The massive earthquake that rattled Nepal in April left entire villages flattened and hundreds of thousand of people homeless. But here in Asheville, a team of natural builders believe they can help by teaching locals how to build superadobe domes.
Activist Bree Newsome and other ‘faith-driven agitators’ lead a charge for social justice at Wild Goose
The third annual Goose Festival brought together more than 2,000 people from various spiritual persuasions that fall under a very inclusive Christian umbrella. Featured speakers at this year’s event included Bree Newsome, the activist who gained national attention for removing the Confederate flag from the South Carolina statehouse.
Soaring ideals: Rethinking Asheville’s Vance Monument
“I urge all those attending the June 6 rededication to see it as the time to reconsider this person and time period, in part, as cultural artifacts. Rather than focusing only on honor and glory, I implore speakers and audience members alike to face history’s shadow side, and our own, to address this complex story in a way that embraces all the impacts.”
Activists and workers rally for fired Hardee’s employee
Fast-food workers rallied today at the Hardee’s restaurant in Biltmore Village in support of an employee who claims she was fired due to participation in labor rights activism with the Fight for $15 movement.
Farm workers to Publix: Join Fair Food Program
The opening of a Florida-based Publix supermarket in South Asheville brought with it fresh produce, sensible prices and protesting farm workers.
From Slavery to Freedom: Remembering April 26, 1865
A remembrance at Vance Monument was organized to honor the 150th anniversary of the freeing of slaves in Asheville, just steps away from where black men and women were sold as goods, on the steps of the Courthouse in a different era. The remembrance was co-sponsored by Date My City and the UNC Asheville Center for Diversity Education.
In photos: Fight For 15 fast-food strike in Asheville
A few dozen fast-food workers walked off the job April 15 in support of an international action to raise the pay of low wage workers. The action marked the first time the nationwide Fight For 15 movement has made its presence known in Asheville.
A community orchard brings a new green space to Hillcrest
Over the years, Hillcrest Apartments has lost several trees leaving the neighborhood to feel a bit barren. Hillcrest residents knew that the environmental nonprofit Asheville GreenWorks had planted fruit trees in other public housing developments, and hoped to see a similar project come to their neighborhood. Turns out, planting an orchard in Hillcrest was on GreenWorks’ to do list as well.
Hunger stops here: WNC’s war on food insecurity
From the Get It! Guide: According to MANNA FoodBank’s 2014 Map the Meal Gap study, food insecurity affects 15.3 percent of Western North Carolina. But several local efforts are looking to stop hunger in WNC, bringing the battle to the fields, the pantries, the neighborhoods and even city hall.
One meal at a time: Dinner at the Kitchen Ready table
During the past few weeks, these cooks have gotten used to serving three-course meals to whoever shows up. But there are no point-of-sale systems, uniformed waitresses or fancy, laminated menus here, because this isn’t your average restaurant: It’s the Southside Community Kitchen on Livingston Street, the café for Green Opportunities’ Kitchen Ready program.
The modern elder: Reclaiming what’s sacred in life’s later stages
From the Get It! Guide: As the boomer generation moves into elderhood, many are realizing what’s at stake when elders are lost from the social fabric. They’re aghast at the realities of our current model of care and are sparking a movement that seeks to redefine the later stages of life — not just for the benefit of elders but for the enrichment of all generations.
Talking youth education with Dawn Chávez and Asheville GreenWorks
From the Get It! Guide: Asheville GreenWorks’ new executive director may be new to Asheville. But her roots in environmental education go all the way back to childhood exploration in NYC.
Bruno Hinojosa and the work of COLA
Form the Get It! Guide: The Coalition of Latin American Organizations seeks to raise the voice of Western North Carolina’s immigrant communities.
Welcome home: Veterans Healing Farm connects returning veterans to their community
From the Get It! Guide: John Mahshie says he realized the value of the exercise, healthy eating and time spent in the sun that comes with farming — and what that could mean for veterans experiencing isolation or even suicidal thoughts as they struggle to reintegrate into civilian life. “It’s a natural fit for this sort of healing,” he says.
Boys club: My Daddy Taught Me That youth program provides positive role models
If you think your day is busy, try keeping up with Keynon Lake. Lake parlayed his pro basketball and sports medicine experience into a career with Buncombe County Health and Human Services, where he is a community service navigator and prevention social worker. Driven to address the questions raised by his line of work, Lake penned the book My Daddy Taught Me That.
‘The food part and the soul part:’ Allison Casparian brings a holistic approach to food security
From the Get It! Guide: Allison Casparian has spent her entire adult life working in food. But it wasn’t until she experienced her own personal health crisis that she realized the power of nutrition and wellness.
Green developments: How Asheville’s public housing communities are leading the eco-scene
From the Get It! Guide: Green jobs, lush community gardens, community cookouts and water quality testing — these might not be things many in Asheville picture when they think of public housing. But residents says Asheville’s public housing neighborhoods are investing in their communities’ welfare and leading a growing interest in “greening” up the neighborhoods.
A seat at the table: Alia Todd and Asheville Sustainable Restaurant Workforce
From the Get It! Guide: While the national attention and popularity of Asheville’s restaurants has meant economic prosperity for some, the Asheville Sustainble Restaurant Workers say it often comes at the cost of inequality, low pay and unfair working conditions for the approximately 11,600 restaurant employees in the city.
Building Bridges confronts racism in Asheville
From the Get It! Guide: “I kept hearing about how diverse this community is, but I didn’t see it,” recalls Building Bridges co-chair Audrey Yatras of her 2006 move to Asheville. “We want to pat ourselves on the back, but we’re actually not diverse at all. “
Communities grow together: A conversation with Sir Charles Gardner
From the Get It! Guide: Sir Charles Gardner, a founding member of Gardens United, talks about food and building community through agriculture.
A little bit at a time: Joshua Young rebuilds his life with the help of Green Opportunities
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.