The Cesar Chavez Organic Gardening Project with the I Have A Dream Foundation “Dreamers” was a great success.  Our group camped out for three gorgeous evenings at Sunrise Farm, just west of Loveland, CO on a secluded hillside above their organic farm and living community.  The campsite was complete with ponderosa pines, prickly pear cacti, and an area called the “moon rocks,” providing a perfect setting for the trip, which focused on practicing wilderness skills, learning about organic farming, and the life Cesar Chavez.

The folks at Sunrise were great hosts and intrigued us with discussion around the ecological importance of sustainable agriculture.  They really got us thinking about the amount of pollution, water, and fossil fuel that it takes to maintain our current industrialized agricultural paradigm.  Seeing their way of farming provided our group with a hopeful perspective on the complex issue of modern food production.

In return for their hospitality and teaching we spent about 35 total ‘people hours’ planting and harvesting herbs and vegetables in their permaculture garden where we learned experientially about this unique form of agriculture where virtually nothing is wasted!

When we weren’t working side-by-side with the farmers we practiced survival skills such as natural shelter making, various fire-building techniques, and sensory awareness activities near our wooded hillside above the farm. Not only may these skills help save our lives someday, they also are super fun to practice and helped us strengthen our connection to the outdoors we want to help protect and preserve.

At night we cooked delicious dinners together and used our newly acquired fire-building skills to create a fire where we had rich discussions about the life and legacy of Cesar Chavez, including his core values of acceptance of all people, importance of service to others, and the value of hard work, as well as the impact he had as an organizer for the farm-workers of the United States Southwest.

A special thanks goes out to our partners for this project, including: Rigo Tostado and Jen Doyle from I Have A Dream Foundation for rallying a group of amazing students to work with, Kristin Maharg and Brandon Jones our Cottonwood Institute Instructors for facilitating a great course, and Patrick Padden at Sunrise Farm for teaching us about organic farming and sustainable agriculture. This project would not be possible without support from our funders, including: Ben & Jerry’s Foundation, Mile Hi Foods, New Belgium Brewing Company, and Whole Foods Market.