Sustainable Futures...
... is a California non-profit organization dedicated to helping groups and businesses locally and internationally who are promoting sustainable development practices and community well-being.

There is little agreement on how to achieve sustainable development - or if this is even possible. There may be many approaches to sustainable development. We believe that by supporting and assisting businesses and groups that are committed to promoting sustainable development in our communities we shall all be better off. Ultimately there is only one planet and we must work together locally to take responsibility for achieving sustainable development globally.

Our organization consists of a Board of Directors with members in the USA and in Costa Rica. We currently have 3 ongoing projects - two Community Gardens in Santa Rosa, CA; a Business Evaluation Survey to measure sustainability; and a women's cooperative farm in Costa Rica called Finca Dorado.

We are working to develop methods that create a self-governing, sustainable structure, along with an educational component for the community gardens and the farm in Costa Rica.

Kawana Community Organic Garden...
...we are families from the surrounding community who want to grow and eat healthy food and save money by doing so.  We hope to show our children how important fresh organic food is to our quality of life and to our health.
The surrounding community is composed of three very different housing developments - the oldest was built in the 50's and is still a small unincorporated island in Sonoma County, the second is Kawana Springs - single family homes built in the early 2000s, and the third, built in 2002-3, is Cypress Ridge, which is a subsidized housing rental complex with really small back patios - no place for a garden. Many of the residents in all three areas are of Hispanic origin, some speak only Spanish but in general, the demographic mix is very diverse.

It is exciting to see that at the center of these housing developments and across from the elementary school. we have created an area where families and children can experience a natural, peaceful and relatively safe environment, where adults are present after school and in the early evening - available to calm a neighborhood in transition and in peril of gang activity.

South Park Community Garden...
...located in South Park, one of the original small communities composing Santa Rosa, this garden was created on a large lot owned by Community Baptist Church. In 2000 the garden founder, Joanna Becker, arranged with the church to use the land. Insurance is carried by CAPSonoma (http://www.capsonoma.org/), a non-profit which operates a Head Start, Youth Services, and community activity center in nearby MLK park.

The garden has approximately 22 plots with mostly Latino gardeners who either live, or used to live, nearby. See Resources page for an example of the Gardener's Agreement.

Kawana Walking Group - Groupo SANA...
...this is an activity project that evolved from some HEAL meetings. HEAL (Healthy Eating Active Living) is the administrator of a grant from Kaiser-Permanente to the Sonoma County Health Department to engage residents in choosing a healthier lifestyle. (http://xnet.kp.org/communitybenefit/regions/nca/HEAL/HEALinitiative.html) They make grants available and coordinate various community actions and groups to combat unhealthy eating and obesity.

Groupo SANA (Salud Atraves de Nutrición y Actividades) has organized local residents into a "walking group" Monday and Wednesday mornings.
http://www.iwalksonoma.org/calendar/events/groups.php?com=groupsMain

The group has expanded to include Zumba classes. For more information or times and locations, call Victoria at 477-7390.