Innovative IdeasFreedom Gardens
A social networking site for people who want to fight soaring food prices and global warming by growing their own food.
PASADENA, Calif., – Think of it as Facebook meets the Farmer’s Almanac: A social networking site for people who want to fight soaring food prices and global warming by growing their own food. At FreedomGardens.org, novice and expert gardeners from around the world gather to post success stories, ask questions, and challenge one another to ever-increasing levels of self-sustained living.
The site is backed by the example of its founders, Jules Dervaes and his three adult children, Anais, Justin, and Jordanne, the urban-dwelling “eco-pioneers” who have been growing most of their own food since 2001 on their 66 ft x 132 ft lot in the greater Los Angeles area.
By growing at least a portion of what they eat, “Freedom Gardeners” can take back control from the corporate food system. In the process, they can improve their health, reduce their ecological footprint, and — with food price inflation at the highest levels since 1990 — save money. Taking these basic steps, others can join what the Dervaeses call a “homegrown revolution(TM).”
To motivate gardeners and focus their efforts, Freedom Gardens presents challenges like the 100-Foot Diet. Mr. Dervaes uses the illustration of a target to explain the diet in the context of the global food economy and the distance food travels from field to plate. “This diet is bringing you back to your home; that’s the bull’s-eye!” he says. “People can look for food security right in their backyard.”
The free, interactive site uses social networking software to connect gardeners who can share tips about plant selection, soil and pest problems, and climate issues. Also, members of this supportive community can offer words of sympathy and encouragement for online friends going through difficult times.
“We’re providing the setting for ‘over-the-fence’ chats so neighbors can help each other,” says Mr. Dervaes. “Through our website, we facilitate their getting together.”
About Freedom Gardens
Launched in May 2008, Freedom Gardens is a social networking website for gardeners and homegrown food enthusiasts. The site’s founders, the Dervaes family, draw on many years of personal experience on their model urban homestead, PathtoFreedom.com, to help others take back control of their diets and their budgets by growing their food. For more information, visit http://www.freedomgardens.org.