You know us for clean water, but we’re also committed to supporting a healthy environment and strong communities. In our latest partner project, we’re planting seeds of empowerment with Viva Farms.
In spring 2018 MiiR granted $35,000 to fund a new well and irrigation system at Viva Farms’ Agricultural Park in Skagit County, creating water access to 45 acres of land designed to support up to eight farm businesses per year for 25+ years. Both serve as an educational resource for intermediate farmers and other farm businesses through on-site workshops and ongoing technical assistance to ensure the next generation of farmers have the access and knowledge to use water wisely.
The Partner
Viva Farms is a nonprofit farm business incubator and training program in Washington state. Viva empowers aspiring and limited-resource farmers by providing bilingual training in holistic and organic farming practices, and access to land, infrastructure and equipment, training, marketing and capital.
To date, Viva has educated over 700 small farmers (150+ Spanish speakers) in sustainable organic farming and is currently incubating 24 independent farm businesses, seven of which are Latino owned.
The Issue
- Western Washington is facing a generation crisis in farming as farmers with an average age of 58 are retiring, and the number of farms, produce processing facilities, and acreage of farmland are all decreasing
- In the next 20 years, 70% of all Washington State farmers are expected to retire, with their farmland changing hands
- Skagit Valley alone has lost 38% of its farmland since only 1940, shrinking from 150,000 acres to 93,000 acres today
The Vision
As a community, we need healthy food that nourishes and sustains all of us. We delivered close to 300 thousand dollars’ worth of local organic produce to community members of all socio-economic classes. We need healthy and economically viable farmers that nourish and sustain our farmland and agricultural industry. We grow self-reliant small farmers trained in sustainable organic agriculture who will be an integral part of creating a food secure and environmentally friendly community. With the knowledge, experience, and passion for producing healthy food in a sustainable way, today’s aspiring farmers will become part of the solution that nourishes us and our planet for generations to come. -vivafarms.org
Note: Through the Viva Farms x MiiR partnership, 14 farmers and their families have been able to work newly accessible farmland. Viva Farms estimates that during the next 25 years, over 15,000 people will be indirectly impacted in a positive way through training, connection to working farmland and access to organic produce. MiiR is proud to support long term, sustainable projects as we seek to empower people for a better future.
