Agricultural Lab

Community Empowerment Through Self Mastery and Citizen Science

1. What is the problem?

That we are facing a global crisis in the form of climate change is no secret or surprise. And while this situation is beyond the scope of any one organization, communities across the globe are in desperate need of immediate help for survival. In Indianapolis, as in many cities, lead in our soil and water is a very real issue facing our citizens and putting our youth and elderly in serious danger, something many citizens are not even aware of. 

Additionally, our citizens face a lack of access to affordable, healthy produce; education on how to live healthier, more sustainable lifestyles; and jobs. Indianapolis has an unemployment rate of 3.0% with 20.9% living in poverty (a). Those being hit the hardest by a loss of jobs due to new technology or a lack of training are youth and senior citizens, making up 27% and 35% of the population respectively (b).

How then can all of these problems be solved with one program? The Kheprw Institute proposes a multi-pronged approach in the form of Agri-Lab.

2. What is the solution?

Kheprw's Agricultural Lab (Agri-Lab) is an intergenerational learning lab that teaches hand-on eSTEAM skills (Entrepreneurship, Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) through the practice of urban agriculture, including soil science, composting, food production, cover cropping, aquaponics, and water testing. This community-led initiative helps citizens create the change they want to see in their community and gain skills that will help them not only to access jobs but also make a positive impact on their environment through sustainable practices. Four major projects within Agri-Lab address the issues above: Growin' Good in the Hood, Aquaponics, Citizen Science, and We Run This.

These programs allow citizens both in the neighborhood and city-wide to be involved in taking care of their environments and sustaining themselves financially through growing and selling their own food through a variety of innovative methods, testing their own soil and water to ensure the safety of their families, and learning how to cook the food they have grown and run a business through our own catering service. Through community partnerships, we are able to target those who are the most at risk (i.e. youth, elderly, and those who are coming out of incarceration) to participate in these programs and provide them with the skills and experience they need to continue in their careers. 

3. How will your solution change the world?

Putting the tools in the hands of the community, particularly those who are the most at risk, creates a new workforce who are able to not only participate in the existing jobs but who can better adapt to new and changing technology and career fields. Additionally, we are creating a new population of citizen scientists who can take their sustainability knowledge and skills not only into their careers but into their communities wherever they may go in life. 

(a) https://www.census.gov/quickfa...

(b) http://www.stats.indiana.edu/p...

While we are not developing new technology, targeting citizens who would not otherwise have access to this education or these tools is a way to solve multiple problems with one program. This draws in and educates a previously untapped population who may then be able to solve the problems we face from perspectives not being currently considered. Additionally our intergenerational approach to training/retraining is a sustainable model that places responsibility on the community. 

Agri-lab uses technology in several ways. First, we create an intergenerational work environment by having youth teach senior citizens to use social media, data entry, Google docs, and aquaponics. We also use cheap, accessible soil-testing technology that citizens of any age and educational background can learn to use and then train others to use to continue the education process. The technology behind Aquaponics also helps our participants to learn to think creatively and find innovative solutions to problems like limited space or access to natural water sources.

We will build our new commercial kitchen for We Run This in the Agri-Lab building to increase capacity. This will allow us to better serve our clients and train our workers for a career in food preparation. On a broader scope, we will train our workers (senior citizens, youth interns, and farmers) in the use of online tools for tracking and measuring garden health and growth as well as an overview of accounting principles using online accounting software and how these skills can be used in their work with Kheprw and beyond.

Much of our future growth depends on scalability through replication. We do not plan to grow and expand in size on our own so much as we plan for the Kheprw model to spread through the people we impact and the relationships we build through collaboration. As the people we train carry on using and sharing their skills in their communities, the knowledge we work to share spreads beyond our neighborhood. Additionally, word of mouth draws in more awareness and business, thus allowing us to reach more people through the work we are already doing.

We will reach our community members at local community events, public spaces such as libraries and community centers, and through door-to-door campaigns in our neighborhood. By partnering with universities like IUPUI and Butler, we will also be able to advertise through their resources. Kheprw is passionate about developing strong relationships with the community and will use these projects to continue to expand and strengthen those ties.

We are currently serving 9 senior citizens in our community through our Goodwill CCEP program that trains them in new skills for a modern workforce.

Growin' Good serves 9 local urban farmers by providing land and support.

We Run This trains 4 youth in the community with cooking and entreprenurial skills and serves many others through the healthy and affordable food we provide.

Kheprw also serves 16 Equity Fellows, or young adults from high school through post-graduate stages by providing skills training, education, and experience working towards solutions for these crucial problems that face many communities.

We expect to be serving the same number in 12 months. Because, as mentioned above, our model is to train others to sustain themselves and their communities through self mastery, our expansion model is based on those we serve spreading the Kheprw mission in their own social circles. With this in mind, there is no way to predict the exact number of people we will be serving in three years.

Kheprw excels in building lasting relationships within the community in the form of partnerships with organizations and individuals who have stake in the same community outcomes. This allows new programs to be efficiently advertised to the targeted audiences and supported by those who have the means and the interest from a variety of angles. Additionally, we have a passionate and diverse team that is experienced in all relevant areas of our programs and well-equipped to train others in these skills. 

Kheprw's revenue model is based on three main sources of income: grants, donations, and fees for service from our social enterprises, a source that is growing to take on a larger portion of our income. This balance of income sources allows us to be more resilient to change in any of these areas and provides the opportunity to build new relationships inside and outside of the community via donors and grant makers. 

We are applying to Solve because we have a series of programs under the umbrella of Agri-Lab that have not only been proven to be successful in the past but will also share our resources and abilities with a wider audience in our community. With funding to lighten the starting burden on our less established projects and the intellectual support that Solve can offer, we can utilize this model to develop a toolkit to share with others who can then replicate it to fit the specific needs of their communities both nationally and globally. 

Key barriers facing Kheprw are creating or reestablishing social capital as well as the anxiety people face when learning new things, particularly those on older generations. Additionally, when working in communities under stress brought on by poverty, there is a challenge of getting members to invest time and energy into a project with no immediate impact or financial benefit. Financial assistance from Solve will help us to ease the financial burden these particular communities face when involving themselves with our projects until the long term, lasting benefits begin to take hold.