Growing Power, Milwaukee
Milwaukee, United States · Operator: Growing Power, Inc.（ウィル・アレン創設の非営利団体）
Overview
An urban agriculture nonprofit founded in Milwaukee in 1993 by Will Allen, a former professional basketball player. Based on what was described as the last functional farm inside Milwaukee city limits, it ran aquaponics, composting and soil-reclamation operations together with a large training programme for city residents, and also maintained a Chicago office. It became one of the best-known symbols of the US urban farming movement.
Citizen participation
Thousands toured the site each year, and the organisation ran workshops and demonstrations in aquaculture, aquaponics, vermiculture, horticulture, composting, soil reclamation, food distribution, beekeeping and marketing, in partnership with organisations such as the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Milwaukee.
Operating model
Operated as a nonprofit combining training, tours, produce sales, grants and donations. Production included tilapia and perch via aquaponics alongside goats, chickens, turkeys, ducks, bees and worms. It never reached financial self-sufficiency.
Impact
For a quarter of a century it served as a national training hub for urban agriculture and produced many practitioners. In November 2017, however, the organisation voted to dissolve because of mounting debts and legal challenges. That a project with this level of recognition and fundraising capacity still failed to attain financial self-sufficiency makes it a central reference point for questions about the business viability of urban farming. The Chicago side of the work continued as Urban Growers Collective, co-founded by Allen's daughter Erika Allen.
Crops
- vegetables
- tilapia
- perch
- honey
- compost
Scale
ミルウォーキー市内に残る最後の稼働農場。大型温室7棟、厨房、屋内外の研修用菜園、養殖設備、食品流通施設を備えた。
Sources（1）
This entry is compiled from the public sources, official sites and research below.
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