The 2010, second year of the West End Community Garden project will build on the current strength and find solutions to some of the challenges and lessons learned in 2009. This will continue to focus on building the capacity of the African Alliance of RI to engage its constituents in a self-help economic development project that will improve their quality of life in their new country. Second-year outcomes include: - A sustainably grown community garden where newcomers grow foods that are integral to their native diet (but hard to find and very expensive in America). We will introduce vegetable seeds from some of the African countries: Tanzania, Nigeria, Cameroon and Gambia. - Continue the collaborative effort with the Southside Community Land Trust that involved helping African immigrants and refugees become self-sufficient and knowledgeable about sustainable farming techniques and how to use them in this climate. - Solve the problem of irrigation: the Black Contractors of RI have pledged to donate labor to build a storage shed at the garden. The shed will be equipped with gutters to collect rain. Southside Community Land Trust has pledged to provide the rain barrels and training. The funds from NEGEF are to pay for 60% of the additional materials needed. - Fundraising: Brown University's Environment Department students have volunteered to assist us in fundraising. - Strengthening of collaborative efforts with the International Institute of Rhode Island, a resettlement agency, to assist African refugees settled in our state. Longer-term goals are: - Development of a food co-op that will provide a local source of native foods for new arrivals. The conversation begun around what it will take to make this possible throughout the year. - Increased efforts to develop micro-business enterprise activities. In the next few years, the Urban Venture of Rhode Island (small business incubator, located in the neighborhood) will hold a preliminary meeting on how to proceed to develop micro-businesses around the 30 community gardeners in Providence. - Increased focus on cooperative self-help projects involving diverse African communities. - Increased respect for the agricultural skills and marketing knowledge that African refugees bring with them. - Improved health and nutrition of participants. - Increased use of English as a common language. - Leadership development within the African communities. - Introduce the West Elmwood Youth Program to the garden project. We expect 15 youth ages 13 through 18 to spend some weeks of their summer in the garden. The project will support the AARI goals to promote unity within the African community; facilitate the integration of Africans into American society; promote economic development for the local African community; encourage healthier life styles; serve as a way to preserve African culture and social values; and facilitate integration into the American community.