Urban Farm Incubator at Riverview
Whereas a factory has a limited life expectancy, the life of a healthy farm is unlimited. Buildings and tools wear out, but the topsoil, if properly used and maintained, will not wear out.
–Wendell Berry, Home Economics [1987]
Farm incubators are designed to develop and support entrepreneurial farmers. As such, incubator participants are expected to run economically viable businesses and provide some financial information on their operations. Incubator farms are not gardens or hobby farms – they are commercial businesses that provide significant income sources. Farm incubators benefit participating farmers by offering low cost land, shared facilities, technical assistance, and a community of practitioners from whom they can learn. The initial Ohio City Farm licensees are also the co-developers of the project -- The Refugee Response and Great Lakes Brewing Co.
The Soil Speaks No Single Language
Round the world, no food culture is more important than another. Every single one expresses a profound identity and its language precisely through food. We have to respect these diversities. We have to be grateful to the art and skill of women and men capable of producing foods as simple as they are outstanding...
–Carlo Petrini, Founder, Slow Food
When you have a special seed that nourishes life, you want to make sure and save that seed for your children, your grandchildren, your great grandchildren. You want to make sure and nourish that plant so that it has strong seeds. These young people are Cleveland’s strong seeds.
–Maurice Small, Founder City Fresh
The Refugee Response (www.refugeeresponse.org) was formed in 2009 to help refugees adjust to life in Northeast Ohio. The organization works to empower the growing newcomer refugee population, particularly those here between three months and five years by providing opportunities for them to learn the skills they need to succeed in their new communities. At the Ohio City Farm, The Refugee Response's Refugee Empowerment Agricultural Program (REAP) provides education, employment and job training to resettled refugees with an existing agricultural skill-set.
The number of refugees arriving in Cleveland has increased each year since 2007. They face increasing employment, English language and cultural assimilation challenges. Having the opportunity to partake in the Ohio City Fresh Food Collaborative will provide resettled refugees a chance to learn valuable life and business skills, while providing them access to fresh produce and a living wage in their new community.
Most resettled refugees rely on food stamps and other government programs like Women, Infants, and Childrend (WIC) for food.
This opportunity will serve as a bridge between this disparate community and Cleveland’s evolving Westside neighborhoods.
The farm is located at West 24th and Bridge Ave. in Ohio City, Cleveland behind CMHA's Riverview Complex
Please send all mail correspondence to Ohio City Farm c/o Ohio City, 2525 Market Ave., Cleveland OH 44113