Midbar Project
Shalom Midbar Kehillah!
Thanks for staying in the loop. Starting September 2019, we will be sending monthly newsletters to our community to let you know about what’s going on at the farm and how to get involved. If you would like to receive these monthly updates, please send your name + email to themidbarproject@gmail.com. Here’s what’s new at The Midbar Project:
HERE’S THE SCOOP
Since we started the farm back in September of 2018, we’ve grown so much together - except for vegetables (that’s next!!). Check out all of the events we’ve had so far together below!
Rosh Hashanah Planting Day: Our very first event! We teamed up with Congregation Bet Shalom to tend to and plant in the courtyard garden. We weeded and cleaned up the space, then planted wildflowers together. Then, we dipped apples and honey to celebrate a sweet new year. The rain came to join us at the end, watering our freshly planted garden beds. Baruch HaShem!
Sukkot Festival: To kick off the new year, we built our first Sukkah on the farm with the generous help of the CBS community. We were blessed to eat a potluck dinner with the community under the stars during the week of Chag Sukkot.
Ground-breaking: We broke ground!! Together we dug in the soil for the first time and celebrated the beginning of this incredible project - now we have 8 3ft x 15 ft garden beds that will soon bear the roots of many, many fruits and vegetables that will feed our community.
Mimouna: We concluded Pesach this year with a Mimouna celebration hosted by The Midbar Project with the help of Brittany Power and in collaboration with the Jewish History Museum and the Jewish Community Relations Council. We drank mint tea, ate Moufletta, and danced, and we were joined by our Muslim neighbors from a local Mosque - as was tradition in Morocco/North Africa. Save the date for Mimouna 2020 - Thursday, April 16th!
Volunteering + Work Days: Since the launch of The Midbar Project, we’ve had consistent work days out at the farm, working alongside amazing volunteers and volunteer groups from BBYO, Hillel, & more!
What else is new? We’re in the process of building a chicken coop (HUGE shout-out to the chicken committee), we’re working on installing irrigation, and planning some big work projects for the upcoming year. Stay tuned!
LIMUD B’JEWISH FARMING
Jewish Farmers Network: Did you know that there is a Jewish Farmer Network, and that we’re a part of it? Started by two Jewish women, the Jewish Farmer Network provides an opportunity for Jewish farmers across the world to connect, share, and learn from each other. Michal met the creators of the network at a conference this past August and added The Midbar Project to the network. If you’d like to learn more, visit their website linked here!
Interested in getting involved? Come with us to the first Jewish Farmer Network Gathering this February! Linked here.
UP & COMING
Pre-Chagim Planting Day: It’s finally time to put some seeds + plants in the ground - please join us! Information below:
When: Wednesday, September 25th from 4:30pm - 7:00pm
What: Our huge community planting day!
Where: The Midbar Project - in the lot on the east side of the Congregation Bet Shalom modular building
Please come ready to get a little dirty. Please know that we will have a plan for where seeds and plants will need to be planted - come ready to learn and grow!
Once we get things growing, we’ll be planning regular community work days. Please stay tuned for more info!
Did you know The Midbar Project has a Facebook page?! If you want to stay up to date on events, please “like” our Facebook page, linked here!
That’s all for now for us here on The Midbar Project team. Thank you so much to each & everyone for your continued support and helping us all to grow. Cheers to 5780! See you all at the planting day, then in the new year!
L’hitraot,
Michal & Jackie
Remember when the farm looked like this?!
--
The Midbar Project is a Jewish farming initiative and is the first of its kind in Arizona. We aim to bring awareness to the inherent connection between Judaism and agriculture to Tucson through our urban farm project where members of the community can volunteer and work. Our urban farm project combines the principles of sustainable agriculture, water conservation, and regional growing practices. We are transforming an empty lot into a space for growing, learning, conserving, and community building. It is part of our mission to honor the people who came before us on this land. Our farm will include implementation of indigenous farming practices to southeastern Arizona and we will demonstrate active and passive water harvesting systems. We plan to build a holistic organic farm system, including chickens and on-site composting.
--
