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| Hollygrove Market + Farm, 2010 |
Hollygrove Market and Farm exists to increase accessibility of fresh produce to Hollygrove, surrounding underserved neighborhoods, and all of New Orleans while promoting sustainability through support of local farmers and the local economy as well as acting as a demonstration site for environmentally sustainable practices.Hollygrove Market + Farm is an urban agriculture education center consisting of community garden beds, training fields (managed by Master Gardeners of New Orleans), an outdoor event pavilion with rainwater catchment, compost area, chicken coop, and market/storage/kitchen space which offers a weekly CSA-style produce box from a collective of local growers.
While building Earl Williams' Dry-In House, I started working with Paul Baricos and Kevin Fitzwilliam of the Carrollton-Hollygrove Community Development Corporation. They were setting up a garden at Trinity Christian Community's neighborhood center, while also working with the New Orleans Food + Farm Network to promote backyard gardening in Hollygrove. This momentum resulted in the creation of Hollygrove Market + Farm at the previous location of Guillot's Nursery - a 1+ acre site with a 2,500 square foot building.
Tulane City Center developed a site plan and phasing proposal, which I was brought on to help enact as an atypical construction manager: in post-Katrina New Orleans' rebuilding environment, I dealt with contractors and permitting as well as coordinating volunteer groups of various ages and sizes. I became the "Logistical Coordinator", assisting with market layout and site development, among other steps, to get the project started.
Once Hollygrove Market + Farm opened to the public, I worked with CHCDC and AARP to create a public "neighborhood resource directory" which compiled the many skills, abilities, and businesses in the neighborhood into a pamphlet distributed throughout the neighborhood, in line with HM+F's commitment to localizing the economy of Hollygrove and fostering greater neighborly interactions.
HM+F sits along the Hollygrove Greenline - a canal and former railroad that is covered with grass and fenced-in. Tulane City Center is working to turn this stretch of green space into accessible park areas throughout the neighborhood, providing more plantable areas and recreation space.