Wednesday, March 10, 2010

'Crop Mob' helps farmers in central North Carolina grow small, sustainable farms

Sustainable agriculture has a new North Carolina advocate, a growing grassroots organization called Crop Mob. It's "a roving band of volunteers dedicated to helping young farmers build sustainable small farms," David Zucchino of the Los Angeles Times reports. "It's a modern version of a barn-raising, with volunteers brought together by Google and Facebook." Crop Mob gathers once a month at a farm. It has expanded from 19 volunteers at the first mob in 2008 to more than 80 last month.

"Crop Mob is not a charity. At its core, it's about community -- farmers helping farmers," Rob Jones, one of Crop Mob's founders, who holds a master's degree in environmental education, told Zucchino. "And when the 'agricurious' come out to help them and learn, well, that's just icing on the top." The group has helped farmers across several counties in central North Carolina, an area ripe for its mission due to the success of the sustainable agriculture program at nearby Central Carolina Community College. (Read more)

On its Web site, Crop Mob explains that no money is exchanged for its work, its projects are focused on small, sustainable farms, and mob gatherings usually feature a warm meal provided by the host. "The more tedious the work we have, the better," Jones told Christine Muhlke of The New York Times in February. " Because part of Crop Mob is about community and camaraderie, you find there’s nothing like picking rocks out of fields to bring people together." Already Jones has been commissioned for advice to other would-be mini-mobbers across North Carolina. Two members are planning a trip to Spain to work with farmers there, Muhlke reported. (Read more)

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