This video shows the Dervaes family who have created a 4,000 sq. ft urban garden in their backyard! The garden can produce 6,000 POUNDS of food a year and includes a plethora of fruits and vegetables and goats, ducks, and chicken. The garden feeds the entire family of four and produces enough excess that the family makes $20,000 a year in sales to local restaurants. All of the food is grown organically and all the animals are cage-free. The garden includes it’s own compost heap, bee hives, solar panels, and a bio-diseal gasoline station.

Could you imagine if every household in America were like this? We would be able to stop childhood hunger, poverty and unemployment all in one step! Of course, each garden would have to be done right. If every backyard in America turns into a pool of pesticides and chemicals, then we really aren’t solving the problem. In the video, Jules Dervaes talks about creating a community that would be able to support each other. By creating a way people can share resources, it will be easier to convince them it is worth the work. A garden is certainly a lot of work, especially on this scale, but it is also WORTH the effort. By combining forces within your community, the labor is shared, as is the harvest. Think of your five immediate neighbors. Now if you needed milk or eggs, you would go across the street to the little old lady with the goats and chickens. If you needed berries and some apples, you would head over to your next-door neighbor. Each person has their responsibility. Not only would this help with food issues, but it will also reconnect communities.

Really great inspiration for any urban gardener!