The holiday season can be magical, but it can also be overwhelming and stressful!  How do you give a gift to someone who has everything they need (as most of us do!)?  Why not give an incredibly unique and lasting gift that both the receiver and local at-risk families can enjoy?
Consider giving a gift that [...]

Common Ground is about training.

We grow PEOPLE, we grow PRODUCTS, and we grow SERVICES.

Right now we build training curriculums and programs, vegetables and fruit, herbs, pumpkins and cut flowers. Next (possibly this fall / winter 2010) is product creation (making products for local companies). After that (someday)….a cafe.
We build global communities, [...]

Hotel 43 Video Clip – Thank you!
Can you imagine trying to learn a new language in your 30’s, 40’s or 50’s – and how well you learn it directly impacting your ability to work and provide for your family? I can’t.
I also can’t imagine being uprooted from my home, unexpectedly, and suffering persecution….living in [...]

It’s hard to imagine what life would be like in another country where the language is new, the culture is entirely different, and where one is expected to land on their feet within just a hand full of months with a livable wage job.
The Common Ground job and language training courses are experiential job training [...]

And much more….we’re getting excited!

This week we are focusing on working in a bakery; specifically a bread bakery.  We talked about the different ingredients involved in bread making and then did a little role-playing.  The trainees practiced bagging bread, selling bread buy bread, and my favorite . . . making bread dough.  It was a little messy, but so [...]

Friends, we’re out of CG Farm 1/2 shares ($250 / 10 weeks)–so sorry!  You can still purchase FULL-SHARES or produce from us at our farm stand.….days of operation still TBD.  We’ll let you know (likely Wednesdays and Sundays, and possibly Mondays).
Get your farm FULL SHARE now while they last ($400)….this buys you a full-season of [...]

Huge thanks to the juniors and seniors from Bishop Kelly (BK)  High School!  In just a few hours, you accomplished more at the farm site than we could have done in a week!
The BK team:

Cleared more ground, expanding our plantable farm-ground to 2 acres

Spread compost over the entire garden (our healthy plants will thank you…and our [...]

Wednesday is site visit day for the Common Ground trainees.  This week we visited the Bohrn To Achieve Child Care center.  We arrived during the organized chaos of lunch; preschoolers feeding themselves pieces of hot dog and broccoli, toddlers in highchairs fighting to keep their eyes open, and babies snuggling down for their afternoon naps.
Donna Bohrn, the [...]

Experiential job training for the refugee community resulting in our trainees’ ability to find, perform and retain jobs.
While the best known face of Common Ground is our garden/farming operation , the most extensive and intense training occurs in the classroom.  The training is the core and primary purpose of the program, although not [...]