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In January 2012, Rooftops Canada in partnership with the Mazingira Institute hosted a youth exchange in Nairobi, Kenya. As part of our involvement in the local food and urban agriculture movement in Toronto, YUF CSA co-founders Chris Wong and Elaine Howarth were invited to represent the Toronto delegation. Two youth representatives (Tasco and Kangela) were invited from Cape Town, South Africa, 5 youth (John, James, Shadrack, Eunice, and Harrison) were invited from Nakuru, Kenya and the NACHU organization and about a dozen local Nairobi youth were invited to participate as well.
The goal of the program is for the youth (broadly defined as under 35) to share their ideas and experiences from each of our respective cities on urban agriculture and food security issues. The program began with an introduction from Mazingira Institute, the host organization for the exchange. Introductions were made, an overview of the purpose and context of the trip was made and the rest of the day was spent with introductory presentations by the majority of the participants.
The main programming got started on the second day with a visit to Ndoso Farm, a peri-urban farm run by an enthusiastic and passionate Ndungi Ngogi. At his farm, he grows a variety of vegetables in greenhouses including some of the best peppers I’ve ever tasted. He also grows other fruit, vegetables, and raises fish on his property as well.
Elaine and I gave a presentation on making compost tea, as well as using worm castings to build the soil. Ndungi does a great job of composting using a variety of methods and that is one of his secrets to the success of his garden. He also gave a presentation on another method of composting using grubs, specifically the grubs/larvae of the black soldier fly.
In the afternoon, we went to another of Ndungi’s farms – this one a livestock farm that raises chickens and pigs. It was incredible to see how healthy the animals were, especially with Ndungi using organic methods for all of his activities.
The third day was spent primarily at Mr Rabbit’s Farm. While that isn’t his actual name, it is a nickname he likes to carry around with him. Before arriving at the farm though, we made two detours. The first was to H-Garden which is located in the second largest slum area in Nairobi. At this location, one of the youth leaders Humphrey “grabbed the land” and setup a garden to work with the youth in this area. The local authorities turned a blind eye because they see his project as benefitting the community, even though they don’t have official papers for the land. It was incredible to see a number of sack gardens, as well as rabbits and pigeons being kept on a tiny piece of land.
We also had a short visit and interview with KOCH FM, a local radio station run by youth and broadcasting to just a small area in another ghetto area of Nairobi. The entire operation is run out of an repurposed shipping container, complete with an office and sound-proof studio for their broadcasting. To see this local project in action, essentially using just a computer and a microphone was a humbling experience to see how much can be done with so little.
When we finally got to Mr Rabbit’s farm, we had a tour around his property. We had a chance to see how they make their own compost, how they utilize a farming methodology called moist bed gardening, how to butcher a rabbit, enjoy sucking on fresh sugar cane, and see a larger scale rabbit operation.
Sunday, day 4, was a rest day, and a bunch of us spent some the afternoon at a local swimming pool for some much needed R&R.
On Monday, we continued our farm excursions to two local places. The focus was on value-added products and we first stopped at a local place that manufactured toys using recycled plastic. Using just two small buildings, they sort, melt, and mold recycled plastic into some really nice toys. It looked like they also had a bunch of corn growing in a back lot as well. We finished the day at Esther’s farm which is another peri-urban farm in a new suburb of Nairobi. Here, we had a chance to have a few hands-on demonstrations of how to make yogurt, how to make peanut butter (using either dry roasted peanuts or fried peanuts), and how to make mango jam. The peanut butter and mango jam were some of the best I’ve ever had! Esther has what we would consider to be a cottage industry that takes.
  
That’s all for this update. Look for more pictures and posts as the exchange continues.
The Young Urban Farmers CSA is gearing up for another spectacular year of growth, both in our gardens and as an organization. We’re looking for motivated self-starters who work well as part of a team and are looking for a chance to develop their leadership and management experience in a challenging and rewarding position. Being a part of YUF CSA means being passionate about fresh and local food, and making a difference in the community.
Volunteers will have the opportunity to manage key projects, gain valuable hands-on experience and make a real difference in a growing organization. We are looking for help in our Workshop, Sales, Fundraising, Design and Finance areas, as follows:
Workshop Coordinator: The Workshop Coordinator will have the full responsibility for the planning and delivery of the YUF CSA workshop program. The workshops relate to food, gardening, the food system, and the environment, and they are designed for YUF CSA members and volunteers, as well as the wider, non-engaged public. The Workshop Coordinator works closely with other members of the YUF CSA team and reports directly to the Executive Committee. The Workshop Coordinator will be responsible for planning and implementing the workshop program, identifying and liaising with facilitators, designing event materials with the Marketing and Design team, advertising and promoting the workshops with the Social Media team and Outreach Coordinator, managing the available budget for workshops, sourcing and supplying ingredients and materials, identifying and booking appropriate venues, attending each workshop to support the facilitator as required and evaluating and reporting progress in line with program objectives.
Sales Manager: The Sales Manager will be responsible for all aspects of the YUF CSA sales process. Strong interpersonal skills, an outgoing personality and a passion for gardening are crucial to success in this role. Duties and responsibilities include generating sales leads for homeowners/individuals to donate their land for our services (using both new and existing sales processes); engaging new and returning customers to participate in our CSA service; administering and overseeing direct marketing and cold calling; booking and delivering sales presentations; managing customer relationships; implementing the overall sales strategy; as well as managing, training, and overseeing a team of direct marketers. This position requires approximately 4 to 10 hours per week, with some evening and weekend work required.
Outreach Coordinator: The Outreach Coordinator will have the full responsibility for the planning and delivery of YUF CSA’s outreach campaign with the goal of engaging the general public and encouraging active participation in our program. The Outreach Coordinator will work closely with other members of the YUF CSA team on responsibilities such as developing and implementing the overall outreach strategy, identifying and registering YUF CSA for outreach events, developing a promotional kit for outreach events with the Marketing and Design team, attending and tabling at outreach events, advertising and promoting the outreach events with the Social Media and Design teams, booking speaking engagements and delivering presentations to a wide variety of audiences and cultivating partnerships with other organizations and community partners. The Outreach Coordinator will contribute 2 to 8 hours per week with a flexible work schedule.
Graphic Designer: The Graphic Designer will be responsible for designing and producing all of YUF CSA’s diverse marketing materials, including our overall brand identity. The Graphic Designer will work closely with the Marketing, Outreach and Workshop teams in carrying out the following duties and responsibilities designing print and web promotional materials. The Graphic Designer will creating a consistent brand strategy with the Marketing team, liaising with the Outreach and Workshop teams to promote special events, storing and maintaining production-ready graphics for all projects and researching and sharing with the YUF CSA team new emerging technologies, applications, and design, and identifying opportunities to integrate these into our projects. The Graphic Designer will contribute 2 to 8 volunteer hours per week on a flexible schedule.
Finance Manager: The Finance Manager is responsible for all of the financial aspects related to running YUF CSA. Attention to detail, superior organizational skills, and financial experience are required. The Finance Manager must communicate financial information to key stakeholders on an ongoing basis, thereby ensuring the financial viability of the organization. Duties and responsibilities include creating the budget and forecasting ongoing operations; managing the bank account and cash flows; reporting on financial status; preparing financial statements and projections; as well as utilizing the industry’s best practices. The Finance Manager will contribute 4 to 10 hours per week on an ongoing basis with a flexible work schedule.
If one of these positions sounds like you: Please submit your cover letter and resume as separate attachments by e-mail to andrea(at)yufcsa.com no later than 5 pm on Thursday, February 9, 2012. Please use the title of the position you are applying for as the subject line and mention where you saw the job posting in your cover letter.
Young Urban Farmers CSA has been chosen as one of the top 10 winners of the Climate Spark Ignite challenge.
They wrote to tell us that their community and experts have seen the potential in the proposal we submitted, and made it through the first part. Hooray!
Thanks to everyone who voted for us, we are now able to take it to the next level – accelerate!
As one of 10 finalists, we will now meet face-to-face with expert advisers who will help us improve our proposal and strengthen our concepts.
It’s going to be an intensive cram session in venture planning, so we’re a tiny bit nervous, but it will help us to cover all the bases of a good business plan before taking our proposal to the final pitch session.
So send us all of your positive vibes and we’ll be sure to let you know how it goes.
Thank you from all of us at YUFCSA!
The Rooftops Canada Foundation, in collaboration with Ryerson University Centre for Studies & Food Security and Toronto Food Strategy (City of Toronto – Public Health), are hosting a presentation and discussion on Urban Food Security Lessons from Cape Town, South Africa.
Our very own Chris Wong will be talking about the urban agriculture movement and how YUFCSA is working, and talking about the importance of locally grow fare to fighting the battle to become a healthier cosily.
This discussion will be held on Friday, November 18, 2011 from 12:30 to 2:30 PM at the Oakham House, 63 Gould Street, Room on the Ryerson University, Toronto, campus.
Check out the poster for more details, or visit http://www.toronto.ca/health/tfpc for more info!
 From Rooftops Canada and their work in Africa
Thank you to everyone who voted for us for the first round of the Climate Spark Social Venture Challenge!
After the first round of judging, we were sitting pretty in 13th position. And after re-submitting our application, with a few careful tweaks, we have made it to round two!
If we win this one, we’ll have the fantastic opportunity to get some FREE professional consulting advice on how to improve YUFCSA!
However, we still need your help from you, our supporters, to visit this link and register to vote for us one more time. Voting is open until November 15th.
Thank you for your continued support of YUFCSA, and cross your fingers for us to win the Climate Spark Social Venture Challenge.
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