Enabling Local Agriculture One Family Flock at a Time

The Coop Corps™ (C2) is a program of the Gossamer Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to global sustainability and local foods. Coop Corps America is part of the Chicken Stimulus Package intended to help enable and involve individuals, families, communities, schools, churches, nonprofits and other interested organizations navigate these transition times by evolving to become more local food self-sufficient.

Coop Corps™ is open to participants of all ages, race, gender and religion. Whereas anyone can apply to participate, some priority is given to residents of Food Deserts as defined by the USDA.

A food desert is an area with little or no access to grocery stores that offer fresh affordable foods needed to maintain a healthy diet. Food deserts disproportionately affect single mothers, children, fixed-incomesr and differently-enabled individuals.

There are also group Coop Corps projects for organizations including schools, community gardens, congressional flocks, group homes and other service organizations. With every Coop Corps project, one more flock is on the path to Occupy Backyards and provide healthy food supply and local self-reliance.

Before receiving their coop and equipment, C2 participants must complete the basic courses in the Chickens and You Training series and pass the final exam. The courses can be completed on line, via correspondence classes, or by attending live courses.

This training is required because, in addition to knowing how to responsibly and humanely raise and keep a family flock, C2 participants need to know how employ chickens skill sets—not only for eggs—but also for their multi-task talents. These chicken skills include being:

- Organic local fertilizer generators
- Compost workers
- Topsoil builders
- Insect and weed controllers and
- Biomass recyclers of kitchen and yard “residues”

An incredibly valuable chicken skill that many folks overlook is that family flocks can decrease the amount of trash a solid waste management unit has to collect, transport, and disposed of (usually in a landfill. This not only turns waste into compost and topsoil, but can also save precious taxpayer dollars.
Coop Corps Participants Receive

• The Primary Chickens and YOU™ Training Series. Recipients must attend 8 workshops (live, online or correspondence courses) and pass an exam before receiving their flock.
• A coop large enough for up to 12 chickens (max)
• A starter flock of chicks or pullets (young hens)
• Feeder and water
• A Portable run
• Possibly fencing depending on the need and location
• A copy of City Chicks: Keeping Micro-flocks of Chickens as Garden Helpers, Compost Creators, Bio-recyclers and Local Food Suppliers.

Coop Corps™ recipients agree to practice continued humane care of their flock providing at all times clean water, feed and adequate space.

If a C2 participant finds—for whatever reason—they cannot care for their flock, they simply notify the local Coop Corps Coordinator, or the Gossamer Foundation, and arrangements will be made to relocate the flock, coop and equipment to a new relocation.

C2 Pay it Forward Committment
After receiving their coop, equipment, chickens and training, C2 participants pledge to help others in the community get involved with local foods. This might be with a gift of eggs, baby chicks, or advice with a new flock or starting gardens. A written description of how the C2 recipient can help others with local foods must be included in the application.

The second (or more) recipient folks that have been helped by the C2 member also agree to help others—and the ripples of goodwill go on and on serving untold numbers of people who desire to keep chickens and grow food locally. These “pay it forward” coop corps practice is so simple, and so powerful, that for years to come it will help to end nutritional poverty and promote healthy local foods grown in uncontaminated, living soils.

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Coop Corps™ America Participant Application

Name: _____________________________________
Address: _____________________________________________
City: __________________________State: _________ Zip: ________
eMail: _______________________@____________
Day phone: (____) ________________
Cell phone: (____) ________________
[  ] Single   [  ] Married   
[  ] Children living with you _____ [  ]  List names & ages _______________________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
[  ] Others living with you. Please list names & relationship(s)
Fixed Income   [  ] yes   [  ] no     
Annual Take-home (after tax) income $_________________
Do you have pets?  [  ] Yes    [  ] No   
If yes, what kind and how many?   ___ dog(s), ____ cat(s),
Other pets or livestock __________________________________

Will you have the funds and ability to continually provide consistent access and adequate feed supply for your flock? [  ] yes   [  ] no

1. Please tell us how will keeping chickens will affect your life? What are your expectations? Be specific and use an additional page if necessary..

 

2. Tell us how you, or members of your household, are able to provide continued care, feed and clean water for your flock.

 

 

3. Do you have gardening experience? [  ] yes, [  ] no.
If yes, please tell us what you have grown.

 

4. Do you plan to grow some of your food? [  ] yes, [  ] no
If yes, please describe your garden vision

 

 

5. Describe how you having chickens might be of benefit to your neighborhood and community.

 

6. Attach a photo of yourself and/or a family photo.
Also attach a photo of the area where you would keep your family flock.

7. Attach a written description of how you intend help others with local foods as part of your "pay it forword" committment to your community.

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Local Coop Corps™ Coordinators (C4)
Position Description

Coop Corps Coordinators are volunteers who liaison and collaborate with the Gossamer Foundation to promote, coordinate and oversee local Coop Corps activities. C3 responsibilities, with backstopping and support from Gossamer Foundation, are to help with:
1. Sponsors and Donors. Identify local sponsors and donors of building materials, poultry equipment and funds to put together a coop-to-go package.

2. Chicken Supply. Identify and coordinate with hatcheries and local poultry people who:
• Are willing to contribute or sale chicks or pullets
• Have incubators and can hatch eggs
• Can brood baby chicks for 5 to 10 weeks depending on the season

3. Receive and Review Applications. After review and triage, send acceptable applications and recommendations to the Gossamer Foundation for final selection.
4. Coordinate the Coop-to-Go construction, assembly and delivery.
5. Provide poultry care and management support, as needed, to the Coop Corps Recipient.
6. Help create and organize a local Poultry and Garden Club. This will help get a strong support group within the community.
7. C3s work with existing local networks interested in sustainable living in all its many forms. This might include such organizations and movements as Slow Foods, Slow Money, Permaculture Networks, Community Gardens, Kitchen Gardens International, Transition Movement, Weston A. Price Foundation Network, American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, and other local green activist groups.

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Gossamer Coop Corps™ Commander

This is a paid position at Gossamer Foundation under a grant or funded project of the Foundation. The key responsibilities are to help create, monitor and expand the C2 program including:

• Grant writing for initial program funding.
• Networking for raising funds, identifying sponsors and local resources.
• Develop and Maintain C2 and C3 Operations Manual(s).
            - Instructional materials for local C3 volunteers.
            - Social media materials for local projects.
            - Coop construction or assembly guides
• Develop and maintain national database of the C2 participants.
• Coordinate with affiliate organizations.
• Backstop local C2 recipients and C3 volunteers.
• Help develop tracking indicators.
• Conduct periodic surveys on the impact and results of the Coop Corps America
   Program and compile this information for an annual report.
• Provide reports and data to the Gossamer Board as requested.
• Provide an annual report on the Coop Corps America activities and
   achievements.