Rebecca and I had the distinct pleasure of attending the Michigan Dairy Goat Society's (MDGS) Spring Goat Day, held at Michigan State University (yes, we have bleating hearts at "Moo U"). Because of one of our team member's contacts, we were also able to present our workshop there.
Although attendance at our workshop was small, around 10 people, the input we got from them was not. The attendees were both enthusiastic and realistic about the hurdles we would have to overcome. Their main concern was making sure that residents of the nearby neighborhoods would be involved and have a sense of ownership - something Detroit Goat Farm, and now UAID, have emphasized from the start. This is particularly interesting to me because one of my earlier sessions, about the Michigan Right to Farm Act, also stressed that farmers in rural and peri-urban areas should be good to their neighbors in order to reduce complaints and form good community relations.
We're hoping to stay in contact with MDGS and maybe even to share one of its board members for our board of directors.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Monday, March 8, 2010
Shrine of the Black Madonna
From the very beginning of the goat project, we've realized that faith-based organizations in Detroit would likely be some of our strongest partners. Yesterday Rebecca and I visited the Shrine of the Black Madonna on Detroit's west side, part of the Pan-African Orthodox Church. Despite being the only White people present, we felt welcomed and comfortable in their warm, uplifting sanctuary. The service encouraged both individual and community growth, subjects that I suspect are regular themes for this church body. Our purpose statement seemed to align closely with many of the church's priorities.
Visiting Shrine was a reminder of not only why we want to start the goat farm, but for whom we're starting it. This community clearly gave of themselves regularly to help people in need, even though I'm sure most of them didn't have lots of disposable income sitting around. I believe that given the opportunity to nourish, care for, and further empower each other, they would jump at it.
Rebecca has spoken with one church member about the goat farm, and we intend to keep in touch, perhaps visiting again when possible. If you know of a faith-based group that might be interested in having us present a workshop, please let us know.
Visiting Shrine was a reminder of not only why we want to start the goat farm, but for whom we're starting it. This community clearly gave of themselves regularly to help people in need, even though I'm sure most of them didn't have lots of disposable income sitting around. I believe that given the opportunity to nourish, care for, and further empower each other, they would jump at it.
Rebecca has spoken with one church member about the goat farm, and we intend to keep in touch, perhaps visiting again when possible. If you know of a faith-based group that might be interested in having us present a workshop, please let us know.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Incorporate with Us!
This morning, Rebecca and I filed paperwork to become a nonstock corporation with the name Urban Agricultural Initiatives of Detroit (UAID, pronounced You Aid - yes, we did that on purpose). Once approved, we'll be a non-profit corporation. We also applied for and were granted an EIN.
The next step is to write bylaws, find a board of directors, and come up with a few hundred dollars to apply for 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status. If you are a lawyer familiar with non-profit law and would be willing to do pro-bono work, we'd love to talk to you.
If you are not a lawyer, but are interested in helping, we're in need of a board of directors, money, office supplies, workshop venues, expertise in a variety of areas, and people to sit and dream with us.
The next step is to write bylaws, find a board of directors, and come up with a few hundred dollars to apply for 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status. If you are a lawyer familiar with non-profit law and would be willing to do pro-bono work, we'd love to talk to you.
If you are not a lawyer, but are interested in helping, we're in need of a board of directors, money, office supplies, workshop venues, expertise in a variety of areas, and people to sit and dream with us.
What NYC Thinks of D-Town
This is partially intended as a response to replies to the previous post, "What would it take to keep you here?"
Recently, I was in NYC, and when I mentioned to a student at NYU that I was from the Detroit area, she mentioned that she and her artsy friends had joked about coming to Detroit to buy a house for a dollar. It's a bit of a stretch, in that as far as I can tell, the "homes for a dollar" isn't exactly how it sounds, but with the average cost of a home in Detroit at about $6,000, that sort of scenario is playing out in the city.
Gentrification is beginning to take place in Detroit as what I'll call "new hippies" (millenials who reject the consumer culture of recent decades) move in, appreciating the low rent and grunge feel of a Rust Belt City. Many are artists or small business owners, attracted to lofts, houses, or cheap apartments in Hamtramck, Midtown, Eastern Market district, or other neighborhoods.
My response to the NYU student? Overwhelming encouragement to consider Detroit a livable, fun place to relocate after completing her graduate degree. That said, she would likely take time to adjust to D-town life, with its lack of public transportation, grocery stores, movie theaters, and bowling alleys.
Still, I argue that attracting such young professionals will begin to change the city, and that Detroit's best advocates are Detroiters.
Recently, I was in NYC, and when I mentioned to a student at NYU that I was from the Detroit area, she mentioned that she and her artsy friends had joked about coming to Detroit to buy a house for a dollar. It's a bit of a stretch, in that as far as I can tell, the "homes for a dollar" isn't exactly how it sounds, but with the average cost of a home in Detroit at about $6,000, that sort of scenario is playing out in the city.
Gentrification is beginning to take place in Detroit as what I'll call "new hippies" (millenials who reject the consumer culture of recent decades) move in, appreciating the low rent and grunge feel of a Rust Belt City. Many are artists or small business owners, attracted to lofts, houses, or cheap apartments in Hamtramck, Midtown, Eastern Market district, or other neighborhoods.
My response to the NYU student? Overwhelming encouragement to consider Detroit a livable, fun place to relocate after completing her graduate degree. That said, she would likely take time to adjust to D-town life, with its lack of public transportation, grocery stores, movie theaters, and bowling alleys.
Still, I argue that attracting such young professionals will begin to change the city, and that Detroit's best advocates are Detroiters.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
What would it take . . .
to keep you here?
A couple years ago, I was ready to leave Michigan and return only to visit family. I'm a young professional with two bachelor's degrees and odds of being accepted to more than one of the many graduate schools to which I've applied, only one of which is in Michigan. My story is not at all unique - with the loss of jobs and public services declining, plus a distinct reputation as part of the Rust Belt, Michigan looks less than attractive to millenials (people born between 1980 and 2000).
However, projects like Detroit Goat Farm, Greening of Detroit, Urban Farming, Pure Michigan, Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice, and Free Clinics of Michigan, among a host of others, have changed my mind. I'm seeing how active many Michiganders are in their communities, how much innovation could happen here, and dreaming a new dream for the state of my birth. The result? My first choice for graduate school is Michigan State University, with University of Illinois at Chicago a close second, for its proximity to the Mitten State.
Of course, there are changes I'd like to see. At the top of the list is public transportation and stronger emphasis on education. I'm sure we can all think of things we like and don't like about our state of residence, be it Michigan, California, New York, Texas, etc.
Now I'm asking: what would it take to keep you here? Or to get you to move here, or to move back?
A couple years ago, I was ready to leave Michigan and return only to visit family. I'm a young professional with two bachelor's degrees and odds of being accepted to more than one of the many graduate schools to which I've applied, only one of which is in Michigan. My story is not at all unique - with the loss of jobs and public services declining, plus a distinct reputation as part of the Rust Belt, Michigan looks less than attractive to millenials (people born between 1980 and 2000).
However, projects like Detroit Goat Farm, Greening of Detroit, Urban Farming, Pure Michigan, Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice, and Free Clinics of Michigan, among a host of others, have changed my mind. I'm seeing how active many Michiganders are in their communities, how much innovation could happen here, and dreaming a new dream for the state of my birth. The result? My first choice for graduate school is Michigan State University, with University of Illinois at Chicago a close second, for its proximity to the Mitten State.
Of course, there are changes I'd like to see. At the top of the list is public transportation and stronger emphasis on education. I'm sure we can all think of things we like and don't like about our state of residence, be it Michigan, California, New York, Texas, etc.
Now I'm asking: what would it take to keep you here? Or to get you to move here, or to move back?
Monday, February 15, 2010
Applause for our Goat Engineers
Just a little applause going out to our goat engineers at Michigan State! They're on track to present their work in April, and we should be getting some Excel files from them later today. If you're interested in seeing their presentations, they are:
Apr 15: Biosystems Engineering Showcase - an event for friends and family, geared towards non-technical conversations with a more laid-back atmosphere and general questions. Location: TBA, likely MSU Kellogg Center.
Apr 16 (Tentative): MSU University Undergraduate Research and Arts Forum - a research fair with posters and short presentations about undergraduate research projects. Location: MSU Union.
Apr 30: Design Day - our engineers will set up a booth next to other capstone projects and provide small explanations of the project. Location: TBA, likely the MSU Union.
Hope to see you there!
Apr 15: Biosystems Engineering Showcase - an event for friends and family, geared towards non-technical conversations with a more laid-back atmosphere and general questions. Location: TBA, likely MSU Kellogg Center.
Apr 16 (Tentative): MSU University Undergraduate Research and Arts Forum - a research fair with posters and short presentations about undergraduate research projects. Location: MSU Union.
Apr 30: Design Day - our engineers will set up a booth next to other capstone projects and provide small explanations of the project. Location: TBA, likely the MSU Union.
Hope to see you there!
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Exciting News!
Detroit Goat Farm has been busy of late! Last Thursday morning, we met with Denise Maybank, the MSU Vice President for Student Affairs, who gave us some great ideas for partnerships.
Thursday evening we had a chance to talk to our engineering team - they've come up with a plan to manage waste. It involves composting with use of biofilters that will bind sulfur to manage odor. Because of the dryness of goat manure, we'll likely use microbes to help break everything down. A bonus to this system? One of the byproducts is heat, which we'll be able to use to reduce our heating bill for the goat barn during the winter. Depending how much heat is produced, our head goat engineer, Rebecca Busk, would also like to add a greenhouse to the facility.
Then on Friday, we presented our workshop again to an MSU Honors seminar on sustainability. The students, mostly freshman, gave feedback that the format of the workshop was new for them, and they demonstrated great enthusiasm for the problem solving scenarios we asked them to consider. The professor, who has been around many of these ideas for quite some time, also complimented the format as a real-world setup for discussions.
One last announcement: Detroit Goat Farm will be presenting at Spring Goat Day in Anthony Hall at MSU through the Michigan Dairy Goat Society. We're looking forward to meeting lots of other goat enthusiasts!
Thursday evening we had a chance to talk to our engineering team - they've come up with a plan to manage waste. It involves composting with use of biofilters that will bind sulfur to manage odor. Because of the dryness of goat manure, we'll likely use microbes to help break everything down. A bonus to this system? One of the byproducts is heat, which we'll be able to use to reduce our heating bill for the goat barn during the winter. Depending how much heat is produced, our head goat engineer, Rebecca Busk, would also like to add a greenhouse to the facility.
Then on Friday, we presented our workshop again to an MSU Honors seminar on sustainability. The students, mostly freshman, gave feedback that the format of the workshop was new for them, and they demonstrated great enthusiasm for the problem solving scenarios we asked them to consider. The professor, who has been around many of these ideas for quite some time, also complimented the format as a real-world setup for discussions.
One last announcement: Detroit Goat Farm will be presenting at Spring Goat Day in Anthony Hall at MSU through the Michigan Dairy Goat Society. We're looking forward to meeting lots of other goat enthusiasts!
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