COMBAT VETS LEARN ORGANIC & HYDROPONIC FARMING SKILLS AT ARCHI’S ACRES
Printer-friendly version By Miriam Raftery May 9, 2009 (Escondido)—After serving three tours of duty in Iraq, including urban combat zones in Fallujah and Haditha, former Marine Kevin Archipley and his wife, Karen (shown in photo) bought a farm in Escondido and resolved to help returning combat veterans adapt to civilian life. “What the farm offers veterans is decompression,” he told East County Magazine. “In Iraq and Afghanistan, but especially Iraq, in the urban areas every window, every door, every rooftop is a danger. Garbage by the road could be an IUD. Cars are too close; they’re not allowed close to you in Iraq. . . When you come back home, you can’t turn those filters off. We’re talking with counselors who tell us some vets haven’t left their homes in a year. Out here, they’re out of an urban environment, but they’re still getting to a job every day.” Initially, Colin planned to become a mortgage broker when he got out of the military. But he soon realized, “My personality had changed. I just couldn’t see myself on the phone all day.” Six months before his deployment was up, Karen’s mother, who worked as an importer of Italian products, died. Karen wanted to move to Italy. But Colin recalled, “I was just looking forward to coming home.” They found an ideal solution, purchasing land with an avocado grove. Since then, they’ve added a greenhouse as well as exterior crops including heirloom tomatoes, lettuce, chard, kale, squash, basil and seasonal items such as broccoli. Vets learn organic farming skills and also the art of growing all crops (except avocados) using hydroponics. The farm works in collaboration with the Veterans Administration (V.A.) through a compensated work therapy program. “We integrated organics with hydroponics. It really gave us our name: Veterans Sustainable Agricultural Training (VSAT),” Colin said. “Hydroponics is extremely water efficient. In Israel, Australia and India, places where there are water shortages, this is a common practice. Hydroponics (meaning water works) dates back to the hanging gardens of Babylon and the Aztecs. Even lilies in a pond are grown hydronically.” In hydroponic farming, plants are grown not in soil, but in soil-less mediums such as volcanic rock, coconut husk or vermiculite. Drip irrigation waters crops and water is collected in pipes underneath, which in turn channel the water to an underground tank where water is pumped and recycled. Taking soil out of the equation eliminates 90% of pests, diseases and contaminants, Colin said, and allows the farmer complete control of nutrients. In addition to helping veterans learn productive skills, the program helps address our nation’s most pressing problems: the energy crisis, drought, and unemployment. Unemployment is higher among veterans than the civilian population. “I’d say it’s 20 percent,” estimates C olin. “Some of my buddies reenlisted because they couldn’t find a job.” Many veterans enjoy hands-on, physical labor, which agriculture provides. In addition, the program helps train farmers of the future—an important point given that the average age of farmers is growing older, with few young people getting into the profession. Olaf Hansen, an ex-Navy lieutenant, says working at Archi’s Acres has “given me a a lot of peace of mind. Working with others vets is very peaceful. I don’t have to watch every word—and I don’t have to dress up, plus I’m learning a lot about organic gardening.” During our interview, he tended basil plants in a greenhouse. "We’re able to water several thousand plants off just five gallons of water,” Colin revealed. “This greenhouse alone uses about as much water as two avocado trees, but it produces several times as much income.” Basil plants take just seven weeks to grow from seed to harvest, and can be grown year-round with lighting in the greenhouse. The farm sells its produce at farmers’ markets and to local health food stores including Jimbo’s and Whole Foods. Crops are sold as living products with roots attached and moist, providing the ultimate in freshness. On May 6th, Archi’s Acres was awarded an E.A.R.T.H. award from San Diego Earthworks. On May 17th, a fundraiser called The Harvest Project will be held in Balboa Park to help raise money to build a second greenhouse for the farm. (See our story on the fundraising event: http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/?q=node/1098) According to Jeff Scanlon, Manager of San Diego’s Veteran Affairs Compensated Work Therapy/Veterans Industries program, “Archi’s Acres VSAT brings to life the benefits of leveraging private and public support for veterans, creating a model for developing similar programs in other locations. Our assessments shows that working in a relaxed, outdoors farm environment aids combat veterans’ decompression and adjustment to civilian life. The sustainable agriculture curriculum prepares these veterans to compete in the growing green jobs category. It’s a clear win-win all around.” Now Colin has dreams of fulfilling an even bigger vision. He wants to partner with others to convert abandoned warehouses in San Diego, East County or other areas in the region to expand the veterans’ training program. Roofs of warehouses could be removed and replaced with clear corrugated plastic, converting them into urban greenhouses. Unlike the rugged terrain at his farm, an urban greenhouse could be wheelchair accessible to help train disabled veterans. “We also want to work with a community college so our vets will get a certification,” said Colin, who estimates each urban warehouse could generate a half million dollars a year in revenues. Another option would be to create rooftop gardens on flat-roofed buildings. “Not only are you creating income from growing crops, but you also cut heating and cooling costs by 10%,” he said. “Let’s take these abandoned warehouses all over and get them productive again—and it will be a therapeutic environment.” Printer-friendly version
MAY 17 HARVEST PROJECT BENEFITS ARCHI’S ACRES, HELPS VETERANS FIND NEW ROOTS
Printer-friendly versionMay 9, 2009 (Escondido)–The independent arts organization contACT ARTS (formerly xDrop Arts Organization) is sponsoring The Harvest Project, a benefit event to help Archi’s Acres organic farm build a new greenhouse to serve more combat veterans in its Veterans Sustainable Agriculture Training (VSAT) program. The event is on Sunday, May 17 from 1 – 6 pm at the World Beat Center in San Diego’s Balboa Park. (Photo: Ex-Navy Lt. Olaf Hansen tends hydroponic basil at Archi’s Acres.) The Harvest Project event will feature a diverse range of art, dance and music performance from international artists and performers. It will take place in San Diego’s World Beat Center in Balboa Park. The Harvest Project is made possible by the generous support of contACT ARTS with support from V.E.T.S. (Veterans Educational Training Services) and the World Beat Center. Closer to the event, VIP special guests and the contributions of organizations donating food, beverages and items for raffles and a silent auction will be announced. The suggested donation is $100/person. The discount for veterans and a guest is 50%. For more information about the Sponsor a Veteran Program call 800.933.5234. Donations to attend the event are 100% tax deductible and all funds raised will be used to help build VSAT’s next greenhouse to serve more combat veterans. To RSVP or for more information go here http://archisacres.com/events.html. For media coverage of Archi’s VSAT go here http://archisacres.com/media.html. The Dept. of Veterans Affairs (VA) Wellness and Vocational Enrichment (WAVE) Clinic provides work site opportunities to veterans through the Compensated Work Therapy (CWT)/Veterans Industries (VI) program. This program allows veteran participants an opportunity to work in different industries in order to gain the necessary knowledge, skills, and abilities to venture out and find employment. Both VA and community-based work sites have given our veteran population great opportunities to address a number of employment barriers in safe, secure, and therapeutic environments. Nationally, Compensated Work Therapy (CWT) is a Department of Veterans Affairs vocational rehabilitation program that endeavors to match and support work ready veterans in competitive jobs, and to consult with business and industry regarding their specific employment needs. Using a business model, CWT program staff specialize in working with facility management, human resources, and/or production personnel to address labor force deficits. Over the years CWT veterans have been successfully employed in various competitive positions including health care, information technology, manufacturing, warehousing, construction trades, clerical and office support, retail and the services delivery. In some locations CWT is also known as Veterans Industries; these designations are synonymous. From over 166 locations throughout the country CWT programs strive to maintain highly responsive long term quality relationships with business and industry promoting employment opportunities for veterans with physical and mental disabilities. Professional CWT staff provides state of the art vocational rehabilitation services; job matching and employment supports, case management, work site and job analysis, consultation regarding assistive technology, reasonable accommodation, and guidance in addressing ADA regulations compliance. Many of our individual programs are CARF (Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities) accredited and are members of USPRA (US Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association). Typically CWT programs are located within VA medical centers in most large metropolitan areas and many smaller communities. This Internet Web site (http://www1.va.gov/vetind ) offers an overview of the Compensated Work Therapy program. CWT provides a wide range of services for industry including; work site and job assessment, staff training and consultation services, employee assessment and screening, and job matching and follow-up services. CWT supports veterans through vocational case management and workplace supports to facilitate continued employment success. In conjunction with the CWT program, industry is able to expand its work ready applicant pool and develop a pre-screening opportunity for future employees. Archi’s Acres, Inc. is a small-scale organic farm in San Diego that produces highly nutritious certified organic products using a fraction of the labor, growing time and water required by traditional farming methods. It is the home of Archi’s Acres Veterans Sustainable Agriculture Training (VSAT), a training program for returning veterans. The program is a cooperative effort of Archi’s Acres and the San Diego Veterans Affairs Healthcare System’s Compensated Work Therapy/Veterans Industries (CWT/VI) program. Started by Sergeant Colin Archipley, a former Marine who served three tours of duty in Iraq, and his wife Karen, VSAT is the first organic farm training program started by a veteran to serve veterans. VSAT has been successful in supporting returning veterans’ transition back into the private sector through professional training in sustainable agriculture and job placement services. Printer-friendly version
SPLC PROVIDES TOOLS TO CURB RECRUITMENT OF TEENS BY RACIST HATE GROUPS; HATE CRIMES ON RISE
Printer-friendly versionBy Miriam Raftery May 9, 2009 (La Mesa)—“There is an alarming increase in hate crimes in the United States,” James McElroy, chairman of the board for the Southern Law & Poverty Center (SLPC), told members and guests at the La Mesa –Foothills Democratic Club on May 6th. “We try to shine a little light on it. Hate is like a fungus under a rock. Shine a light and you can eradicate it.” A new SLPC report found 926 hate groups nationally in 2008—a 54% increase since 2000 and a 4% rise since 2007. California has 84 hate groups, more than any other state—and most are in Southern California. Immigration tensions, a faltering economy, and election of the first African-American president are fueling the rise, along with an “alarming mainstreaming” of hate speech and racism in the mass media, McElroy believes. (View an interactive map to learn which hate groups are in your area: http://www.splcenter.org/intel/map/hate.jsp#s=). Asked by East County Magazine how prevalent hate groups are locally, McElroy replied, “There are a lot of groups in San Diego…We’ve actually had an offshoot of a prison group of white supremacists in San Diego with several chapters.” Other home-grown hate groups include Aryan Nations, skinheads and neo-Nazis, he noted. Minutemen, another group active locally in anti-immigrant activities, is on an SPLC watch list but is not designated as a hate group. McElroy’s speech came just one day after Britain announced that it had banned 16 people from entering the country because they had been designated as hate-mongers who could incite public hatred and violence. The list of banned persons includes U.S. radio “shock jock” Michael Savage (real name: Michael Wiener) and Fred Phelps, an American preacher who has staged protests at funerals of gay persons. Savage has vowed to sue the British government in response. McElroy does not support the ban and believes in free speech. Instead, he calls for teaching tolerance in homes and schools. Toward that end, the SLPC has prepared teaching kits that are free for teachers on request, including two films that won Academy Awards. The Children’s March is a documentary about attacks launched on schoolchildren during desegregation of schools in Birmingham, Alabama. One Survivor Remembers recalls the Holocaust. Now a new film, Viva La Causa, documents turbulent times during the grape strike led by Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta. The SLPC spokesman knows first-hand how hate speech and hate groups can foster violence. As an attorney in Del Mar, he helped obtain a $12.5 million civil judgment against white supremacist leader Tom Metzger, who once ran for Congress locally and won the Democratic primary, much to the horror of local party leaders. The case stemmed from the death of an Ethiopian college student who was beaten over the head with a baseball bat by recruits of Metzger’s. “Metzger saw skinheads as powerful street soldier in the war on race. They were young, fearless, eager for violence, and easily manipulated,” said McElroy. Although Metzger urged his followers to travel to Oregon to teach a like-minded group “how to clash and bash”, a criminal case against Metzger was dismissed because he was 1,500 miles away when the murder occurred. But the SLPC came up with a novel legal theory—holding a leader responsible in a civil case for damages. The SLPC sued Metzger on behalf of the slain student’s young son. The SLPC was awarded Metzger’s house and other assets, including about $200,000 a year in donations that he received through a P.O. box. “We sold Metzger’s house to a nice Latino family—and the neighbors thanked me,” said McElroy, who disclosed a happy ending to the tale. He adopted the victim’s son, who is now an airline pilot. As for Metzger, he now lives in Indiana, earning $20,000 a year. “He roars now and then, but like an old lion, he doesn’t have any teeth,” McElroy observed, adding that Metzer is now believed to be out of the hate business. In another prominent case, the SLPC sued Richard Butler, head of the Aryan Nations, a Christian identity movement. “He believes Jews are non-human and deserving of extermination.” At a training camp in Idaho owned by Butler, two teenage guards armed with AK-47s pursued a car they believed had Jews inside. They shot at the car, pulled a woman and her son out and terrorized them. Neither were Jewish. The SPLC obtained a $6.2 million verdict that included ownership of buildings in the compound, which were later burned down to create an environmental teaching area for a college. The most recent case tried was against Ron Edwards, leader of the Imperial Clans of America. The defendant showed up in court with a tattoo on his shaved head that read F**k SLPC. “I guess you could say we got under his skin,” McElroy jested. Edwards was accused of recruiting men who had a “boot party”, skinhead lingo for kicking a victim with steel-toed Doc Martin boots. The victim, who suffered a broken arm and shattered eye socket, is “still traumatized to this day,” McElroy said. Edwards claimed he did not encourage any illegal conduct. So the SLPC won by calling a surprise witness:: a man who revealed that he had been recruited by Edwards to murder Morris Dees, co-founder of the SLPC, in Idaho. Fortunately for Dees, the man was arrested by the FBI on other charges before he could complete the hit assignment. After winning a $2.5 million judgment against Edwards, Dees later became friends with his would-be killer, who is now out of prison and has turned his life around, said McElroy. Edwards’ son, however, has carried on the legacy of violence and was recently arrested for conspiracy to kill Barack Obama before the election by crashing a car into Obama’s motorcade. “The Obama presidency has created a backlash among White Supremacists,” McElroy said. Monitoring Internet blogs on Election Day, the SPLC found violent-oriented hate speech. For example, Hal Turner, a neo-Nazi leader, wrote, “Someone will kill him and I