A Vision of Capitalism, as it was Meant to be: A Social Purpose Business plan for FoodShed Productions

Authors

August Miller, SIT Graduate InstituteFollow

Degree Name

MA in Intercultural Service, Leadership, and Management

First Advisor

Nikoi-Koti Nikoi

Abstract

FoodShed Productions, a social enterprise is pursuing a mission: to raise the caring capacity of communities and resilience of our local environments through resident education in organic backyard farming. As a social enterprise, FoodShed Productions, a for-profit, earns its economic viability doing work more often associated with non-profits, measuring its worth by the social, environmental, and economic benefits of its operations. The communities in Boulder County, CO. are served by FoodShed Productions through a social process in which “We Build, We Coach, You Keep Growing,” toward the goal of self-reliance.

The topic of this CLC is a Social Purpose Business Plan for FoodShed Productions (FSP): A Vision of Capitalism: how it was meant to be. Utilizing “A Toolkit for Developing a Social Purpose Business Plan” from the on-campus course, Social Entrepreneurship, and the Practitioner Inquiry process to conduct qualitative research on the topic of “the conditions for food production” (Seedco, 2004). This Capstone Paper situates the research findings between the introduction and market analysis and more generally throughout the paper.

The findings point to a cultural agreement as the primary social condition necessary before food production can begin. Culture defined by Webster-Merriam as “the integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon the capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations.” This study found that a producer of organic food is also a producer of culture, therefore: a farm owner is also an owner of culture; a farm worker, a producer of culture; and a resident producer, a cultural representative.

Disciplines

Agricultural and Resource Economics | Agricultural Education | Civic and Community Engagement | Community-Based Learning | Community Health | Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations | Growth and Development | Inequality and Stratification | Service Learning | Urban, Community and Regional Planning

Recommended Citation

Miller, August, "A Vision of Capitalism, as it was Meant to be: A Social Purpose Business plan for FoodShed Productions" (2014). Capstone Collection. 2651.
https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/capstones/2651