Lilburn Agricultural Awareness Society

L.A.A.S

Can You Dig It!
Our goal is to provide the community with as much locally produced food as we can, choosing quality, environment, and healthy eating and a stronger sense of community. It gives one the opportunity to experience nature and it offers a
sense of community through association with other gardeners.

Lilburn Agricultural Awareness Society

Who are we? What do we do? Our main ideas surround two main concepts, Community
supported agriculture and Sustainable home agriculture. Many of us ask, what does this mean?

Community-supported agriculture (CSA) is an alternative, locally-based socio-economic
model of agriculture and food distribution. A CSA also refers to a particular network or association of
individuals who have pledged to support one or more local farms, with growers and consumers sharing
the risks and benefits of food production like herbs, honey, eggs, dairy products, meat, as well as cut
flowers.

Sustainable agriculture is the practice of farming using principles of ecology, the study of
relationships between organisms and their environment. It has been defined as "an integrated system of
plant and animal production practices having a site-specific application that will last over the long term.

We hope to provide that essential link between farmers and consumers here in the Lilburn area
by matching a strong commitment of participants that help protect the development of the market until
properly established. Based on ethical values, cognitive frames, and relational codes, the network
creates and shapes a protective environment. Our aim is towards a sustainable agronomic method for
food production and goods while providing living wages and fair working conditions to the producers,
with the overall goal of reduction of economic growth to help transition into a new economic system
based on environmental protection and social equity.

So why donate to the L.A.A.S.? Your money will help raise awareness through education of
local agriculture and help shift into a healthier food system by teaching sustainable farming at home.
It will provide a forum for local artisans to share a wide variety of products, ideas, and experiences.
It will establish a community garden center that works in conjunction with local school systems in
order to further educate children on natural science and agronomy. It supports the preservation and
conservation effort through Lilburn Community supported agriculture.

L.A.A.S plans to build raised beds and plant vegetables using a “square foot” gardening method. The beds would be filled with a combination of topsoil, manure and compost. Tomato cages, bean towers and other supports would be purchased to encourage vertical growth and maximize growth in the raised beds. Gardening in raised beds and utilizing the square-foot method allows for less maintenance due to less weeding and watering while creating optimal accessibility in the process.

Finally, we believe organic gardening is the best way to grow delicious produce that is safe for everyone to eat. It is a dark black, rich soil that provides ideal nutrients for growing in our climate. Our raised beds are simple, wooden frames, sealed on the bottom with cardboard to prevent any weeds from hindering your produce. Our gardens plan to create a space where individuals with little time, little experience and a passion to grow food for their own family can enjoy success in a productive and sustainable hobby that will enhance their lives.
All of these improvements will promote healthy plant growth and create substantially more healthy produce.

Its an amazing feeling to feed people but it is better to work together and teach them by showing them how to feed themselves. In this process of building up own community through learning how to grow food together, we become friends, we share stories, we share common meals, we share our common needs and we gain a self-dignity that only comes through growing together as a community of sustenance. Growing our own food and being able to share that evokes a strong feeling of pride - a healthy sense of self-worth - when you see a seed grows into a plant, produces flowers, and eventually produces a crop that can be eaten at their own table, as well as shared among neighbors, family, and friends, that's an amazing achievement that we hope to have in Lilburn.

If you are interested in supplying us, please be in touch!