Cultivating Dreams: an organic garden for women in Prison at CIW

Women inside of California's prisons have limited access to healthy food and exercise and they are isolated from outside communities. Cultivating Dreams, a garden project at the California Institution for Women (CIW), will solve a number of problems related to these issues. The garden will provide fresh produce and a rehabilitative activity for the women in the prison which will hopefully improve their physical and mental health. It also builds connections between the women inside and the outside community. This can give the women access to educational, rehabilitative, and occupational resources that they would not otherwise have. In addition, as the garden is deeply rooted in organic and sustainable practices, which addresses environmental problems at a grass roots level. Women inside of CIW rarely have fresh fruits and vegetables in their diets. This greatly contributes to nutrition related diseases inside the prison such as obesity and diabetes. In addition, poor physical health can have negative effects in many parts of an individual's life, including mental well being. The health care for these conditions is very costly for the State of California. The garden will provide fresh fruits and vegetables that can supplement the diets of the women in the prison. CIW often has outbreaks of food born infectious diseases. The pathogens that cause these outbreaks may be introduced from contaminated produce. By producing organic food inside of the prison, we hope to reduce the number of pathogens introduced into the food system at the prison. The finished garden will provide a much needed restorative and therapeutic space in the prison. Gardening is also a meditative activity for many people. More than three-quarters of the women in prison have been subject to physical or sexual abuse at some point in their lives. However, as of 2003, only 27% of the women in California’s state prisons are receiving therapy or counseling. We hope to include a structured gardening therapy program part of the project, so that gardening can be part of these women's recovery. Garden therapy programs have been around for decades and are based on idea that if you can transform your landscape you can transform your life - an important message to send to those looking to break out of a repeating cycle of incarceration. Gardening transcends all backgrounds, which is why it is important for the diverse prison population. The women at CIW come from different backgrounds, levels of education, and socio-economic statuses. African Americans and Latino Americans are incarcerated at much higher rates than the rest of the population, and they are underrepresented in higher education. Gardening is an activity that both the women at CIW and the students from Claremont can participate in regardless of their backgrounds and the differences between them. Participating in Cultivating Dreams will help the women in the prison gain new skills and develop new interests. This improves self-confidence and attitudes about personal success, directly increasing their chances for successful job interviews and lowering their chances of recidivism. In addition to hands on gardening skills, gardening requires long term commitment and hard work. The women who participate in the project may be able to use these skills to find employment once they are released from prison. The Garden is a collaborative effort that requires cooperation between women inside the prison and Claremont College students. Working in the garden together gives these two communities a common goal which is invaluable for sustaining a long term relationship. The isolation that is a part of incarceration makes it difficult for formerly incarcerated people to transition to life outside of prison once they are released. This is part of the reason that two out of three Americans return to prison within three years of being released. Cultivating Dreams fosters a connection between the women at CIW and the outside world, which will hopefully help to break this cycle of incarceration. An interest in environmental stewardship has brought both the women inside the prison and the college students together. Every participant in the project is dedicated to making the garden "green." The garden will be completely organic, which is healthier for the women inside the prison and for planet. We are also developing a compost system and a low water drip irrigation system. Conventional agriculture is highly reliant on fossil fuel inputs – which contributes to climate change. Teaching people to produce their own food in a local, organic, and sustainable way will help address this problem. In addition, the students and professors at the Claremont colleges are deeply involved in research about climate change and sustainable living. Cultivating Dreams has created a lecture and workshop series that will bring people from the Claremont Colleges to share their knowledge about these subjects. Cultivating Dreams is a start of a long-term solution to all of these problems. It will empower the women in the prison by making them part of the solutions to the challenges they face.