The Goats on the Bus Go... BaBaBa
City Girls Farm wants to take their goats to school! So we need a school bus. The bus will let us move 4 to 25 goats a time, to work, schools and camps. What better way than a school bus?
Leader
Amy McIntire
Location
559 Orchard Lake Road Pontiac, MI 48341
About the project
City Girls Soap is expanding its mission of "using the whole goat" by becoming City Girls Farm. In March when our 2 does gave birth to 4 bucks, it became apparent that agriculture is one of the few industries where males have no value. Unless they are kept for breeding stock, no one wants them. Entrepreneur farmers have an integral part in the birth process of the goat, and find there is a very fine line between the role of farmer and human. Whiles we could sell the bucks for $100 each for a one time influx of cash, we could also keep the babies, who were bottle raised and take them to local schools, churches and community centers as a way to introduce kids in a urban environment to urban agriculture and all the possibilities that come with it. To do this, we need to be able to move them around and if you are taking goats to schools they should be on a bus!
The Steps
We are breaking our project into 2 phases:
PHASE 1
1. We will start looking for the school bus sourcing used school buses through Craigslist, Ebay and personal contacts. We will re-purpose, remove seats and install safety measures to move goats around.
PHASE 2
2. We will paint and brand the bus so when they see it coming they know its City Girls Farm and raise interest in the community and most importantly at schools!
Why we‘re doing it
We work in an economically hit community where we moved our business in order to grow but at the same time introduce the children to urban agriculture. Pontiac has not seen the resurgence that Detroit has. Most kids we've met have never seen, let alone been able to "hug a goat'. It is our mission to introduce children to possibility that lies within urban agriculture. To see what is possible if you think outside of the box and are willing to work hard. Goats have an extremely calming nature, are intuitive like dogs. Last year we ran an internship program and every single intern wanted to end their day with the goats. It was a quiet time for them. With a bus, we can bring the goats to the kids.