2014 ELP Class Project - Bonton Farms
Bonton is located in the least healthy zip code in Dallas County. To survive, the community has turned to farming open plots of land, housing chickens for eggs, and utilizing hydroponics for fresh tilapia.
Just ten minutes from our work place is one of the most underserved and isolated neighborhoods in Dallas. Its infant mortality rate and crime rate are among the highest in the county. Bonton, with its physical isolation and concentration of poverty, is literally dying from being undernourished.
The ELP Class of 2014 has partnered with Manhattan Construction and Kimley-Horn to assist Bonton Farm-Works to build sustainable food systems in this impoverished community. Malnutrition is virtually unavoidable as there are no grocery stores or basic health services in the neighborhood.
The mission of Bonton Farm-Works is to create a replicable model to foster food sustainability through access to healthy, local organic foods, and education. Various innovative urban gardening methods will be used to create a micro-farm where the local community can come to learn to build one and to have access to food that can be harvested there.
Our Class met with Bonton Farm-Works leadership starting in April and we are making good progress. We are designing the plan layout for Bonton Farms which includes greenhouses, a water collection system, animal husbandry facilities, and a training center/caretakers quarter. The class has also put together a marketing brochure that will be used to raise funds for the projects.
Seeing the Bonton Farm-Works in operation and learning about the community has been inspiring experience for the Class. Here’s how you can find more about the Works:
Check out local media coverage on Bonton Farms - click here and watch the video!
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