Recreational farming has been on the rise, with more and more individuals spending weekends and free time working on farms. Crop Mobs, sometimes called Farm Mobs, offer the experience of sustainable community farming to those who don’t have land. Crop Mob groups have popped up all over the U.S. including Chapel Hill, Atlanta, Cleveland, and other cities and have helped many smaller and younger farms in growing and harvesting food.
Generally a monthly word-of-mouth (and Web) event, volunteer head out to a farm to help mulch, build greenhouses and pull rocks out of fields. Participants are usually in their 20s or 30s, college educated, and usually work in the office during the week. Usually no previous experience is required, and bringing your own shovels and hoes is encouraged. Sometimes lunch is served in exchange for work.
A first group called Crop Mob began in the Chapel Hill area in North Carolina in 2008 when a group of 19 farmers, some apprentices, and other volunteers met at Piedmont Biofarm in Pittsboro, NC to harvest sweet potatoes. Each year since, the crop mob returns to the farm every October for the sweet potato harvest. Today there are over 50 people who show up to the Crob Mob events.
Since that first Crop Mob, there have been more than 50 groups that have popped up. Much of the rapid growth is attributed to an article in the New York Times that was published in 2010.
Want to get your hands in the dirt and work on the farm? Check out the cropmob website where you can get connected and learn about what opportunities for Crop Mobbing are happening near your neighborhood.
Image Source:
cropmob.org/
Links:
cropmob.org/
Field Report: Plow Shares – New York Times Article