From the Get It! Guide: Joshua Young faced a difficult transition upon his release from a seven-year prison stint. “I said, ‘Joshua, what are you really going to do with your life?,’” Young recalls. At Green Opportunities, Young found the fair chance he needed to rebuild his life.
Carol Coulter and Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture forge connections for small farms
From the Get It! Guide: Tried of the barriers facing new female farmers, Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture joined together to form connections and overcome the learning curve.
Asheville Grown Business Alliance: Working for now and 50 years down the road
From the Get It! Guide: The Asheville Grown Business Alliance takes 2015 by storm with a focus on diversifying, learning and courageously leveraging our community’s assets to create radical resilience and prosperity for everyone.
Report: NC’s clean energy industry growing, Asheville a hub
A new report from the N.C. Sustainable Energy Association finds that North Carolina’s clean energy industry has grown 25 percent per year since 2012. The report found that the clean energy workforce is scattered throughout the state, but highlighted Asheville as one “cluster” for these jobs.
Winter is coming: Embracing the cold with four-seasons growing
The long summer is behind us, but for many growers in Western North Carolina, the spring-summer growing season is only half the story. Commercial growers, donation gardens and garden-based education programs are all finding ways to make local food and food security a hallmark of WNC, year-round.
Meet the farms of ASAP’s 2014 Farm Tour
Grab your camera and pack up your car with your best crew — it’s time to get out in the fields for Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project’s annual farm tour. The self-guided tour will be held Saturday, Sept. 20, and Sunday, Sept. 21, and takes place at 37 Appalachian Grown certified farms across nine counties in Western North Carolina.
Reviving folk agriculture in the modern food economy
In 1790, 90 percent of Americans were farmers. Today that figure boils down to less than 1 percent. The change is particularly noticeable in the South, which up until the 1950s, was a largely agrarian society. Now, some are calling for a rebuilding and supporting of a locally-focused food system — which used to be prevalent in Appalachia.
Think small, grow big: Urban farming, without the farm
A mosaic of city roof top gardens? Vacant lots that create jobs? A backyard garden for folks without backyards? It’s all part of the small-scale urban farm model many in Asheville are striving for — where every tiny space is being utilized.
The 2014 farmers market season is underway
Western North Carolina is an area rich in agriculture, which means there are many regional tailgate and farmers markets to enjoy. With the help of ASAP, Xpress is providing a roundup of regional markets, including markets accepting food assistance programs.
Found food: Foraging for wild edibles in WNC
Western North Carolina features the greatest variety of flora and fauna north of the tropics, which makes Asheville an ideal place for those who forage for food. In fact, foraging can begin as close as your own backyard.
Local production: The other side of the coin
From the Get It! Guide: The idea of local economy has become a growing global movement to build a saner and more sustainable world. Increasingly, people are waking up to the simple truth that “local” matters — the best way to help out their economy is by keeping it as local as possible.
WNC AgOptions announces 2014 grant recipients
Amid the gentle hills and rolling pastures that surround the Mountain Horticultural Crops Research and Extension Center in Mills River, local farmers left their work behind on Thursday, Feb. 27, to attend the WNC AgOptions 2014 Award Ceremony.