The organization will be developing and producing a   Farm Connection and Community Asset Building Conference in 2024 to celebrate their 10th anniversary.

The conference will coincide with the Eastern Ontario Garlic Festival.

The conference will feature local farmers, food producers, artisans, wellness practitioners, local non profits and other leadership from the community.

Together they will provide education and hand on learning through speakers, panels, workshops community capacity building activities, art and more.

The goal of the conference is to unite stakeholders and citizens to facilitate making connections with local farmers and food as well as to help build up a sustainable  regenerative local food and resources system for people in the region.

Estimated Cost: $15,000

Date of Completion: September 22, 2024

What do you wish everyone knew: Building and expanding on businesses in or interested in the local agrifood movement.

A goal it to make it so that everyone can know a few farmers to get their food from when in season.

Up and coming youth will be given opportunity to learn about the entrepreneurial and trend in the business of growing or making food.

In turn these youth can be hired in the summer and work on farms through the organization’s agrifood apprenticeship program.

To date we have hire 45 local youth over 8 years and their learning has been great. Some have created their own businesses since.

The experiential learning and benefits of being mentored by a farmer or local food producer is a unique experience as irbid rewarding for youth.

Nonprofits will be the leaders in providing their services to the public by having opportunities to be face to face with the target groups they serve. They will also fundraise and lead the conference as partners each contributing in their own way.

Kozroots Community Empowerment Projects has been a leader in the local agrifood system since 2015 when local farmers saw a gap in the sector and decided to start this unique Nonprofit in the region.

Since it inception they have generated over 1,250,000 dollars for local farmers, nonprofit partners, artisans and other food producers.

When the pandemic hit us they started the Cornwall Waterfront Farmers’ Market while other local markets had closed.

All of there activity is volunteer driven.

They started the youth farm visits and have helped youth facing challenges by having them participate in paid work and at special events on farms.

To date they have had many projects that have had ripple effects in individual lives and in the community.

They partner with Maison Baldwin House to mange and greet patrons at their events and collect donations. They have helped MBH raise 8000 through donations.

The organization believes in community capacity as the greatest currency and has had hundred of people volunteer and benefit from being engaged in the community. From Art to Food to the people big and small they have been leaders underground where everything grows.

There are number of projects that the  organizations wants to initiate in the future as we continue to rebuild.

The conference will act a launch to many other great local initiative that will also
create opportunities for community engagement, sharing ideas and vision, tapping into the amazing talent and skills of people who may not otherwise be known and instigating leadership across all ages and diverse people from far and wide as we carry on.