What we’re about
Who should join: Ideal members are Baby Boomers facing retirement without adequate funding -- as well as younger people who are seeking to decrease their cost of living by living in energy-efficient houses and growing their own food.
Why should members join: Members will learn principles of organic gardening, extreme energy efficiency home construction, and how these can be integrated into an inner city neighborhood that is safe and populated by retired middle- and working-class people who are welcoming to newcomers.
What can members expect out of the group: We have a well-established urban vegetable farm on five vacant lots in the neighborhood where members can enjoy working together on a common project to produce high-quality food for themselves. The meetup site organizer is the technical director of a construction products company specializing in extreme energy efficient construction, and he will provide guidance on the fundamentals that prospective home owners should know -- as well as contacts in the area for more information and moving forward with building a home in the neighborhood -- or elsewhere in Kansas City.
People are welcome to join just for the experience and education. It is not a requirement they be interested in the proposed project for the specific neighborhood where the organizer's urban farm project is located.
I am a corporate attorney, I live in Olathe, and I have been growing vegetables on five vacant lots in the inner city of Kansas City, Kansas for three years and giving the produce away to the neighborhood and surrounding community. I have found the people to be mostly retired teachers and General Motors workers who are very pleased to have me in the neighborhood. I have purchased a home from the tax sale, and I plan to retire there. My son lives there, and he has had no problems with security. I am interested in helping people move into the neighborhood and share the garden with me. I am involved in zero-energy housing, and I can help people build small, zero-energy houses on lots the City owns that cost only four hundred and fifty dollars -- or help rehab houses that are already there. There is also an apartment complex in the neighborhood. www.mutualaidsociety.net
