I Got Chickens In My Backyard! How to Feed and Employ the Formerly #Homeless.

Mobile Loaves & Fishes has implemented a sustainable food project called Korpophoreo (Bearing Fruit in Every Good Work). You can see our entire concept at http://www.mlfnow.org/kp. One element of Korpophoreo is we (MLF staff and the formerly homeless now living in http://www.mlfnow.org/HOW) come to your home and build gardens in your backyard. If desired a chicken coop with chickens too!! You pay for the expense for the install and like your yard man (will be your food man) we come weekly to help you manage your sustainable food endeavors. We split the harvest 50/50. From this powerful things happen; for you you get to consume the best food on the planet and/or share the best food on the planet with your friends and family and/or all that and let our folks have more of the harvest so they can do what you do plus perhaps sell some of theirs at the local farmers markets. So our formerly homeless brothers and sisters get the highest level of nutrition available on the planet and are able to earn a little money and get connected to our creator through small farming projects. Check out the video below of our beta project in my backyard and contact us.

-Alan

Comments

[Addie Broyles]

What a great project, Alan! You are doing such great work in this community; growing food is a powerful thing for everyone involved.

[Alan Graham]

Thanks Addie for your comments and spreading the word! I will share some food with you when the harvest begins to come in.

[twitter.com/LaniAR]

Alan, this is a really wonderful idea!!! You're making me wish that we had a yard!!

[Mobile Loaves & Fishes]

Lani, we hope to begin a larger effort just after the first of the year once we are complete with the beta. Also, we have had great response to the Slideshare stuff you created. We have one of them on our homepage.

Alan Graham

[Fawn]

Alan,
I've got 60 acres you could use and already have a chicken coop. But I'm probably to far for you. I'm about 70 miles from Austin. If I can help let me know. Maybe I could raise some chicks for you and split the eggs or something.

[Mobile Loaves & Fishes]

Fawn, this is awesome! I have copied Steven who is leading out efforts here and will connect the two of you. We want to be in a position to deliver laying ready chickens which need to be about six to eight months old.

Alan Graham

[Matt Kelly]

Great idea Alan! Looks like you already have some folks very excited about this! The micro farming concept is a great solution for supplementing the homeless food supply as well as something everyone can do to make a small contribution.

[Alan Graham]

Thanks Matt! Just as in the multiplication of the loaves & fishes we want to get a multitude involved. This is how we can begin to get many people contributing what they can to do something big. In this case it is getting tasty nutritious food into the hands of people that can only afford to eat junk.

[Lisa and Bob Carlton]

This is such a great idea! Bob and would love to donate our backyard to the cause. Please let us know what we need to do to get involved. I have wanted to have a garden like this, but wasn't sure how to start- love, love, love this idea- uses everyone to make it work- community at it's best.

[Austin Funky Chicken Coop Tour]

What a great idea! I'll pass it along in the Austin Chicken Community.

[Mobile Loaves & Fishes]

Funky, that would be awesome!

Alan Graham

[Fawn]

I contacted Ideal Poultry about donating chicks that we could raise into layers for you. They don't "give" away chicks in the fall and winter. I'm still excited about the chance to raise food and chicks for you guys!

[Mobile Loaves & Fishes]

Fawn, lets try to get together. Would love for you to meet Steven who is heading up the Korpophoreo project.

[sam]

hi Alan
and MLF gardeners project how about this
HOW about getting a space going

remember the former How rv park site how about asking the city to turn that into a Garden a big garden
with lots of produce

here is my idea i have gone up there on many nights and it is always above freezing even on the nights when Austin freezes
its elevation is high and the cold air drains down and makes this place a year round growing
location

example at my trailer one morning it was 12 degrees above zero
one morning when i went out to shoot a moon set
and i noticed as i rode up higher and higher it went from 12 degrees to 30 degrees in the matter of 20 blocks and 10 blocks and up hill it was 52 degrees at the former MLF rv site
if that prosperity cant be developed for housing why not ASK the city to allow a garden there
i have identified macro zones at night so example where my trailer is it could be classified as a zone 6
and the former Rv Site a zone 9 macro zones
and Austin does have a zone 4 i have recorded a temperature of minus 3 degrees in this pot in west Austin
i gained all this information from many many many many many many nights months and few years of night time bike/photo projects

currently the property is unusable for regular homes because of the Airplane clearance
and neighborhood bias problem

but a vary large garden would be a good use for that land and it would be plants and probably wold be far less resistance from the neighbors