Amanda Barker, 26, originally of Camp Hill, PA has a big vision: to make local, sustainably produced vegetables available to people in Worcester's Main South Community who cannot afford it otherwise. Amanda moved to Worcester in 2009 to obtain her attend Clark University. She finished this October with a Master's degree in Environmental Science and Policy. While pursuing her degree, she started Nuestro Huerto, a small urban farm located where Worcester's Foundry and other industrial activities once thrived, and now what remain are vacant lots. Nuestro Huerto donates food to a local family shelter, can be found at the Main South Farmer's Market on Saturday's (June-October) and has now expanded the farm to be able to offer more food to more families in need, as well as offering weekly shares to families in exchange for their financial commitment at the beginning of the season, also known as CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). Amanda is devoted
to creating an alternative economy. She helped start the Worcester Time Trade, where Worcesterites can make time, not money, but devoting their time to the things they like to do, helping others, and earning hours for their work that they can exchange for goods and services from others in the Time Trade network. She is also actively involved with Blank Slate, where she helped design and construct Worcester's first community greenhouse, built a bike trailer for Nuestro Huerto to transport its equipment and produce. She loves learning how things work and acquiring new and useful skills like welding, wielding a chain saw and making organic root hormone out of water and willow tree stems.
For more information on Nuestro Huerto:
www.nuestrohuerto.org And on the Worcester Time Trade:
https://sites.google.com/site/timetradeworcester/
