Last Day to Vote for Nāpili Community Garden

Nāpili Community Garden. Photo courtesy: seedsofchangegrant.com

The Nāpili Community Garden located in Lahaina on Maui has entered the Seeds of Change® Grant Program for an opportunity to win either a $20,000 or $10,000 grant and is asking the community assist by voting online.  Today, April 18, 2016 is the last day to vote.

After voting closes today, the top 50 organizations with the most votes will move on to the final judging phase. Around May 3, Seeds of Change® will announce 24 grant recipients including: 12 school garden recipients and 12 community garden recipients. Of these grant recipients, two school gardens and two community gardens will receive $20,000 and ten school gardens and ten community gardens will receive $10,000.

The Grant Program aims to enhance the environmental, economic and social well-being of gardens, farms and communities.

Grants will be awarded to organizations that help support sustainable, community-based gardening and farming programs that focus on teaching people about the food they eat and how it’s grown.

Earlier this month, the Seeds of Change® Grant Program accepted hundreds of applications from organizations and schools across the country.

Nāpili Community Garden submitted an application highlighting how they would use the grant to grow their gardening program and achieve their goals.

A portion of the Seeds of Change® “1% Fund,” the company’s commitment to donate one percent of net sales, is allocated to support the annual Grant Program.

Nāpili Community Garden is an organic, non profit garden serving West Maui since 2011. Currently the garden is doubling its 3.5 acres comprised of 120 10’x20’ and 20’x20’ family plots and common areas.  The newly added 3.5 acres will be turned into both individual garden plots and a diverse tropical orchard to be shared in common.

If a grant is awarded, the NCG plans to use the funds to purchase trees and buy a small tractor with bucket, backhoe and tiller to prepare this new land. The tractor would be used going forward to make organic compost, maintain the parking lot and garden.  NCG is also in need irrigation materials.

Plans include a post and roof building on the new land to shelter the tractor. The shed will also serve as an education and social center. Developing the new land is the immediate goal. Long range goals are to teach sustainable farming and to share our wide cultural knowledge to members and the wider public.

The NCG currently donates a thousand pounds of fresh, organic food to the local food bank each month and part of its long range goal is to donate more variety and more food as the garden grows.