| Predecessor | ADAMAH (Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center) |
|---|---|
| Formation | June 19, 2011 |
| Type | Nonprofit organization |
| Purpose | (check style guidelines) Environmental, Educational, Spiritual (Jewish), Activist |
| Headquarters | Berkeley, CA |
| Location |
|
| Coordinates | 37°51′37″N 122°17′30″W / 37.860303°N 122.291618°W |
Region served | East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area) |
Executive Director | Adam Berman |
| Affiliations | Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center |
Budget | $420k (2012) [1], $360k (2011) [2] |
| Staff | 9 |
| Website | urbanadamah |
Urban Adamah is a progressive Jewish environmental education nonprofit located in Berkeley, CA. The organization built an urban farm in west Berkeley in 2011, and uses it as an educational space for visiting classrooms and a community center for the general public. The farm and education center is run by the Urban Adamah staff and members of its Fellowship program. The Urban Adamah Fellows live in a communal house located nearby, modeled to replicate life on a kibbutz. Urban Adamah was founded in 2011 by Adam Berman as an offshoot to the program of the same name at the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center in Falls Village, Connecticut.
Core values(?)
editThe core values of the organization are:
- ahava (love)
- chessed (compassion)
- tzedek (justice)
- bal taschit (do not waste)
- shmita (letting the land rest)
- pe’ah (leaving the corners of the field for the poor)
- tzaar ba’alei chayim (preventing cruelty to animals)
History
editBefore founding Urban Adamah, Adam Berman was (the 7-year (specify years)) Executive Director at the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center(more on this...). http://www.berkeleyside.com/2011/06/20/faith-based-urban-farm-opens-in-berkeley/ In 2003, while Executive Director, Berman founded Adamah, an environmental leadership program for Jewish young adults. Unlike Urban Adamah, the original Adamah was located in rural Connecticut, focusing exclusively on food justice and not on community outreach as its urban (reincarnation) does. http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/62187/nurturing-their-roots-fellows-flock-to-berkeleys-jewish-urban-farm/
The farm
editThe urban farm opened on June 19, 2011 in west Berkeley on a lot, formerly the site of a printing press[3], donated to Urban Adamah by Wareham Development LLC through 2013. The opening ceremony featured appearances by author Novella Carpenter, Assemblyperson Nancy Skinner (former resident of the Integral Urban House, a 1970s intentional community and urban homesteading experiment in Berkeley, CA), Berkeley City Councilmember Darryl Moore, and west Berkeley urban farmer Jim Montgomery. During the ceremony, founder and Executive Director Adam Berman spoke of the significance of the name of the farm: “Adamah means 'earth' in Hebrew and also shares the same root word as the word adam, which means 'human'. The word connotes the connection between the earth and earthlings.” http://www.berkeleyside.com/2011/06/20/faith-based-urban-farm-opens-in-berkeley/ The farm, located at 1050 Parker Street in west Berkeley, houses two greenhouses, a chicken coop, beehives and shade structures used as outdoor classrooms. Due to the temporary (keep/inheritance/something of the space on Parker Street), these farm structures were designed to be deconstructable and transportable: http://urbanadamah.org/the-farm-2/ Crops are grown above-ground in individual raised beds, chicken coops are housed upon wheels, and the greenhouses are transportable. http://www.berkeleyside.com/2012/05/30/three-squares-benefit-will-help-free-cooking-class-program/ The portable infrastructure was conceived by Adam Berman and farm manager Tali Weinberg and designed by permaculturalist and carpenter Sid Saunders. (http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/62187/nurturing-their-roots-fellows-flock-to-berkeleys-jewish-urban-farm/) In the first 6 months after inception, the farm grew and gave away 3,000lbs of organic produce to food banks, a church, a community health clinic and the public. [4][5]
Programs
editFellowship
editThe fellowship is a residential training program for young adults, who live together for three months in a communal house, following a curriculum based off the [Isabella Freedman] (insert here: info on progressive Jewish influence(community serving/social justice, and progressive Judaism. )). The curriculum is structured into four components: "Earth Service", "Community Service", "Service of the Heart" and "Service of the Mind". The Earth Service component requires fellows to work on the farm, learning about sustainable agriculture and the [food production cycle]. They learn about organic farming practices and farm management, elements of animal husbandry (such as beekeeping, [chicken tending] and vermicompost), and creating [value-added] farm products (canning, pickling and fermentation). The Community Service component pairs a fellow with a local food security and environmental justice organizations for a three-month-long internship. Fellows also organize volunteer days within the greater Bay Area Jewish community, “incorporating Jewish traditions and values”, and create educational programs for school children and the general public.[6]. During Service of the Heart, fellows participate in a morning ritual of yoga, qi gong, or silent meditation. Service of the Mind is the formal academic component of the fellowship curriculum. Fellows participate in discussions, readings, agricultural training and lectures, taught by an in-house staff, visiting scholars and leaders from local community organizations. Fellows learn pedagogical practices that link Judaism with the food cycle and sustainability, drawing from the Jewish environmental teachings of the Teva Learning Center, Hazan(explain. Their food curriculum. Having a hard time finding external checks), the Teen Adamah Program at Isabella Freedman that preceded Urban Adamah, and the Jewish Farm School (explain. Does Jewish urban ag in New England). (Do a {see also}?) Service of the Mind also includes a leadership training component, based on the Rockwood Leadership Program method of transformative social change and non-violent communication as practiced at Bay Area Nonviolent Communication (BayNVC). Through these trainings, Fellows practice speaking, facilitation, listening, conflict resolution and anti-oppression skills. [7]
Education Programs
editUrban Worms
editUrban Worm is a vermicompost nonprofit founded by Urban Adamah Fellows in April, 2012. The organization specializes in worm breeding and vermicomposting, giving workshops on home vermicomposting and selling vermicompost, worms and vermicompost bins to the public. http://urbanadamah.org/programs/urban-worm/
The vermicompost Urban Worms produces is a mixture of worm castings, organic material, worms and worm eggs, structured together in a "layering" method that allows for airflow between alternating layers of food scraps and dry materials such as newspaper (on Wikipedia?). The worms live between 55F and 77F, and their compost is usable after 6 weeks of (processing). http://www.urbanwormcomposting.org/ http://www.urbanwormcomposting.org/getting-started/ Urban Worms uses eisenia fetida (also known as "red wigglers"), a type of earthworm native to Europe. The nonprofit received its vermicompost infrastructure from Oakland-based worm composting business Mama’s Worm Composting after it went out of business. http://www.ediblecommunities.com/eastbay/spring-2012/urban-adamah.htm