Agitate, Educate, Pollinate! That's the battle cry for the new Institute of Urban Homesteading in Oakland California. It doesn't matter what you call it--urban homesteading, urban farming, or just plain growing your own vegetables--everyone wants to learn how to do it. The Institute's goal is to "preserve a slower, more intentional, more sustainable and more pleasurable way of life, rescue the lost arts of the garden, the kitchen and things done by hand and imbue everyday tasks with wonder and beauty." The Institute was set up by K.Ruby, a very California sounding woman who can do just about everything, along with a group of like-minded teachers. She calls it a "gathering place to research, ferment and learn together." It is a response to mass production and a way to get back to a small-scale personal relationship with our food and its means of production.

Old skills that used to be associated with farming and the rural countryside are being re-learned and re-adapted for urban environments. They are offering courses on subjects such as raising chickens in your backyard, beekeeping, canning, making yoghurt, producing fruit and honey wines and cheese making. Classes are small and are held in private kitchens and backyards in Oakland. As they say: "We intend to conserve both personal and global resources by staying home and tending the garden." :: Institute of Urban Homesteading

More on Growing Your Own Food
:: Eating Local Food
:: How to Green Your Meals
:: Preserving the Harvest

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