From: Equinox Corp. <jdmann@igc.org>
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Date: 16 Apr 92 03:01 PDT
Subject: Homeless into Homesteaders Year 2
Nf-ID: #N:cdp:1453300029:000:5921
Nf-From: cdp.UUCP!jdmann    Apr 16 03:01:00 1992


From: Equinox Corp. <jdmann>
Subject: Homeless into Homesteaders Year 2

/* Written  2:58 am  Apr 16, 1992 by jdmann in cdp:en.agriculture */
/* ---------- "Homeless into Homesteaders Year 2" ---------- */
*/ written 3 am 4/15/92 by David Yarrow (jdmann) in en.agriculture /*

                           PRESS RELEASE
                          April 15, 1992

         Homeless Leave NYC to become Earthwise Homesteaders

At noon on Monday, April 20, 1992, from the steps of the New York City
Hall in Manhattan, individuals who are homeless in NYC will embark on a
journey to upstate NY to begin new lives.  These NYC street residents
were selected to be pioneers in phase two of a unique, innovative and
visionary project called:
                   Bring the People Back Home
           transforming homeless into homesteaders

For the next few weeks -- and perhaps the rest of their lives -- these
courageous, adventurous pioneers will live and work on organic farms and
learn sustainable, earth-sensible farming methods to produce organic
food.  The goal of Bring the People Back Home is that, after four years,
these new candidates will become new farmers practicing sustainable
agriculture. 

Meeting these candidates at City Hall will be Winston Gordon, President
and Founder of Earthwise Education Center, Inc., a not-for-profit
environmental organization based on his family's 250 acre property near
Camden, NY.  Earthwise Education Center was formed in November 1990 to
provide programs to teach people to live on the Earth wisely.  In March
1991 Earthwise recruited eight homeless men from Manhattan to test the
concept that homeless people can become farmers.  This experiment was so
successful the Earthwise founders have decided to recruit and train this
second class in 1992. 

These hope-to-be-homesteaders from Manhattan will undergo an Orientation
program at Green Acres, a Church Mission camp in Dutchess County, where
they will begin to learn the rhythms, routines and chores of farm life.
In their first exposure to farming, they will prepare the soil and plant
a garden, visit local organic farms and live cooperatively.  This
transition time allows the new pioneers to recuperate from the streets
and adjust to rural life.

Bring the People Back Home, a completely private initiative by
Earthwise, is intended to get people off the streets and off of welfare
by providing training and placement as organic farming apprentices in
rural communities.  At the same time, this creates jobs and increases
productivity in NY's largest industry: agriculture.  The founders of
Earthwise believe this effort to stimulate NY agriculture offers
permanent solutions to NY's troubles with homelessness, fiscal deficits,
economic recession, and environmental deterioration.

Earthwise is funded entirely by donations.  According to Earthwise
founder Winston Gordon, "We are a grassroots effort.  Last year we said
we would find out if it's possible for a homeless man to become a food
producer.  Now, in 1992, we will do it again.  Unfortunately, although
we spent hundreds of dollars and hours asking governments and agencies
for help, not one has actually done a thing to really help us.
Regardless, we will do this once again entirely with our own limited
resources because we know we are doing the right thing for the homeless,
for NYUs economy, and for our Earth. So whatever we need will come."

Linda Gowell of Partnership for the Homeless (110 West 32nd Street 8th
floor, NY, NY 10001; 212-947-3444) coordinated recruitment of candidates
and scheduled interviews.  "Without Linda, we couldn't be doing this,"
confirmed Winston Gordon.  Additional support for Bring the People Back
Home was provided by Jeff Romano of Native Farms, NYC's only all-organic
foodstore, (332 East 11th Street, NY, NY 10003; 212-614-0727), and Thea
Jackson and Jeannie Newman of Midnight Run, a volunteer organization in
Westchester County dedicated to helping the homeless (90 Smith Street,
Chappaqua, NY 10514; 914-238-8075).

Earthwise Secretary David Yarrow believes that by creating jobs in
agriculture, NYS can begin to effect a sensible cure for its current
fiscal ills and economic recession.  Yarrow said, "Small farms
practicing sustainable agriculture are the key to reinvigorate our
regional food system.  NYS and public agencies must unite in a job
development effort for farming.  The way to get people off the streets
is create employment in rural areas, and the primary rural industry is
farming.  If we put people to work growing food, NY's economy will have
not only the food, but the money and new farmers, too."

Candidates who successfully finish the Orientation can enroll in a
two-month training program to prepare them to work on a farm.  During
May and June, trainees will live at Earthwise and participate in daily
classes, farm work and meetings.  Trainees who complete this can qualify
to be placed as on-farm apprentices.  For the rest of the 1992 growing
season, these Earthwise pioneers will "learn-by-doing" by living and
working on a farm.

These trainees will learn Earthwise agriculture.  The founders of
Earthwise believe NYS must make dramatic and rapid changes in the
methods of agriculture used by NY farmers.  Said Yarrow, "Current
agriculture is addicted to fossil fuels and chemicals.  This chemical
dependent agriculture is about to become the farming of the past, and
Earthwise wants to train farmers for the future.  Our trainees will
learn new methods of sustainable farming, which are ecologically
responsible.  We are the only program in NYS devoted to training new
farmers to produce the organic food so many consumers are looking for."

For more information, contact:

Winston I. Gordon, President
Earthwise Education Center
P.O. Box 91
Camden, NY  13316
315-675-8498

or

Linda Gowell
Partnership for the Homeless
110 West 32nd Street 8th floor
New York, NY  10001
212-947-3444

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