A company dedicated to providing farming and gardening how-to that can rebuild local food systems is using Earth Day to take environmental energy and convert it into fresh fruits and vegetables.
SPIN-Farming LLC describes itself as a multinational cottage industry and is based in Philadelphia and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. It publishes SPIN-Farming and SPIN-Gardening online learning series and conducts workshops. For Earth Day, on April 22, the company is offering a free download that helps show people how they can take food production into their own hands. “Lettuce Rethink How to Farm” is a 15-minute do-it-yourself Power Point presentation that shows those who may have never considered growing their own food how it’s possible in inner cities, backyards, or shared spaces.
Christensen says local food production can be an economic growth engine, but that can only happen if farming is “right-sized” to become compatible with densely populated areas and available to more farmers despite land and capital barriers. They’re two fronts on which Spin-Farming is working.
“By using backyards and front lawns and neighborhood lots as their land base, SPIN farmers are recasting farming as a small business in a city or town,” Christensen says.
SPIN-Farming also recently launched its 16th online guide, 4 Season Marketing, which details how sub-acre farmers can grow their business without expanding their land base. The company is also planning a restaurant marketing guide and a SPIN Factory Farm that will specialize in production on one or two high-value crops and produce them in volume using multi-locational warehouses.
“This is entirely entrepreneurially-driven,” says Christensen. “They are creating new businesses that can benefit everyone. Once people put on SPIN glasses, they start to see all sorts of possibilities.”
Source: Roxanne Christensen, SPIN-Farming LLC
Writer: Joe Petrucci