BoxUP Launch: Humanim American Brewery Building

Cultivating Produce + Progress in East Baltimore

Urban Pastoral is proud to announce the launch our first modular farm, BoxUP, at Humanim, Inc. The Humanim American Brewery Building is located in the heart of East Baltimore, and serves as an anchor for a community that was once a prominent manufacturing hub. With the help of local community leaders and home grown entrepreneurs, there is an urban revival a foot in East Baltimore. Food is at the core of this moment, and will serve as a catalyst for organic economic growth.

UP partnered with prominent social enterprise, Humanim, because of the convergence of our missions and visions for what Baltimore can be. Over the past twenty + years, Humanim has played an immense role in community empowerment through workforce development. Humanim is a dynamic non-profit organization that has created a network of jobs for underserved communities by building economically  sustainable social enterprises, such as Details, a contracting business that trains individuals to deconstruct and rebuild historic houses. Humanim employees are gaining independence and empowerment, all while rebuilding the communities they live in. 

UP is thrilled to work with Humanim to create a new green job market for underserved communities through next generation farming.

Below is a photo gallery from our launch. If you are a teacher, administrator, community leader, or are simply interested in coming by, please shoot us an email and schedule a tour.

Stay tuned for more updates on our FarmUP development at Green Street Academy in West Baltimore.

UPC Joins the 2014-2015 Cohort of Social Innovation Lab

Urban Pastoral Collective was selected to be one of the 12 teams to join the 2014-2015 cohort of entrepreneurs at the Johns Hopkins, Social Innovation Lab. The cohort consists of a multidisciplinary group of Hopkins' best and brightest student innovators who seek to solve significant social, environmental, and economic issues. Social Innovation Lab is led by Director, Darius Graham, and supported by the office of President Ronald J. Daniels. 

“The Social Innovation Lab is an early stage incubator located in Baltimore, Maryland that supports promising companies and organizations developing innovative solutions to local and global problems. The SIL provides funding, mentorship, and resources to transform nascent concepts into mission-driven organizations with sustainable business models. The SIL and its leaders are committed to the City of Baltimore and to a vision of inclusive economic development and community building. We believe that social entrepreneurship can serve as a transformative and empowering force capable of creating jobs, improving public welfare, and revitalizing communities. Through our programming and community efforts, we are working to:

+ Develop the next generation of (social) entrepreneurs passionate about the City of Baltimore
+ Create a flourishing environment for entrepreneurship and translation of novel ideas into tangible impact
+ Build a better Baltimore
”

— SIL

The incubator will culminate in March with a Demo Day, where the SIL teams will showcase their prototypes to the community. UPC is excited for their partnership with SIL, and looks forward to pursing their mission to redefine farming.