuse, drug addiction, prostitution.

471
00:25:22.370 --> 00:25:24.363
You name it, it's happening right here.

472
00:25:25.416 --> 00:25:27.999
(cars honking)

473
00:25:30.080 --> 00:25:32.490
And then we have the Hotel Empress,

474
00:25:32.490 --> 00:25:37.453
which is pretty typical of one of the privately run hotels

475
00:25:38.950 --> 00:25:41.750
in the area where many people are forced to live.

476
00:25:41.750 --> 00:25:44.390
They're called single-occupancy residences,

477
00:25:44.390 --> 00:25:46.830
usually are just a little box, little room,

478
00:25:46.830 --> 00:25:50.970
maybe 10 by 10 feet, no bathroom, no kitchen.

479
00:25:50.970 --> 00:25:52.693
That's all shared facilities.

480
00:25:54.709 --> 00:25:56.943
Pretty grim in there.

481
00:25:59.450 --> 00:26:01.300
So what this building was designed for was

482
00:26:01.300 --> 00:26:04.610
to get people out of those places and into something

483
00:26:04.610 --> 00:26:06.530
that's affordable and secure.

484
00:26:06.530 --> 00:26:09.040
So what we have is 35 suites here.

485
00:26:09.040 --> 00:26:12.500
They are all single, single-occupancy residences.

486
00:26:12.500 --> 00:26:14.150
They all have their own kitchen,

487
00:26:14.150 --> 00:26:16.493
their own bathroom, doors that lock,

488
00:26:17.350 --> 00:26:20.540
little balconies that people can put things on,

489
00:26:20.540 --> 00:26:22.070
and it's affordable.

490
00:26:22.070 --> 00:26:25.610
Bruce Eriksen Place is a Downtown Eastside facility

491
00:26:25.610 --> 00:26:29.490
that we have become involved with because they asked us

492
00:26:29.490 --> 00:26:31.500
to help them to set up a garden

493
00:26:31.500 --> 00:26:36.500 line:15% 
for food production right in the house, the facility.

494
00:26:37.550 --> 00:26:42.180 line:15% 
And one of our staff people is working with them,

495
00:26:42.180 --> 00:26:45.300 line:15% 
which in turn is connecting with the other things that are

496
00:26:45.300 --> 00:26:47.950
going on in the Downtown Eastside,

497
00:26:47.950 --> 00:26:49.920
in terms of providing fresh, nutritious food

498
00:26:49.920 --> 00:26:54.920
into the local environment and helping people to change

499
00:26:55.920 --> 00:26:58.480
their lives with food and nutrition.

500
00:26:58.480 --> 00:27:01.330
They can put their hands in the soil and they can put,

501
00:27:01.330 --> 00:27:03.543
be involved in the production of the food.

502
00:27:05.390 --> 00:27:07.650
This project is called First Harvest.

503
00:27:07.650 --> 00:27:11.710
It was developed out of an idea that

504
00:27:11.710 --> 00:27:15.350
an aid organization in the US, called Los Ninos,

505
00:27:15.350 --> 00:27:16.890
it's a aid organization.

506
00:27:16.890 --> 00:27:21.090 line:15% 
They do work in Tijuana in Mexico and what they realized

507
00:27:22.000 --> 00:27:25.230 line:15% 
after a number of years of doing direct aid, going down,

508
00:27:25.230 --> 00:27:27.770
giving them food, going down and giving them clothing,

509
00:27:27.770 --> 00:27:29.460
money, that it wasn't working.

510
00:27:29.460 --> 00:27:32.230
People, the cycle of poverty was continuing.

511
00:27:32.230 --> 00:27:34.810
So what they realized was that what you needed to do was

512
00:27:34.810 --> 00:27:37.890
actually work within the community and focus on two things,

513
00:27:37.890 --> 00:27:40.874
cooking and gardening.

514
00:27:40.874 --> 00:27:43.190
(gentle music)

515
00:27:43.190 --> 00:27:45.083
Use that as an agent of change.

516
00:27:46.020 --> 00:27:48.470
So what we decided was we were gonna try that here.

517
00:27:48.470 --> 00:27:50.670
Instead of just giving these people

518
00:27:50.670 --> 00:27:54.010
a place to live, we were going to try

519
00:27:54.010 --> 00:27:56.320
and get them to be a community again.

520
00:27:56.320 --> 00:27:59.640
So what we started doing was in February,

521
00:27:59.640 --> 00:28:03.180
we started growing things and we just thought we were gonna

522
00:28:03.180 --> 00:28:05.380
try and grow anything that we could use,

523
00:28:05.380 --> 00:28:10.000
anything that could be used as an herbal tea, as a spice,

524
00:28:10.000 --> 00:28:11.993
tomatoes, vegetables, parsley.

525
00:28:13.860 --> 00:28:16.840
We tried to grow as much as we could.

526
00:28:16.840 --> 00:28:19.423 line:15% 
You know, fascinating stuff growing, yeah?

527
00:28:21.250 --> 00:28:25.890 line:15% 
Little tomatoes and, you know, with plants that I had,

528
00:28:25.890 --> 00:28:27.240
they just grow flowers, right?

529
00:28:27.240 --> 00:28:29.560
So to actually see little pepper growing...

530
00:28:29.560 --> 00:28:32.285
Yeah.
You know, little peas.

531
00:28:32.285 --> 00:28:34.280
Yeah, pretty cool.
It's fascinating, yeah.

532
00:28:34.280 --> 00:28:35.113
Yeah.
Yeah.

533
00:28:36.580 --> 00:28:38.420
She couldn't believe it that she had actually,

534
00:28:38.420 --> 00:28:42.000
it was like she had actually made this thing grow.

535
00:28:42.000 --> 00:28:45.100
And the look on her face was just amazing.

536
00:28:45.100 --> 00:28:46.940
She always thought that, you know,

537
00:28:46.940 --> 00:28:48.710
that was something that other people did,

538
00:28:48.710 --> 00:28:50.440
that she didn't have the skills to do that,

539
00:28:50.440 --> 00:28:51.790
it was too complicated.

540
00:28:51.790 --> 00:28:53.870
It was too much work. Couldn't do it.

541
00:28:53.870 --> 00:28:55.750
And then all of a sudden here she is,

542
00:28:55.750 --> 00:28:58.793
you know, planting, growing, harvesting.

543
00:28:59.920 --> 00:29:01.063
Yeah. It's very neat.

544
00:29:03.070 --> 00:29:04.920
Okay, so this is the composting area.

545
00:29:04.920 --> 00:29:08.000
We've got two large composers here.

546
00:29:08.000 --> 00:29:11.800
We also have a worm composer there.

547
00:29:11.800 --> 00:29:14.313
We also have another composter up on the roof.

548
00:29:17.760 --> 00:29:19.013
What people do is we use from the communal,

549
00:29:19.013 --> 00:29:20.440
when we have communal dinners,

550
00:29:20.440 --> 00:29:23.780
we always save everything that can be composted,

551
00:29:23.780 --> 00:29:25.610
throw it in, trying to teach people

552
00:29:25.610 --> 00:29:27.780
how the composting process works.

553
00:29:27.780 --> 00:29:29.410
People love the worms.

554
00:29:29.410 --> 00:29:33.450
They always say, Fridays, we have to have worm food.

555
00:29:33.450 --> 00:29:35.890
So we have to have a little bucket ready for the worms.

556
00:29:35.890 --> 00:29:38.330
So they really like that.

557
00:29:38.330 --> 00:29:40.810
We still have some tomatoes that are still ripening

558
00:29:40.810 --> 00:29:43.640
if weather will hold a little bit longer.

559
00:29:43.640 --> 00:29:47.540
Lots of different kinds of herbs that we use, mince.

560
00:29:47.540 --> 00:29:49.030
We make a lot of herbal tea here,

561
00:29:49.030 --> 00:29:51.320
so oftentimes you'll come in and there'll be a nice pot

562
00:29:51.320 --> 00:29:53.513
of herbal tea brewing for you.

563
00:29:55.520 --> 00:29:59.640
It's not only just the gardening and it's the social aspect

564
00:29:59.640 --> 00:30:02.290
of coming down and then being involved in the project

565
00:30:03.180 --> 00:30:06.110
and kind of opening yourself up to having other people

566
00:30:06.110 --> 00:30:07.040
in your life again.

567
00:30:07.040 --> 00:30:10.030
Many of the people that live here are extremely isolated.

568
00:30:10.030 --> 00:30:12.450
They've come from living in places like that,

569
00:30:12.450 --> 00:30:16.390
where you have to be so guarded and never let anyone

570
00:30:16.390 --> 00:30:18.250
into your space and into your home,

571
00:30:18.250 --> 00:30:20.090
because people will rip you off

572
00:30:20.090 --> 00:30:22.250
and basically screw you over.

573
00:30:22.250 --> 00:30:24.743
So here they have a safe place to live,

574
00:30:25.670 --> 00:30:28.160
and once they have that security in their life,

575
00:30:28.160 --> 00:30:29.640
they're able to open themselves up,

576
00:30:29.640 --> 00:30:33.760
so people are connecting on a person-to-person level

577
00:30:33.760 --> 00:30:36.140
where they never did before.

578
00:30:36.140 --> 00:30:40.730
We have people here who will go away on holidays and allow

579
00:30:40.730 --> 00:30:44.640
another resident to have their key to their apartment

580
00:30:44.640 --> 00:30:47.480
and so that they can go in and water their plants,

581
00:30:47.480 --> 00:30:49.980
which sounds like something that most of us would take

582
00:30:49.980 --> 00:30:52.520
for granted that you would give your key to your neighbor,

583
00:30:52.520 --> 00:30:55.670
but in this area that never ever happens.

584
00:30:55.670 --> 00:31:00.670
So things like that show me that having this garden,

585
00:31:01.750 --> 00:31:06.300
as small as it is, and kind of pathetic as it is right now

586
00:31:06.300 --> 00:31:10.500
in the fall, it really does, you know, impacted their lives.

587
00:31:10.500 --> 00:31:11.333
Absolutely.

588
00:31:12.402 --> 00:31:14.985
(gentle music)

589
00:31:26.941 --> 00:31:31.400
In the mid 1990s, two women, Pat Nagle and Sharon Joyer,

590
00:31:31.400 --> 00:31:35.560
both nuns, were seeking affordable housing and found it

591
00:31:35.560 --> 00:31:39.190
in a low income district of Oakland, California.

592
00:31:39.190 --> 00:31:42.200
Confronting the severe problems in the neighborhood,

593
00:31:42.200 --> 00:31:45.020
their response was not to get the hell out of there as fast

594
00:31:45.020 --> 00:31:48.640
as possible, but to start a community garden

595
00:31:48.640 --> 00:31:51.040
with their neighbor, Lillie Lucket.

596
00:31:51.040 --> 00:31:53.540
The garden proved to be fertile ground

597
00:31:53.540 --> 00:31:56.683
for the community building that was so badly needed.

598
00:31:58.030 --> 00:32:01.760
It's a classic tale of how garden power can transform

599
00:32:01.760 --> 00:32:05.120
a neighborhood as seen in the lives of the gardeners

600
00:32:05.120 --> 00:32:08.380
then and now.
(gentle music)

601
00:32:08.380 --> 00:32:12.290
Over the years, we dealt with the various problems

602
00:32:12.290 --> 00:32:14.900
that come up in our neighborhood,

603
00:32:14.900 --> 00:32:17.650 line:15% 
drug dealers moving into the neighborhood

604
00:32:17.650 --> 00:32:22.650 line:15% 
and incidents of drug dealers having turf wars

605
00:32:22.930 --> 00:32:23.900
right in the neighborhood,

606
00:32:23.900 --> 00:32:26.568
in fact, right next door to our home.

607
00:32:26.568 --> 00:32:30.900 line:15% 
All the shooting, and street cars squeaking and stuff

608
00:32:30.900 --> 00:32:32.760 line:15% 
that was going on around here,

609
00:32:32.760 --> 00:32:35.063
it came to be a quiet neighborhood.

610
00:32:39.220 --> 00:32:40.540
Did I know how to garden?

611
00:32:40.540 --> 00:32:44.900 line:15% 
No, no, but it was important to me in some way,

612
00:32:44.900 --> 00:32:49.270 line:15% 
because everything is so concrete around the corner that,

613
00:32:49.270 --> 00:32:51.580
you know, I would walk by the garden every day and I'd say,

614
00:32:51.580 --> 00:32:54.690
well, you know, what a beautiful garden, what a nice thing,

615
00:32:54.690 --> 00:32:55.840
and so I like to do this.

616
00:32:55.840 --> 00:32:58.570
And so I've been doing it for about a year now.

617
00:32:58.570 --> 00:33:02.960
Young people 12 through 15 are a very vulnerable age.

618
00:33:02.960 --> 00:33:06.850
And in this neighborhood, this area,

619
00:33:06.850 --> 00:33:11.850
drug dealers tend to nab youth that age to be their bikers,

620
00:33:13.530 --> 00:33:17.260
and let 'em know when the drugs,

621
00:33:17.260 --> 00:33:19.510
let the neighbors know when the drugs are in,

622
00:33:20.500 --> 00:33:22.830
or when the police are in the neighborhood.

623
00:33:22.830 --> 00:33:27.210
So what we decided was we would like to find a way to engage

624
00:33:27.210 --> 00:33:29.220
12- to 15-year-olds,

625
00:33:29.220 --> 00:33:33.919
and we created the jobs program for youth.

626
00:33:33.919 --> 00:33:35.107
There you go, Sharon.

627
00:33:35.107 --> 00:33:38.580
Well, the garden manager is like me and Lorenzo.

628
00:33:38.580 --> 00:33:40.280
We're very creative, I think,

629
00:33:40.280 --> 00:33:44.120 line:15% 
and we give good ideas about how we think the briar

630
00:33:44.120 --> 00:33:46.520 line:15% 
should be cut or how we think the grass should be cut

631
00:33:46.520 --> 00:33:49.407
or where stuff should be and where stuff should be planted.

632
00:33:49.407 --> 00:33:51.851
(people chattering)

633
00:33:51.851 --> 00:33:53.518
Oh, this coming out.

634
00:33:54.540 --> 00:33:55.490
Huh.

635
00:33:55.490 --> 00:33:57.421
The stake was coming out.

636
00:33:57.421 --> 00:34:00.310
Well, do we have any more of those...

637
00:34:00.310 --> 00:34:01.370
Cages?
Yeah.

638
00:34:01.370 --> 00:34:03.840
Yeah, I got a new one.
What kind of a...

639
00:34:03.840 --> 00:34:05.550
It got the community together.

640
00:34:05.550 --> 00:34:07.700 line:15% 
It brought people together that once it wouldn't talk

641
00:34:07.700 --> 00:34:09.210 line:15% 
to each other, it started to bring 'em together.

642
00:34:09.210 --> 00:34:10.810 line:15% 
'Cause they had something in common

643
00:34:10.810 --> 00:34:12.060 line:15% 
that they could talk about.

644
00:34:12.060 --> 00:34:12.990 line:15% 
They see things growing,

645
00:34:12.990 --> 00:34:15.560
I think life in a community gives a lot back,

646
00:34:15.560 --> 00:34:17.560
'cause once you see something brought up, like a child,

647
00:34:17.560 --> 00:34:19.170
once you see a child brought up,

648
00:34:19.170 --> 00:34:21.260
people gonna be able to connect with that child

649
00:34:21.260 --> 00:34:22.690
'cause it's something that you could take care of,

650
00:34:22.690 --> 00:34:23.907
it's something in your community.

651
00:34:23.907 --> 00:34:25.130
And the garden just did that.

652
00:34:25.130 --> 00:34:27.310
People start to talk more, share,

653
00:34:27.310 --> 00:34:29.810
people share vegetables with people that couldn't come out

654
00:34:29.810 --> 00:34:32.250
the house or maybe didn't know how to garden or whatever,

655
00:34:32.250 --> 00:34:33.423
we brought 'em in.

656
00:34:34.700 --> 00:34:35.910
The kids who liked it,

657
00:34:35.910 --> 00:34:37.830
'cause they seen fruit grow and they could eat it,

658
00:34:37.830 --> 00:34:40.150
and they could say, I grew this.

659
00:34:40.150 --> 00:34:42.050
I started it from a seed.

660
00:34:42.050 --> 00:34:45.210 line:15% 
Kevin is one good news story that has gone on

661
00:34:45.210 --> 00:34:48.750 line:15% 
and is taking what he's learned from the garden

662
00:34:48.750 --> 00:34:50.420 line:15% 
to a school garden now,

663
00:34:50.420 --> 00:34:53.990
and working with students around the fifth grade level,

664
00:34:53.990 --> 00:34:56.360
I think it is, introducing them

665
00:34:56.360 --> 00:34:58.840
into this whole natural world.

666
00:34:58.840 --> 00:35:01.240
Tomorrow's gonna be my big class about composting.

667
00:35:01.240 --> 00:35:03.840 line:15% 
I'm bringing out all the guns to talk about composting.

668
00:35:03.840 --> 00:35:05.470 line:15% 
This is gonna be a great class.

669
00:35:05.470 --> 00:35:07.830 line:15% 
We're gonna have to go outside and see how the kids enjoy

670
00:35:07.830 --> 00:35:10.290
touching dirt and having it in their hands.

671
00:35:10.290 --> 00:35:11.580
Yeah, and then in my last class

672
00:35:11.580 --> 00:35:12.890
I'm gonna get into the community garden

673
00:35:12.890 --> 00:35:14.880
that they have based at the school and do

674
00:35:14.880 --> 00:35:16.820
some community work with the kids.

675
00:35:16.820 --> 00:35:20.450
He was one of the famous best ever worm farmers. (laughs)

676
00:35:20.450 --> 00:35:22.717
And he was wild about the worms

677
00:35:22.717 --> 00:35:25.276
and totally immersed in them.

678
00:35:25.276 --> 00:35:28.360
It was kind of hard to take care of some worms.

679
00:35:28.360 --> 00:35:30.000
You never think somebody have a lot of worms,

680
00:35:30.000 --> 00:35:33.930
like a couple thousand worms as pets, but we did, you know,

681
00:35:33.930 --> 00:35:34.840
a lot of, we helped a lot of people

682
00:35:34.840 --> 00:35:36.230
with their garden 'cause the worms

683
00:35:36.230 --> 00:35:37.420
make their own compost.

684
00:35:37.420 --> 00:35:39.170
We sell the worms, sell the compost.

685
00:35:39.170 --> 00:35:40.715 line:15% 
Lots of worms.
(gentle music)

686
00:35:40.715 --> 00:35:42.200 line:15% 
(indistinct)

687
00:35:42.200 --> 00:35:45.100 line:15% 
We learned how to take care of money and how

688
00:35:45.100 --> 00:35:47.520
to run our own little business, as we called it.

689
00:35:47.520 --> 00:35:50.210
We made posters and yeah,

690
00:35:50.210 --> 00:35:51.680
it had like fake business cards and stuff.

691
00:35:51.680 --> 00:35:56.218
We thought we were doing a lot of (indistinct)

692
00:35:56.218 --> 00:35:57.830
It helped us a lot, yeah.
(people chattering)

693
00:35:57.830 --> 00:35:59.100
It changes the neighborhood.

694
00:35:59.100 --> 00:36:01.630
It gives a certain grace, you know,

695
00:36:01.630 --> 00:36:04.250
and it's nice to have something over here that is

696
00:36:04.250 --> 00:36:09.090
so cultivated, but so quiet, you know that we have

697
00:36:09.090 --> 00:36:11.260
to remember to come and think

698
00:36:11.260 --> 00:36:13.570
about and to take care of.

699
00:36:13.570 --> 00:36:15.950
You know, it's not something that's blasting and glaring

700
00:36:15.950 --> 00:36:18.210
and demanding attention all the time,

701
00:36:18.210 --> 00:36:19.570
but it's absolutely subtle.

702
00:36:19.570 --> 00:36:23.303
It makes us all more subtle and it's very nice to have,

703
00:36:23.303 --> 00:36:24.136
you know?

704
00:36:24.136 --> 00:36:26.460
And I think it changed the neighbors actually,

705
00:36:26.460 --> 00:36:28.520
'cause the neighbors stop by and say hi to you

706
00:36:28.520 --> 00:36:29.353
most of the times,

707
00:36:29.353 --> 00:36:30.530
and most of the times they wouldn't say that.

708
00:36:30.530 --> 00:36:31.780
Sure wouldn't.

709
00:36:31.780 --> 00:36:34.500
And I like to eat the straw strawberries

710
00:36:34.500 --> 00:36:35.942
when they're ripe.

711
00:36:35.942 --> 00:36:38.003
Oh wow!
Hey, I wonder.

712
00:36:38.003 --> 00:36:40.960
Here comes the chocolate zucchini cake!

713
00:36:40.960 --> 00:36:43.159
Yabba dabba doo!
(indistinct)

714
00:36:43.159 --> 00:36:44.710
Hi.

715
00:36:44.710 --> 00:36:46.000
If I haven't connected with the garden,

716
00:36:46.000 --> 00:36:49.440 line:15% 
most likely I'd be outside chilling with my friends outside

717
00:36:49.440 --> 00:36:53.430 line:15% 
or going to the military or caught up in the wrong game

718
00:36:53.430 --> 00:36:56.250 line:15% 
or doing something bad, and working with the garden,

719
00:36:56.250 --> 00:36:58.480
like since I got caught up in it

720
00:36:58.480 --> 00:37:01.970
when I was at the age where I can be manipulated and people

721
00:37:01.970 --> 00:37:04.100
could take advantage of me and the garden

722
00:37:04.100 --> 00:37:06.190
just took me out of that area or I could fall

723
00:37:06.190 --> 00:37:07.450
into badness into goodness,

724
00:37:07.450 --> 00:37:10.610
because it's having seen something from the dirt

725
00:37:10.610 --> 00:37:12.307
to the roots, to the seeds, to a plant, to something

726
00:37:12.307 --> 00:37:15.040
you could put in your mouth and enjoy it,

727
00:37:15.040 --> 00:37:18.620
and you could say this is mine, 'cause it is a part of me.

728
00:37:18.620 --> 00:37:22.880 line:15% 
One of the greatest needs in our time today

729
00:37:22.880 --> 00:37:27.880 line:15% 
is to come to a deeper sense of that connection

730
00:37:28.390 --> 00:37:31.210
that we have with the whole community of life

731
00:37:31.210 --> 00:37:36.110
and to really change

732
00:37:36.110 --> 00:37:39.230
our mindsets and our heartsets

733
00:37:39.230 --> 00:37:43.440
to one of not separateness,
(gentle music)

734
00:37:43.440 --> 00:37:45.453
rather oneness with all.

735
00:37:47.040 --> 00:37:48.900
I'm glad I did it 'cause it helped me out a lot,

736
00:37:48.900 --> 00:37:50.490
and it's still helping me now.

737
00:37:50.490 --> 00:37:54.140
A lot of doors open up from just me planting seeds

738
00:37:54.140 --> 00:37:57.093
and gardening and weeding something that we all can do.

739
00:37:57.990 --> 00:38:00.450
We just have to take a little bit out of our time out

740
00:38:00.450 --> 00:38:03.510
our lives and just do it because I grew up in a garden.

741
00:38:03.510 --> 00:38:06.000
I saw things grow and I know I could grow myself

742
00:38:06.000 --> 00:38:08.250
into be something that can help other people.

743
00:38:13.350 --> 00:38:16.440
Our final stop on this radical garden tour

744
00:38:16.440 --> 00:38:19.240
is at Providence Farm in the Cowichan Valley

745
00:38:19.240 --> 00:38:23.820
on Vancouver Island, not far from Mara and Alphonse's place.

746
00:38:23.820 --> 00:38:27.340
The farm used to house a residential school for boys run

747
00:38:27.340 --> 00:38:28.990
by the sisters of St. Ann,

748
00:38:28.990 --> 00:38:32.480
who've owned the property since 1864.

749
00:38:32.480 --> 00:38:36.690
In the 1970s, the farm and school were no longer being used.

750
00:38:36.690 --> 00:38:40.440
A community group led by former social worker Jack Hutton

751
00:38:40.440 --> 00:38:42.280
approached the sisters about using

752
00:38:42.280 --> 00:38:45.680
the facilities as a resource center for people

753
00:38:45.680 --> 00:38:48.290
with various developmental challenges.

754
00:38:48.290 --> 00:38:51.710
Since 1979, the farm has blossomed,

755
00:38:51.710 --> 00:38:55.930
with up to 600 people a week making use of the facility.

756
00:38:55.930 --> 00:38:59.683
Christine Pollard is resident horticultural therapist.

757
00:39:01.470 --> 00:39:04.470
When someone comes up the drive and wants to be part

758
00:39:04.470 --> 00:39:07.610
of the farm, we always ask that person, well,

759
00:39:07.610 --> 00:39:09.440
what do you do?

760
00:39:09.440 --> 00:39:12.100
You know, what are your talents? What are your abilities?

761
00:39:12.100 --> 00:39:15.910
And 90% of folks with disabilities or illness will often

762
00:39:15.910 --> 00:39:18.140 line:15% 
say, well, I can't do anything.

763
00:39:18.140 --> 00:39:21.060 line:15% 
And they'll describe themselves in terms

764
00:39:21.060 --> 00:39:22.680 line:15% 
of their disability, their illness

765
00:39:22.680 --> 00:39:24.880 line:15% 
and they'll say, oh, I have a learning disability.

766
00:39:24.880 --> 00:39:26.030
I have this, I have that.

767
00:39:26.030 --> 00:39:28.330
I can't do this and I can't do that.

768
00:39:28.330 --> 00:39:30.780
So we wait for all of that to pass and then we say,

769
00:39:30.780 --> 00:39:33.380
but what do you do?
(gentle music)

770
00:39:33.380 --> 00:39:34.910
And then that person might say, well,

771
00:39:34.910 --> 00:39:38.960
I used to be a welder or I used to be a flower arranger

772
00:39:38.960 --> 00:39:42.360
or I used to be a small engine mechanic or something.

773
00:39:42.360 --> 00:39:45.373
And then we say, great, every farm needs one of those.

774
00:39:47.460 --> 00:39:50.400
So we have folks with this physical disabilities,

775
00:39:50.400 --> 00:39:53.853
we have folks with developmental disabilities as well.

776
00:39:55.560 --> 00:39:59.284
Gosh, we've pretty much had it all I guess,

777
00:39:59.284 --> 00:40:00.833
in some ways.

778
00:40:04.190 --> 00:40:05.670
Yeah, everybody's mixed up together,

779
00:40:05.670 --> 00:40:09.110
just like the real world. (laughs)

780
00:40:09.110 --> 00:40:11.610
And nobody knows who's who.

781
00:40:11.610 --> 00:40:14.300
Everybody knows that a person is here for their own needs,

782
00:40:14.300 --> 00:40:16.570
and that's what we'll say if there's any conflicts.

783
00:40:16.570 --> 00:40:18.480
We just say, you know, well,

784
00:40:18.480 --> 00:40:21.440
this person's here for a reason as well, just like yourself,

785
00:40:21.440 --> 00:40:24.150
so we need your patience and understanding.

786
00:40:24.150 --> 00:40:28.770
So even persons that maybe others would think impossible.

787
00:40:28.770 --> 00:40:30.650
There's always a job for somebody,

788
00:40:30.650 --> 00:40:33.430
even if it's just standing and watering.

789
00:40:33.430 --> 00:40:36.288
You can be very physically disabled

790
00:40:36.288 --> 00:40:38.223
and you can always do something.

791
00:40:42.500 --> 00:40:46.700
We've got about five acres of market garden, orchard.

792
00:40:46.700 --> 00:40:49.840
We have a flock of sheep and a flock of chickens

793
00:40:49.840 --> 00:40:52.410
and two guardian donkeys.

794
00:40:52.410 --> 00:40:53.630
And we have a store.

795
00:40:53.630 --> 00:40:55.500
You get to the back end of the farm

796
00:40:55.500 --> 00:40:58.030
and there's a store there and a nursery

797
00:40:58.030 --> 00:41:00.650
and everything we sell there we've grown ourselves

798
00:41:00.650 --> 00:41:03.053
or we've created value-added products.

799
00:41:05.920 --> 00:41:09.050
We have a therapeutic riding association as well.

800
00:41:09.050 --> 00:41:14.050
So there's half a dozen horses there

801
00:41:14.200 --> 00:41:16.110
with about 100 riders.

802
00:41:16.110 --> 00:41:19.140
And we use the 400 acres for trails

803
00:41:19.140 --> 00:41:20.633
and for therapeutic riding.

804
00:41:24.400 --> 00:41:26.680
By getting closer to the land and the relationship

805
00:41:26.680 --> 00:41:30.540 line:15% 
of the growth of the food and what that does for them,

806
00:41:30.540 --> 00:41:32.203 line:15% 
my sense is that people,

807
00:41:33.100 --> 00:41:36.173 line:15% 
as they become more involved in creating the farm,

808
00:41:37.120 --> 00:41:39.290
have achieved a greater sense of themselves,

809
00:41:39.290 --> 00:41:41.870
and they've been able to see the food grow and they've been

810
00:41:41.870 --> 00:41:42.730
able to market it.

811
00:41:42.730 --> 00:41:46.840
They've been able to take fresh tomatoes from this garden

812
00:41:46.840 --> 00:41:50.080
and sell 'em in our store to the people and watch

813
00:41:50.080 --> 00:41:52.580
the enjoyment and satisfaction that people get of that.

814
00:41:52.580 --> 00:41:54.530
And knowing that it's a wholesome product

815
00:41:54.530 --> 00:41:55.810
that they're producing.

816
00:41:55.810 --> 00:41:59.640
So that whole process has been very rewarding to anybody

817
00:41:59.640 --> 00:42:01.410
that's been involved in it.

818
00:42:01.410 --> 00:42:04.490
And I think there's a whole education that goes on

819
00:42:04.490 --> 00:42:08.370
with that, with respect to the value of that food

820
00:42:08.370 --> 00:42:13.370
and the respect for the work that it takes to create that.

821
00:42:13.860 --> 00:42:17.170
So all of those things are very powerful and people,

822
00:42:17.170 --> 00:42:18.770
I think, have truly benefited

823
00:42:18.770 --> 00:42:21.330
from being involved in the process.

824
00:42:21.330 --> 00:42:24.880 line:15% 
Horticultural therapy can be a part of what we would call

825
00:42:24.880 --> 00:42:26.850 line:15% 
psychosocial rehab.

826
00:42:26.850 --> 00:42:30.660 line:15% 
And it becomes that productive part, the physical part,

827
00:42:30.660 --> 00:42:35.130
the being connected part,

828
00:42:35.130 --> 00:42:37.480
the acceptance part,

829
00:42:37.480 --> 00:42:39.810
being at a place where you're needed,

830
00:42:39.810 --> 00:42:42.650
control issues, being able to make choices.

831
00:42:42.650 --> 00:42:47.310
And if a person is willing to take responsibility for a job,

832
00:42:47.310 --> 00:42:49.560
then it follows through they're taking responsibility

833
00:42:49.560 --> 00:42:51.413
for their health as well.

834
00:42:53.830 --> 00:42:55.910
And we were told, too, that a person

835
00:42:55.910 --> 00:42:57.820
with developmental disability should never

836
00:42:57.820 --> 00:42:59.660
work with someone with a mental illness,

837
00:42:59.660 --> 00:43:02.100
that those persons should be kept apart

838
00:43:02.100 --> 00:43:03.810
or that doesn't work,

839
00:43:03.810 --> 00:43:07.140
and in our experience it does work and the talents just

840
00:43:07.140 --> 00:43:09.503
compliment each other as well.

841
00:43:11.720 --> 00:43:14.140
And the really neat thing about it is nobody really cares

842
00:43:14.140 --> 00:43:17.180
who's who, and you'll notice that on the farm anyway,

843
00:43:17.180 --> 00:43:19.590
you never know who's who, and the point

844
00:43:19.590 --> 00:43:23.340
is that we're all involved in horticulture agriculture.

845
00:43:23.340 --> 00:43:25.340
Otherwise we don't have a label.

846
00:43:25.340 --> 00:43:28.040
Some of the land on Providence Farm is dedicated

847
00:43:28.040 --> 00:43:30.670
for allotment gardens where people

848
00:43:30.670 --> 00:43:34.170
who have no land of their own can grow what they want.

849
00:43:34.170 --> 00:43:36.970
This program provides yet another link

850
00:43:36.970 --> 00:43:40.150
between Providence and the wider community.

851
00:43:40.150 --> 00:43:44.790
Retiree Dennis Osborne oversees its administration and care.

852
00:43:44.790 --> 00:43:47.310
So the board of directors suggested that I take

853
00:43:47.310 --> 00:43:50.023 line:15% 
over the gardens, which I did,

854
00:43:51.560 --> 00:43:54.460 line:15% 
and drainage was put in,

855
00:43:54.460 --> 00:43:56.580
the gardens were improved,

856
00:43:56.580 --> 00:43:58.500
and the year before last we expanded.

857
00:43:58.500 --> 00:44:00.540
We started with 40 plots.

858
00:44:00.540 --> 00:44:01.963
Now we have 86,

859
00:44:02.875 --> 00:44:05.933
and we have a waiting list of 14 people for gardens.

860
00:44:07.890 --> 00:44:10.120
We have a gardener here named Bill who is busy

861
00:44:10.120 --> 00:44:13.940
cleaning up his plot after a really productive season.

862
00:44:13.940 --> 00:44:15.603
And Bill is a retired accountant.

863
00:44:19.040 --> 00:44:22.453
Each plot is five foot wide by 25 foot long.

864
00:44:23.290 --> 00:44:25.510
They rent for $20 a plot.

865
00:44:25.510 --> 00:44:28.143
It costs you $10 for any additional plots.

866
00:44:29.570 --> 00:44:31.900
This is the lady I mentioned that lives in an apartment

867
00:44:31.900 --> 00:44:32.883
by herself.

868
00:44:33.790 --> 00:44:37.947
And this is, she has two plots, 33 and 34.

869
00:44:37.947 --> 00:44:41.440
And as you can see, she likes to grow lots of flowers,

870
00:44:41.440 --> 00:44:45.523
and as I say, she spends almost as much time here as I do.

871
00:44:48.320 --> 00:44:50.240
The idyllic Cowichan Valley is like

872
00:44:50.240 --> 00:44:51.820
any other rural community

873
00:44:51.820 --> 00:44:54.273
in the problems it must respond to.

874
00:44:55.160 --> 00:44:56.940
The Cowichan Food Basket is

875
00:44:56.940 --> 00:45:00.220
the community's response to dignified access

876
00:45:00.220 --> 00:45:03.030
to healthy food for those in need.

877
00:45:03.030 --> 00:45:05.580
Bill Baker volunteers for the farm's link

878
00:45:05.580 --> 00:45:06.803
to the Food Basket.

879
00:45:07.640 --> 00:45:10.480 line:15% 
It's a rewarding thing because in my early days,

880
00:45:10.480 --> 00:45:14.730 line:15% 
my wife and I were married in 1988, and in the early days

881
00:45:14.730 --> 00:45:19.150
we were in need and we used the food bank some of the time.

882
00:45:19.150 --> 00:45:22.883
And when we had our kids in '88 and '89,

883
00:45:24.270 --> 00:45:26.610
we were in need and people were helping us.

884
00:45:26.610 --> 00:45:30.530
So it's my volunteer work with the Cowichan Food Connection

885
00:45:30.530 --> 00:45:33.130
is gleaning the product and getting it

886
00:45:33.130 --> 00:45:35.963
to the people in need, but it's also our way of giving back

887
00:45:35.963 --> 00:45:39.083
to what we had received in the past.

888
00:45:40.217 --> 00:45:41.700
(gentle music)

889
00:45:41.700 --> 00:45:45.750
It's very easy to create the rules and regulations

890
00:45:45.750 --> 00:45:50.180
and have a top-down approach to running a program

891
00:45:50.180 --> 00:45:52.113
or running an agency.

892
00:45:53.370 --> 00:45:58.370 line:15% 
The difficult part is to stand back and let people write

893
00:45:58.410 --> 00:46:02.840 line:15% 
their own agenda, which is what's empowering about the farm.

894
00:46:02.840 --> 00:46:04.730 line:15% 
I could easily take a crew and say, right,

895
00:46:04.730 --> 00:46:06.020
this is what we're gonna do today.

896
00:46:06.020 --> 00:46:08.683
Blah, blah, blah. Get out there and work.

897
00:46:09.590 --> 00:46:13.230
It's harder to ask the crew and say,

898
00:46:13.230 --> 00:46:15.300
well, we left off here.

899
00:46:15.300 --> 00:46:16.810
We need to prepare the ground.

900
00:46:16.810 --> 00:46:19.720
It's that time of year for garlic and broad beans again.

901
00:46:19.720 --> 00:46:21.600
We've gotta plant those.

902
00:46:21.600 --> 00:46:24.120
Somebody will say, well, I guess we'd better get on that.

903
00:46:24.120 --> 00:46:26.360
And I said, yeah, that might be a good idea.

904
00:46:26.360 --> 00:46:29.470
It's harder to stand back and discuss it and let people set

905
00:46:29.470 --> 00:46:30.630
their own agenda.

906
00:46:30.630 --> 00:46:33.870 line:15% 
People have the opportunity here to assume responsibility

907
00:46:33.870 --> 00:46:35.760 line:15% 
for their actions

908
00:46:35.760 --> 00:46:39.620 line:15% 
and for the various jobs on hand

909
00:46:39.620 --> 00:46:42.170
and they're given the opportunity

910
00:46:42.170 --> 00:46:45.270
to take that responsibility and run with it,

911
00:46:45.270 --> 00:46:47.720
so they make decisions with respect to the crops that are

912
00:46:47.720 --> 00:46:50.560
growing, or the types of flowers that are planted

913
00:46:50.560 --> 00:46:51.980
if they're gonna be doing harvesting

914
00:46:51.980 --> 00:46:54.245
of dried flowers and so on.

915
00:46:54.245 --> 00:46:57.230
And they end up marketing those to the public

916
00:46:57.230 --> 00:46:58.400
as flower arrangements.

917
00:46:58.400 --> 00:47:01.100
They get involved in that whole decision-making process

918
00:47:01.100 --> 00:47:02.750
from the beginning.

919
00:47:02.750 --> 00:47:05.250
When you come to the farm and you have a project to do,

920
00:47:05.250 --> 00:47:08.420
you know that by 10:30, we have to have three bags

921
00:47:08.420 --> 00:47:12.130
of basil picked for the restaurant down the road.

922
00:47:12.130 --> 00:47:14.090
You've gotta put all your own issues aside

923
00:47:14.090 --> 00:47:15.590
and just get that done.

924
00:47:15.590 --> 00:47:17.490
And that can be a real rest.

925
00:47:17.490 --> 00:47:19.420
You can give your mind a rest

926
00:47:19.420 --> 00:47:22.000
while you're you're refocusing.

927
00:47:22.000 --> 00:47:23.740
And by the end of the day,

928
00:47:23.740 --> 00:47:26.037
your brain is a whole lot rested than it was

929
00:47:26.037 --> 00:47:27.830
if you weren't doing anything.

930
00:47:27.830 --> 00:47:30.890
You get to refocus, and when you refocus and you're working

931
00:47:30.890 --> 00:47:34.070
with a lot of people doing the same kind of job,

932
00:47:34.070 --> 00:47:36.760
then you get to redefine yourself as well.

933
00:47:36.760 --> 00:47:39.010
You're not a person with a disability anymore.

934
00:47:39.010 --> 00:47:43.470
You're a person that has harvested the basil or is taking

935
00:47:43.470 --> 00:47:44.720
the basil up to the restaurant,

936
00:47:44.720 --> 00:47:46.300
so you become a delivery person,

937
00:47:46.300 --> 00:47:48.200
or you become an employee of the farm.

938
00:47:49.240 --> 00:47:51.370
You get to redefine yourself.

939
00:47:51.370 --> 00:47:54.680
And what we try and do with that then is to put

940
00:47:54.680 --> 00:47:56.920
the disability or an illness in perspective

941
00:47:56.920 --> 00:47:58.620
with the rest of your life.

942
00:47:58.620 --> 00:48:01.070
So that when I ask you again, who are you?

943
00:48:01.070 --> 00:48:02.689
You wouldn't just say, I'm a person

944
00:48:02.689 --> 00:48:03.797
with a learning disability.

945
00:48:03.797 --> 00:48:05.520
You say, well, I work at the farm

946
00:48:05.520 --> 00:48:08.880
and I'm in charge of the basil delivery.

947
00:48:08.880 --> 00:48:13.880
And the disability is a whole lot smaller part of your life,

948
00:48:13.930 --> 00:48:16.783
not your whole life.
(gentle music)

949
00:48:26.170 --> 00:48:30.330
Redefining yourself and connecting with your community is

950
00:48:30.330 --> 00:48:33.370
the beginning of real social change.

951
00:48:33.370 --> 00:48:35.270
I'm immensely cheered that so much

952
00:48:35.270 --> 00:48:37.700
of this groundbreaking work is being done

953
00:48:37.700 --> 00:48:41.680
in gardening projects like the ones we've just visited.

954
00:48:41.680 --> 00:48:44.310
I like to think of these radical gardens, indeed,

955
00:48:44.310 --> 00:48:47.700
all our gardens as linked together in a vast

956
00:48:47.700 --> 00:48:50.270
and subtle conspiracy for change,

957
00:48:50.270 --> 00:48:53.710
each a tiny fragment of the global garden

958
00:48:53.710 --> 00:48:57.080
in which everyone has value.

959
00:48:57.080 --> 00:49:01.280
Growth of the soul that starts from the soil

960
00:49:01.280 --> 00:49:05.253
and blossoms into reinventing the world.

961
00:49:15.203 --> 00:49:17.786
(gentle music)