How is a Project Genesis Community Garden Run?
1. The first point I would like to mention is that I believe it's important to retain the name Project Genesis on all the community gardens that will be started up. The name paints a picture of what an organisation is and stands for especially over an extended period of time. For example if you mention 'World Vision' you automatically think of help to third world countries, or 'Open Doors' taking the word of God to people without bibles, or 'Y.W.A.M'. you think of younger people reaching out to others with the good news etc. In the same way I would like to see people associate the name of 'Project Genesis' with the Christian group that promotes godly self-sufficiency in food production and seed conservation within the church. By retaining the name Project Genesis individuals and church groups can be linked together through the Project Genesis newsletter and Internet site. This will encourage unity of purpose and vision and we can motivate each other with pictures and testimonies of how each garden is progressing and blessing the local church members and community. We feel then we are part of the big picture and working as a united body in God's service as opposed to just doing things on our own.
2. The Project Genesis Community Garden needs to be an extension of the local church. If it is just seen as a few Christians in the church doing their own thing then I don't believe that garden will be a success. If on the other hand the local church eldership is seen to be promoting the garden as very much a part of preaching the gospel in a practical way through the local church members then I believe it will be blessed mightily by God. This principal applies whether in suburban Australia or in a remote jungle refugee camp. The ideal situation would be not only for the local church eldership to be promoting and encouraging various called members of their fellowships into the vision of Project Genesis but also to be involved themselves in a practical way by helping in planting, harvesting etc. Even if this practical involvement is only small due to time constraints on the eldership involved it would none the less put a visible stamp of approval on the project.
3. Assuming that the local church eldership embraces the vision Project Genesis within their fellowship then it would be up to the eldership to identify and encourage church members into a suitable role within the vision. I believe that in every fellowship there are practical members that would love to be involved in a hands-on vision like Project Genesis.
I have spoken about the vision of Project Genesis at inner city, suburban and rural based churches and on every occasion there has been a number of people who have approached me afterwards and asked excitedly how could they be involved. Many of these people actually said they have been looking to be involved in their fellowships but have not been able to find a place of service. Because the vision of Project Genesis has such a broad application and by its very nature is labour intensive then there is potential to encompass many Christians who are presently looking for something worthwhile to do. We all need a vision beyond ourselves that looks to the needs of others and one in which we feel very much in God's will. I believe that Project Genesis is such a vision.
# Each garden would need a manager/foreman to oversee daily operations and organise people to help in day to day garden operations. I would see this person to be involved in a full time commitment to the garden and its running.
# A committed group of volunteers to help on a casual basis with general garden work i.e. planting, maintenance, sowing, harvesting, seed collection, labelling, storing, distribution etc. This group would have varying amounts of people involved depending on the size of the garden started and the direction of garden. For example, a garden that is designed only to feed the immediate church family and provide a small seed bank will not take any where near as much work and manpower as a garden that is designed to sell large amounts of fresh organically grown produce and save large bulk seed for export.
4. In a situation where no land is available for a community garden such as a city, individuals who have an interest in the vision of Project Genesis can be encouraged by the local church eldership to plant a garden on their own land and become more self-sufficient. These people can then help other church members, neighbours, family, friends, with fresh produce as well as save their own seed. This seed can then be swapped or sent to the Project Genesis headquarters for storage and export. It's been estimated that if everyone in Sydney planted a percentage of their land in vegetables then the city could be self-sufficient. So people who live in the cities and suburbs can be as much a part of the vision of Project Genesis as country folk.
5. Each Project Genesis Community Garden would develop its own seed bank, which would guarantee food security in the local area. This seed could then be distributed to individuals in the local area who would like to grow their own vegetables. Each garden would be encouraged to save a good quantity of seed of various species, which would then be sent to the main seed bank in Tasmania. This seed would then be packaged into Project Genesis seed packs and along with the teaching syllabus be sent to needy groups overseas. We can clearly see how the local Project Genesis Community gardens can bring a blessing not only to their immediate locality but also bring God's blessing to any part of the world in the form of a living gift such as seed.
6. Each Project Genesis garden would look to train local church members in biblically based agriculture and then send these people out to overseas areas where there is a need to teach others. This would work very well, for example when a missions trip is being organised to take the word of God to a certain place, seed and practical help could go too, so we have the practical side of the gospel preached as well as the spiritual being proclaimed.
If we in Australia and the western countries are involved in godly self-sufficiency then we are setting a good example for the people we are trying help. This area of setting a good example is vital when we go overseas or even in our local area if we are going to break the hand-out mentality and see people become self-sufficient and take responsibility for their own food production.
