Alfred Melbourne's guest appearances

Alfred Melbourne

The Bottom-Up Revolution

The No-Till Growers Podcast Network

Indivisible Yolo Podcast

Everyday Injustice

Lisa Rea

Jordan Cooper

Gabe Brown

Ben Hartman

Dan Brisebois

Karl Hammer

Joe Gonzales

Jennie Love

Mike Schmidt

Franky Carrillo

Jeff Lowenfels

Mimi Casteel

Michael Smith

Sarah Davis

David Williams

OwlTail

Resilience

Today’s episode features Alfred Melbourne, who runs a farm called Three Sisters Gardens in Broderick, California.  Melbourne hasn’t always been a farmer. In fact, he spent several years of his adult life in prison.  But when he got out in 2016, he connected with an elder who pointed him towards a vacant piece of land in his city.   With hard work and dedication, he turned that garbage-strewn space into a flourishing garden, and has since expanded into multiple other farm sites throughout the Broderick area. Three Sisters Gardens and Melbourne’s process are deeply inspired by his Hunkpapa Lakota heritage.  The name “Three Sisters” comes from three crops that are important in indigenous culture and cuisine: corn, beans and squash. Melbourne sees farming as a chance to bring back the land into productive use; to feed neighbors who don’t have access to affordable, fresh food; and to help guide young people down a supportive path during their youth.  His farms employ teens in the community, giving them the mentorship and purpose that he didn’t have when he was young, to hopefully help keep them out of trouble.  He says he’s moved from “plotting to planting” and now he gets to help young people make that same shift. Our Strong Towns Strength Test—a sort of litmus test to determine if your community is on track to being financially resilient—asks the question “If you wanted to eat only locally-produced food for a month, could you?” For most people, the answer is no.  Three Sisters Gardens is working to change that.  They’re taking neglected land and using it to grow precious resources—food—to feed the community, and Melbourne is mentoring the next generation of neighbors and farmers in the process.  They’re helping move the surrounding neighborhoods toward food resilience, enabling them to support themselves, steward their own resources and build long-term financial stability.Additional Show Notes Three Sisters Gardens website   Three Sisters Gardens instagram page, where you’ll find photos and videos   Center for Land-Based Learning   “This Modern Farmer Employs At-Risk Youth to Keep Them Off the Streets” - an article featuring Mr. Melbourne in Modern Farmer   Enter the Strongest Town contest today!   2021 Local-Motive Tour   Send us your own voicemail about the small (or big) thing you’re doing to make your town stronger. Just record a voice memo on your phone and email it to rachel@strongtowns.org.   Subscribe to The Bottom-Up Revolution on iTunes, Google Podcasts, Podbean, or via RSS.   Support this show and our many other resources for helping your town grow stronger by becoming a member today. 

Today’s episode features Alfred Melbourne, who runs a farm called <a href="https://3sistersgardens.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Three Sisters Gardens</a> in Broderick, California.  Melbourne hasn’t always been a farmer. In fact, he spent several years of his adult life in prison.  But when he got out in 2016, he connected with an elder who pointed him towards a vacant piece of land in his city.   With hard work and dedication, he turned that garbage-strewn space into a flourishing garden, and has since expanded into multiple other farm sites throughout the Broderick area. Three Sisters Gardens and Melbourne’s process are deeply inspired by his Hunkpapa Lakota heritage.  The name “Three Sisters” comes from three crops that are important in indigenous culture and cuisine: corn, beans and squash. Melbourne sees farming as a chance to bring back the land into productive use; to feed neighbors who don’t have access to affordable, fresh food; and to help guide young people down a supportive path during their youth.  His farms employ teens in the community, giving them the mentorship and purpose that he didn’t have when he was young, to hopefully help keep them out of trouble.  He says he’s moved from “plotting to planting” and now he gets to help young people make that same shift. Our <a href="https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2014/11/15/strong-towns-strength-test" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Strong Towns Strength Test</a>—a sort of litmus test to determine if your community is on track to being financially resilient—asks the question “If you wanted to eat only locally-produced food for a month, could you?” For most people, the answer is no.  Three Sisters Gardens is working to change that.  They’re taking neglected land and using it to grow precious resources—food—to feed the community, and Melbourne is mentoring the next generation of neighbors and farmers in the process.  They’re helping move the surrounding neighborhoods toward food resilience, enabling them to support themselves, steward their own resources and build long-term financial stability.Additional Show Notes <ul><li> <a href="https://3sistersgardens.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Three Sisters Gardens website</a> </li> <li> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/threesistersgardens/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Three Sisters Gardens instagram page</a>, where you’ll find photos and videos </li> <li> <a href="https://landbasedlearning.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Center for Land-Based Learning</a> </li> <li> <a href="https://modernfarmer.com/2021/01/this-modern-farmer-employs-at-risk-youth-to-keep-them-off-the-streets/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">“This Modern Farmer Employs At-Risk Youth to Keep Them Off the Streets”</a> - an article featuring Mr. Melbourne in Modern Farmer </li> <li> <a href="https://www.strongtowns.org/strongesttown" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Enter the Strongest Town contest today!</a> </li> <li> <a href="https://www.strongtowns.org/localmotive" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">2021 Local-Motive Tour</a> </li> <li> Send us your own voicemail about the small (or big) thing you’re doing to make your town stronger. Just record a voice memo on your phone and email it to rachel@strongtowns.org. </li> <li> Subscribe to The Bottom-Up Revolution on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-bottom-up-revolution/id1435989066?mt=2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL2xpdHRsZXRoaW5ncy5zdHJvbmd0b3ducy5vcmcvZmVlZC54bWw" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Google Podcasts</a>, <a href="http://littlethings.strongtowns.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Podbean</a>, or via <a href="http://littlethings.strongtowns.org/feed.xml" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">RSS</a>. </li> <li> Support this show and our many other resources for helping your town grow stronger <a href="https://www.strongtowns.org/membership" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">by becoming a member today</a>. </li></ul>

Alfred Melbourne: Growing Food, Growing Resilience

After nearly 20 years in prison, Alfred Melbourne decided he did not want to see other young kids wind up in the system so he started Three Sisters Gardens to offer an alternative. Amazing story. Amazing work.  Donate here: https://3sistersgardens.com/donate/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/threesistersgardens/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/3sistersgardens Sponsors: www.growers.co + www.farmersweb.com + www.tilthsoil.com  Patrons: JM Fortier and Scott Snodgrass follow our work: www.notillgrowers.com Support our work: www.patreon.com/notillgrowers

After nearly 20 years in prison, Alfred Melbourne decided he did not want to see other young kids wind up in the system so he started Three Sisters Gardens to offer an alternative. Amazing story. Amazing work.  Donate here: <a href="https://3sistersgardens.com/donate/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://3sistersgardens.com/donate/</a> Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/threesistersgardens/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/threesistersgardens/</a> Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/3sistersgardens" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/3sistersgardens</a> Sponsors: <a href="http://www.growers.co" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.growers.co</a> + <a href="http://www.farmersweb.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.farmersweb.com</a> + <a href="http://www.tilthsoil.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.tilthsoil.com</a> Patrons: JM Fortier and Scott Snodgrass follow our work: <a href="http://www.notillgrowers.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.notillgrowers.com</a> Support our work: <a href="http://www.patreon.com/notillgrowers" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.patreon.com/notillgrowers</a>

Alfred Melbourne - Three Sisters Gardens

This is a story of redemption.  So many people get caught up in the criminal justice system and never escape.  Alfred Melbourne was a young man when he found himself involved with the criminal justice system.  He fully admits he made "bad choices."  At the age of 19, he committed a serious crime and ended up in prison until he was in his late 30s.  Now, free for several years, he is trying to give back to the community, having started "Three Sisters Garden" the mission of which is to teach at-risk youth how to grow/ harvest/ distribute organic vegetables and engage the community to get involved in supporting at-risk youth in Yolo County.

Vanguard Court Watch Podcast Episode 5- Alfred Melbourne and Three Sisters Garden