One of the core principles in the Common Ground approach to working with trainees is the idea of community. Whether we are training in the classroom, going over how to fill out a job application or the intricacies of English pronouns, or we are in the garden working to get crops planted, cultivated or harvested, [...]

As the growing season nears an end, and preparations begin for the next round of training and growing, I find myself pondering the idea, the human right, called dignity. This may become a series, because so much comes up when we really think about dignity.
One of Websters definitions of dignity is  “the quality of being worthy [...]

It’s great for Common Ground to help our trainees learn job skills that are recognized in the U.S., navigate the employment maze and simply converse in our unique American form of English. We are fairly driven by the longing to help those with the least among us become financially independent and flourish in our community.
But [...]

 
 
It’s that time of year. Harvest parties. Pumpkin pie. Pumpkin carving contests. And boy! do we have pumpkins – big ones, little ones, reddish orange, orangish red, white yellow, knobbly green ones (although some  would call these gourds).
 
 
 
 
 
We’ve got the pumpkin for you. Come on down to the Common Ground garden and check out the pumpkins. [...]

There’s nothing like salsa made with fresh tomatoes, green peppers, onions, jalepenos, lime, lemon, garlic…. And right now is the best time to get all the fresh veggies you need for salsa right from the Common Ground garden.

Tomatoes are coming on strong. The peppers are ready to pick. Onions are on.  The best news is [...]

  Actually, there have been many “odes” to sunflowers. Sunflowers are inspiring, encouraging, positive plants that tend to bring out the “happy poet” in folks.
The sunflowers sprouting up in the Common Ground garden seem symbolic of our refugee’s lives and what we are trying to accomplish.
Sunflowers are amazing in their potential. From a single sunflower [...]

Great things happen when a group comes together to serve…..people have fun, the load is lightened, and our international team is hugely encouraged.  I’m continually amazed that people would take a day from work or their families help the Common Ground crew.  And yet, Zion’s Bank proved yet again that the power of community is [...]

You’ve seen them in the produce section. Those little, green, tomato-looking fruits in their own little jackets. But have you tasted them, or cooked with them, or explored their many uses?
Did you know that the Common Ground garden tomatillo crop is flourishing? Being culinarily challenged, I had my first tomatillo experience this week. The guys [...]

I spent a little time talking with Devi and the guys at the garden this Tuesday. It wasn’t an easy day for me, and I went hoping to give a little encouragement, thinking…if I was feeling challenged, my friends had much more difficult situations.
And it is true, our trainees and workers from Bhutan, Somalia, Burma [...]

The Story
Years ago, our family sponsored a Vietnamese family who had fled for their lives after the fall of Saigon (yes, I am THAT old!).  They were thrilled to be safe, but there were so many adjustments, life was overwhelming. We worked to help them adjust in little bites versus huge chunks as much as [...]