Pomona College Organic Farm
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The Pomona College Organic Farm is an experimental Permaculture project located in the southeast corner of the Pomona College campus in Claremont, California.
[edit] History
The Pomona College Organic Farm was created by a a group of three friends in 1998 in order to create an atmosphere suitable for chillin' in the midst of the complexity and stress of Claremont campus life. Masanobu Fukuoka's book The One Straw Revolution provided the initial inspiration. The first crop planted at the farm was tomatoes, and since its creation the number and diversity of plant species at the farm has increased quickly.
[edit] Ongoing Projects
[edit] Earth Dome II
The Earth Dome II Project has redefined the scope and community base of the farm. The project began in 2001 following a visit by an EA50 class (Introduction to Environmental Analysis) to CalEarth in Hesperia, where students learned about earth architecture from renowned architect Nader Khalili. Following this visit, a group of students and community members built an earth dome at the farm during spring and summer of 2002. At the end of August 2002, the Pomona College administration gave the order to demolish the dome on the grounds that it was not permitted and as a result the city of Claremont was threatening to levy large fines for an unpermitted structure. Thus began a two-year process of getting permit approval from the city and county for a new design. The permitting process was completed by the start of 2004, and construction of the dome foundation, which had begun in fall 2002 but was put on hold, resumed. The foundation was poured in the summer of 2004, and the main structural elements of the dome were completed by students and community members during the 2004-2005 school year.
