Rural Advancement Foundation International (RAFI) and Farm Hack, as part of the Growing Innovation project, have launched a collaborative campaign to create an open source online library of agricultural innovations and a new book documenting sustainable models developed by farmers.
The online library will feature a searchable database and interactive maps of farm projects, including detailed execution plans from blueprints to budgets. The book will highlight exemplary farm projects from RAFI’s archive: projects that are highly replicable and adaptable to variety of contexts and climates. RAFI expects that the new online library will be a helpful resource for beginning farmers searching for new ideas, as well as experienced farmers seeking tested sustainability models.
Growing Innovation project video
For more than 17 years, RAFI has supported the efforts of innovative farmers through its Tobacco Communities Reinvestment Fund (TCRF). The TCRF supports farmers and rural communities in developing new and innovative sources of agricultural income through the provision of cost-share grants. RAFI reports that more than 80 percent of the projects have been successful in helping farmers reinvigorate their farms.
Family farmers rarely receive the credit they deserve for their innovations. The majority never seeks patents for their work or profit from their designs. Through RAFI, agricultural inventors and innovators are helping to improve, share and spread their practices with others around the world. RAFI and Farm Hack hope to bring their stories to life through the Growing Innovation project, a welcomed contribution to the International Year of Family Farming.
Learn more about how to support the project here: http://kck.st/growrafi
The Kickstarter campaign for Growing Innovation ends on March 22, 2014.
