Projects | growing-goodness

Growing in Communities

Every community has its own problems, to address this, we found that depending where the community is based, and we need people from this communities to train and to advice in their own communities. So we came up to create the "Community Garden Keeper”.

This new profession, will advise and train people to grow edible food in their own garden and /or in Community gardens. And they will help to build up projects which promote land share, windowsill growing, school yard growing and many other ways like vertical gardens etc. The Community Garden Keeper set up groups and courses for planting, growing, harvest, nutrition, preservation and cooking. Everyone can join in, regardless of his status or lifestyle.

Another very important duty of our Community Garden keepers: to find public spaces, where for example fruit trees for public harvest can be planted. So the training will include the negotiating with councils, schools and private garden owners and more.

Growing Goodness will support the projects with seeds, plants and an online platform for peer to peer support.

Online platform

We will connect us to organisations, which focus on watering solution, organic agriculture, alternative energy, urban and rural gardening, but as well low energy solutions around buildings, which can provide space for growing on roofs or balconies for cities.

Recycling for gardening, the art of making compost and creative use of spaces and items is another focus and will have space on our platform.

Planting a little plant is more than growing a vegetable, you grow fresh air for our planet and that is healing for us.

The farm

Is very important for our project, as it will be not only a "training facility" but as well the pilot experiment to combine a business and charitable use of the profits.

For each charitable need we have developed an income stream.

For example we produce as part of the training edible seeds, plants and trees for the communities for free, but we will grow ornamental plants and trees and herbal remedies, luxury jams and preserved delicate food for sale. Each production step is an opportunity to train peoples for jobs.

The gardening facillities give us space for horticultural therapy for all kinds of PTSD victims, training for Community Garden Keepers, create plants and seeds for communities and people in need (edible plants) and the sale of ornamental plants and herbs will finance this.

To create our respite for disabled people and veterans, we will finance it through a little camping site for people, which search a quiet place for holidays.

Our canteen will benefit from our produce and offer free food for volunteers and staff and will be financed through producing food for visitors, camping site and the participants of our courses for beauty, health and herbal remedies.

Now the courses will pay therapeutic treatment for veterans and victims of abuse.

Ours woods will give us sustainable energy for heating and a place to grow mushrooms and rare herbals for sale.

The streams running through the property will give us the electricity to run many of our facilities in combination with photovoltaic.

There are additional little income streams like rent income and a 3 days harvest festival on the farm for fundraising etc.

The Team and structure of Growing Goodness

The head of the organisation is the board of the elders/ founders. The board's function is to protect the values and aims of the organisation. As we are working international, the board members are mixed nationalities. Most of the board members are volunteers. New board members will be called to the board, after the whole board has agreed to the new member.

In moment these are :

Catharina Hosseini Damabi , CEO of the organisation and Interfaith Minister at ULCM, volunteer with background in farming in gardening, later she was been in the care industry as nurse and support worker. Now she is disabled after an accident at work, this does not affect her abillity to lead the board with common sense. She is native German and responsible for the continent Europe.

A. Traveler, head of the US part of the organisation, volunteer, she devoted herself to the care of veterans. She is as well Interfaith Minister at ULCM. She was formerly nurse, and is disabled, even so she cares her husband, and is still one of the most active members of the organisation, she will oversee the planned Veterans farm in US, which will have additional training and therapeutic features geared towards the needs of veterans. She is native US citizen.

Watts, volunteer, he is responsible for the art and therapeutic section, as well for PR and marketing, he is disabled and was been housing officer for vulnerable and mental disabled before he retired. Today he has a life around art and music, which makes him the man to support our organisation with his marketing ideas and to organise our charity concerts and art fairs. He is believing atheist and British citizen.

Jason Campbell, volunteer, editor for our online platform and right hand of Watts in the marketing section, he is bedbound disabled and one of our most important members, as he overviews the needs of staff and volunteers. He is Christian and British citizen.

Advising board of directors to the elders board

The advising board of directors are employed. The advising directors are running the sections of the organisation together with the Elders board, but have no vote. We do that to ensure, that our main aim "first people and nature, then business" can't be violated by business and profit driven decisions. We can call advising directors as full members to the board of Elders, if the board feels they fit into our aims. The Elders board agreed already on our first advising director:

K.Rees-Teucher advising director for woodland care & agricultural land, is in moment voluntary working for us, but with receive of funding for the farm will work for us employed. K. Rees-Teucher owner of Somerset logs, will bring experience to the board as farmer, as owner of 3 well running businesses and will be the right hand of CEO Catharina Hosseini Damabi.