Category: Urban Agriculture

Heart Giving

January 22, 2014February 18, 2014 Melissa Schilling 2014 Gardening Class, Art Projects, English Class 2013, Girls Only English Class 2013/14, Photography Class 2013, Urban Agriculture, Visual Storytelling

This Valentine’s Day give the gift of education, art and compassion. We are on the hunt for journals, gardening supplies and a portable photo printer. We’re flying to Port au Prince on Valentine’s Day, to celebrate our first Project HOPE Art graduating classes (Photography and English.)

We’re also launching our newest class: The Art + Botany Lab and Gardening Class!
We need all donated items no later than February 13th at our office space in Oakland, Calif.

Project HOPE Art Wishlist:

Blick Art Supply Wishlist
Blank Journals (Quantities of 25, for each Project HOPE Art Class)
Large Plastic Water Dispenser
Jars of Modge Podge, Double-Sided Velcro & Super Glue
Children’s summer clothing, pj’s, bathing suits, dress-up clothes
Children’s shoes (flip flops, crocs, tevas, sneakers are all great!)
Children’s undergarments

Thank you for your generosity! Without the kindness of strangers we would never be able to run this program as successfully as we do. To help us continue our artistic endeavors, you may always ship items to: Project HOPE Art 2601 Adeline Street Suite 101A- Project HOPE Art Oakland CA 94607 Please fill out our Donor Form so that we may thank you properly!

2013 – Melissa SCHILLING

January 17, 2014January 17, 2014 Melissa Schilling 2014 Gardening Class, Art Projects, English Class 2013, Girls Only English Class 2013/14, Haitian Culture/Language, Photography Class 2013, Urban Agriculture, Visual Storytelling

My name is Melissa Schilling and I am the Creative Director for Project HOPE Art.

2013-07-09 11.33.19-1

There are so many wonderful moments from the last year that bring me such great joy to relive.
We taught Rothko-esque painting, weaving (both hair pompoms and dreamcatchers) and a big upcycled can car project. We participated in many different Photography Shows in Port au Prince and in California with Student Photographs from our Photography Class and my own documentary photos.

We also created rainbow eggs infused with Moringa Powder to coincide with a reading of Dr. Seuss’s Green Eggs and Ham for our Art + Literacy program.

And yet, so many exciting projects are waiting to be executed in 2014. We have a Gardening Class with accompanying Rabbit Husbandry Program and the makings of a Ukelele Class. Who knows what other ideas will suddenly appear like magic!

Cheers to you 2013 you were an awesome year!

Highlights in Pictures:

gardening program and the art + botany lab

October 22, 2013November 21, 2013 Melissa Schilling Urban Agriculture

The 2014 Project HOPE Art Gardening Class will take place each Saturday at the Project HOPE Art Center at Haiti Communitere from 8am-11am.
The goal of the class is to teach fundamentals of gardening to 12 students and one class Supervisor so they may return to their neighborhoods and spread knowledge about urban agronomy. We want to prepare each student to grow their own food at home.

For our first foray, we’ve rounded up 12 students from a variety of neighborhoods, backgrounds, education levels and ages to come together and learn a skill that will help them feed their families and communities.

Class Instructor: TBD/Daniel Tillias
Class Supervisor: Luc Winter

Week 1-4: Basics of Gardening and Mapping Out Your Garden; Basic Husbandry (Rabbit Keeping)
Week 5-9: Soil Health: Composting and Vermicomposting; Moringa Trees and Soil Erosion
Week 10-14: Urban Gardening: Growing Vegetables in Containers
Week 15-19: Harvesting and Seed Saving
Week 20-24: Cooking with Moringa, Vegetables, Fruits and Herbs
Week 25-29: Aquaponics: Using Tilapia Fish
Week 30-32: MultiCropping and MonoCropping

Measuring Success: Each student in the class will keep a journal. In it they will be asked to write down notes, ideas, recipes and activities. We will invite local artists to attend the class and help the students learn botanical drawing. The students will take a field trip to the the Jaden Tap Tap Garden in Cite Soleil to see a working garden. At the end of the class, each student will be given seeds and asked to start their own mini-garden at home.

Student journal entries will be combined to create a gardening handbook.

Download our 2012 Gardening HandBook, There Grows The Neighborhood here.

Class Supervisor Luc Winter will use his knowledge from the class to start his own community garden at his school in Bwa Nef in Cite Soleil.

Our gardening class will run from March, 2014 – November 2014 on Saturdays at the Project HOPE Art Center. For the finale of the class, each student will be given seeds and a class generated gardening handbook to create their own mini container garden at home.

The young students in the class range across five neighborhoods and span educational, income and resource levels. They are 12 to 16 years old. All incredibly motivated to learn Urban Agronomy.

Meet our Students (coming soon!)

2nd Annual Voodoo Donor Dinner

September 24, 2012May 4, 2013 Melissa Schilling Fundraiser, Thank Yous, Urban Agriculture

‘Art is the Universal Language”

All we want to do is create bright, stress-free moments in time for the children who live in some of the poorest communities on earth. Right now we are focused on Haiti. The money we raise goes towards English Lessons to support our Art + Literacy programming; Urban Agriculture projects to support our Art + Nutrition programming and a hell of a lot of glitter to support dancing and twirling in our Intentional Whimsy programming.

Thank you to all of the beautiful people who support our joyful endeavors. Thank you Beauregard Vineyards, Edna Valley Vineyard and Odonata Vineyard, Live Earth Farm and High Ground Organics, Massa Organics, Dave Kramer-Urner for the organic homebrewed IPA made with organic ingredients from 7 Bridges Cooperative, all the beautiful organic fromage from Garden Variety Cheeses and The Penny Ice Creamery for your delicious contributions — along with Farmer Becky at Monkeyflower Ranch, American Nomad and the entire Project HOPE Art team for making our second annual donor dinner a huge success.

[slideshow]

We will be heading back to Haiti in January of 2013 for more art, laughter, learning, science and glitter tutu’s.

photos: Elizabeth Stella Hodges and Melissa Schilling

Menu by Carla Maria Lovato

appetizers…
Haitian Boulette: Uniquely Haitian meatballs made with green bell pepper, tomato and Cajun spices

Vegetarian Option: Corn Croquets; Deep fried corn meal with fresh corn and spring onion

from the garden…
Local fresh greens, mango and avocado tossed in a white wine and lime vinaigrette

from the farm…
A selection of Garden Variety Cheeses from Monkeyflower Ranch with sliced baguette

from the sea…
Tiger prawns in Cajun spiced cream sauce with hints of sweet paprika & garlic

Vegetarian Option: Toasted baguette in Cajun spiced cream sauce with hints of sweet paprika & garlic

from the land…
Griot: pork braised in onions, orange juice, Serrano peppers and garlic
Vegetarian Option: Cajun spiced fried tofu in a spicy orange sauce

Pois Noir: black bean puree with braised spring onions, green bell and scotch bonnets peppers

Riz Djon-Djon: long grain rice infused with djon mushrooms, onions and white wine, mixed with peas

Bannann Peze: crispy fried plantains served with sour cream and pikliz; a spicy pickled carrot and cabbage slaw

dessert…
Ice cream from The Penny Ice Creamery with homemade waffle cones

There Grows the Neighborhood!

July 24, 2012July 24, 2012 Melissa Schilling Art Projects, Urban Agriculture

We are doing alot of planting these days in Haiti.

Especially in Cite Soleil with Konbit Soley Leve [Rising Sun Collective], Bochika and a few other organizations as a Growing Art Form. All of us here at Project HOPE Art believe this statement to be true:

“A growing body of research that suggests that urban farming and greening not only strengthen community bonds but also reduce violence.”

Click here to read the news story in Mother Jones about Urban Farming.