Anita Manuel

Want to help a permaculture community garden get started in Abingdon, VA (Southwest Highlands)? With the possibility of there being other gardens nearby. This garden will be mainly in the back of 320 Madison St SE (take a look with Google) but the old farmhouse also needs a lot of work so it can be an effective shared space and the side yards and front area will also be included. What is in process right now is the initial planning and establishing a financial infrastructure so that funding (first offers already in the wings) can be accepted. In addition the local horticulture instructor who is also a permaculture designer has plans to involve his classes in April. Folks from the town government are already on board and enthusiastic and some people in the immediate neighborhood have an interest though more needs to be done to bring them in fully. The house has four upstairs bedrooms and the ceilings have just been fixed so the rooms are ready to patch and paint. I am hoping I can exchange for a place to live right now (and we can talk about meals/cooking). Other local farm employment may be available as well (there is an active farmers market) and for someone who is good with paperwork and people there is the possibility of creating a director/administrator job once funding is obtained.

Most of the work right at the moment is in or on the house (some carpentry skills would be great) but there is also some outside work and there will be more in the next couple of months. If you're interested in exploring this as a possible perch or longer-term project please Reply here or get hold of me at almanuelnw AT gmail.com.

Thanks,
Anita

In the Spring I bought an old house (original part built in 1900) in Abingdon, VA sitting on not quite half an acre (with a wooded lot next door which may be available for purchase) and I have been talking to folks in town government and also in local community about turning the back 1/4 acre into a permaculture community (demonstration) garden. I have presented to the Sustain Abingdon committee with an enthusiastic response, got buy-in from the guy running the local community college horticulture program who is also a permaculture designer (to be on Board and help with design) and am in touch with some of the folks in the immediate community. But I can't do it by myself. I can't offer a paying job at this point (my funds are running low) but I can offer housing, contacts and the potential for a paying job once funding is obtained. There is also the potential here for being a spearhead for permaculture community gardening both on private land and on town-owned lots. The local organic farming community is already well-estabished since this is a mountainous region not appropriate for industrial-style farming so there are also good potential contacts especially through the local farmers market.

If you have any interest in finding out more you can get back to me at almanuelnw@gmail.com or we could also get online and chat (Skype, Facetime, Google Hangout). Or call 276-206-8801.

Anita Manuel

Are you still looking for a place? I have bought an old house (original part built in 1900) in Abingdon, VA and sitting on not quite half an acre with a wooded lot next door and I have been talking to folks in town government and also in local community about turning especially the back 1/4 acre into a permaculture community (demonstration) garden. I have presented to the Sustain Abingdon committee, got buy-in from the guy running the local community college who is also a permaculture designer (to be on Board and help with design) and am in touch with some of the folks in the immediate community. But I can't do it by myself. I can't offer a paying job at this point (my funds are running low) but I can offer housing, contacts and the potential for a paying job once funding is obtained. If you have any interest in finding out more you can get back to me at almanuelnw@gmail.com and we could also get online and chat (Skype, Facetime, Google Hangout). Or call 276-206-8801.

It's in the Appalachians rather than on the ocean but the ocean is closer than Indiana.

The house itself needs quite a lot of work (and limited funds for doing it so plenty of room for repurposing and improvising) outside is ripe for planning and first moves (though still in the first observation year) and plenty to do developing an organization to make it possible not just as an isolated project but as an education site for this area and potentially a model for other sites both private and town-owned in and around Abingdon.

Anita