The Ron Finley Project →

BRINGING CULTURE & COMMUNITY TOGETHER

Ron envisions a world where gardening is gangsta, where cool kids know their nutrition and where communities embrace the act of growing, knowing and sharing the best of the earth’s fresh-grown food.

Ron is realizing his vision for community gardening and rejuvenation. Let’s grow this seed of urban gangsta gardening into a school of nourishment and change. Help spread his dream of edible gardens, one city at a time.

It’s time for Americans to learn to transform food deserts to food forests. Help them learn to regenerate their lands into creative business models. Let’s make Ron’s philosophy mushroom across the country, and the world.

In part of this effort, Ron is planning to build an urban garden in South Central LA that will serve as an example of a well-balanced, fruit-and-veggie oasis  called “HQ”. Inspired by the idea of turning unused space such as parkways and vacant lots into fruitful endeavors, this garden and gathering place will be a community hub, where people learn about nutrition and join together to plant, work and unwind.

HQ will create a myriad of jobs for local residents, and this plot of land will be a self-sufficient ecosystem of gardening, education, cooking, business learning and management. The community will get their hands dirty together, shovel together, work together and be healthy together.

Moonwater Farm | Compton, CA →

Moonwater Farm is an urban microfarm in Compton, CA, providing access for youth and residents of South Los Angeles to organic farming, livestock raising and healthy food preparation and preservation. We are interested in re-establishing connections to homesteading history and developing opportunities for learning, training and potentially employment in the food systems of Los Angeles.

We invite you to come visit! Teachers or families - we offer workshops on a wide range of subject matter that creates hands-on opportunities, engaging learners of any age. We do farm tours that focus on practical food growing, making and preserving as well as livestock care and maintenance. Use our contact page to reach out and plan your field trip.

Social Justice Learning Institute →

At the Social Justice Learning Institute, we are dedicated to improving the education, health, and well being of youth and communities of color by empowering them to enact social change through research, training, and community mobilization.

We envision communities where education empowers individuals to use their agency for the purpose of improving each other’s lives.

SJLI Core Values

1. We privilege the ideas, voice, and leadership of our youth and community members.
2. Everyone must be afforded equal opportunity in order to achieve equitable treatment.
3. We do all things in love.
4. No one is hopeless.

Our Goals

Our goals are simple. We work to:

• build capacity for individuals and communities to advocate for their needs
• train and build leaders
• educate and empower youth and community members to identify and rectify injustice; and to
• deliver effective programs, resources and support that help advance our mission

To meet these goals, we work with youth, residents, local schools, districts and city officials to increase educational opportunities through innovative programs and sustainable practices. We also develop and manage programs that advance academic, food, and environmental justice.

RootDown LA →

RootDown LA is a youth-run non-profit committed to bringing better food & nutrition education to neighborhoods in South L.A.

At RootDown LA, we believe supplying a community with healthy food is not enough to help residents make sustainable dietary changes. Without a genuine demand for that healthy food and a population of people who can reinforce demand over time, our efforts to maintain a supply fall flat.

Luckily, in 2007, a group of highly-motivated youth living in South L.A. got serious about improving nutrition programs for their families and peers. Not long after, RootDown LA was born. With these youth at the forefront of our engaging programs and strategically located veggie gardens, we've successfully developed a model that has convinced thousands of people in South L.A. (and beyond!) they'll wanna eat their veggies!