OUR WORK
The current environment in the City of Baltimore includes a high unemployment rate
in the midst of a widespread food dessert.
The existing landscape is a foreign object to
many, if not all, the people who reside in these communities. Through our work, CityWeeds not only aims to change the perception of the plants that pervade our neighborhoods but to empower our youth with the knowledge and ability to shape what grows in their backyard.
Empowering Local Youth
bemore green
Our youth achievement program BeMoreGreen trains Baltimore youth and young adults to start, grow and sustain enterprises that enrich the city’s land, community, and people, through the creation and sustaining of ‘micro-businesses’ related to urban farming and the food industry. This program targets communities that have been impacted by trauma, and that have been designated as Food Deserts by the USDA.
BeMoreGreen empowers youth through four different components:
in the midst of a widespread food dessert.
The existing landscape is a foreign object to
many, if not all, the people who reside in these communities. Through our work, CityWeeds not only aims to change the perception of the plants that pervade our neighborhoods but to empower our youth with the knowledge and ability to shape what grows in their backyard.
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Leadership Development: The program engages local boys and young men through urban farming, and helps them develop leadership skills through the use of the YELL Curriculum (Youth Engaged in Leadership and Learning) from Stanford University.
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Mentorship: Participants are paired with local college students who serve as mentors and enterprise partners.
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Entrepreneurship (MicroEnterprise): Participants are guided through a 6-week curriculum designed to help them to start and grow an urban farming-related business from product development and customer discovery to pricing and selling, marketing through storytelling, and inventory management.
Community and Corporate Partnerships: Active collaborations fuel the work of CityWeeds by providing expert volunteers, and product/space donations from the Food, Health, and Manufacturing industries.
Community Training
(speaking engagements)
Since Dominic Nell graduated from his fellowship from Amaphiko, he has been across the country speaking on national and international tours <Need a write-up on previous speaking engagements, types of events accepted, fee expectations, etc. Videos of previous speaking engagements would be great.
kale yeah
#KaleYeah is the entrepreneurship wing of CityWeeds. Using vacant lots turned into community gardens, Farmer Nell partners with local businesses to grow microgreens and produce cold-pressed juices.