{"id":17803,"date":"2014-07-29T12:54:26","date_gmt":"2014-07-29T18:54:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress-367309-1145705.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=17803"},"modified":"2015-06-14T10:30:08","modified_gmt":"2015-06-14T14:30:08","slug":"variations-farming-community-sustainable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/variations-farming-community-sustainable\/","title":{"rendered":"Variations on the Farming Community: How Sustainable are They?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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photo credit: pasa47<\/a> via photopin<\/a> cc<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I suppose I’ve got relatively narrow visions of a sustainable farming community: either an ecovillage<\/a>, where food production is woven into the life of the of the residents, or the “urban farm<\/a>,” where food production is implemented within existing (but often decaying) infrastructure. \u00a0Growing food isn’t just a livelihood in these settings; it’s a integral part of what brings people together and gives them a common sense of purpose. No doubt there are variations on both of these models that have succeeded in not only increasing fresh food availability to local residents, but also connected these people more closely with one another and the natural world around them.<\/p>\n

In the past couple of weeks, however, I’ve come across a couple of other variations that I’m not so sure really represent genuine sustainable development<\/a>.\u00a0That doesn’t mean that the farming\/gardening isn’t done with the long-term health of the land and people on it in mind, but, rather, that food production was integrated either into a model that isn’t particularly sustainable to begin with, or done in a manner that doesn’t really insure its long-term success. Let me jump right to the examples I found.<\/p>\n

The “Agrihood” Suburban Farming Community<\/h3>\n

I started thinking about this notion of the farming community when I came across an LA Times<\/em> article<\/a> on\u00a0Rancho Mission Viejo’s Sendero village<\/a>, an “agrarian-oriented residential development in south Orange County.” I spent a bit of time on the development’s website. While it certainly looks like a pleasant place to live, and I love the idea of building a community around farming and gardening, Sendero doesn’t strike me as particularly “sustainable.” In short,\u00a0just because you’ve taken the golf out of the community doesn’t mean you don’t have a “golf community.”<\/p>\n