Katie Colling and Mike Pearson are both on the team at Soil Solidarity, a Nevada non-profit based here in Reno, helping with local community gardens, teaching kids the value of planting and trying to start a pilot “small-tailored” housing program.
Katie, the founder, can quote their mission statement by heart: “to actively participate in creating a sustainable and equitable world through direct action centered on food and housing justice.” Maybe Katie has memorized these words because they’re doing the work at Soil Solidarity, every day.
The organization started in 2017 as a volunteer group, growing food for Food not Bombs, under Katharina’s Garden and Compost Program. Six years later, Soil Solidarity has helped starting up five community gardens. “We're trying to help people grow their own food and become sustainable, and give away the excess,” Katie says.
There’s Hood Valley Growers, which will attempt to start an aquaponic system next year. “Aquaponics, where there's fish and the fish poop feeds the plants, and it's like this ecosystem,” Katie excitedly explains. “It's like a closed loop,” Mike chimes in, “so you know, there's no inputs or outputs.”
Then there’s Munda wa Anthu, which is being built into an accessible garden. The garden beds are all raised. This allows wheelchair users, or people who are unable to bend over, access the plants more easily.
At Mamie Towles Elementary, Soil Solidarity plants seeds both literally and metaphorically, teaching students the joy of food-growing. “This month we're meeting all the classes in the entire school and all the children get to plant,” says Katie. “Garlic, onions, or potatoes.”
House of Lilith starts this year, and will plant fall crops. The manager of that garden also has plans to start a tool library. Lastly, there’s the Maddux House garden, which also happens to be the backyard of Katie’s northeast Reno home. Even on a cold, cloudy day, the Maddux House garden explodes with color: bright orange tomatoes (ready to eat!), pale green baby cantaloupes, pumpkins, and more.
But the Maddux House magic will be coming to an end this year, as Katie, Mike, and another Soil Solidarity member– Marcelino Sosa– are searching for a new home base for their garden and their goals. Soil Solidarity has envisioned implementing a housing model since the beginning. In fact, last time OTR checked in with Katie, she spoke of plans for a ten-unit tiny home community housing project.
That was over a year ago, and plans have shifted for now. “When soil solidarity first started, we did a six month long volunteer questionnaire poll, group meetings, consensus-based discussions, about what we wanted our goals as a nonprofit to be,” Katie explains. Research found that a ten unit tiny home option was the most favorable option. But execution, of course, is tricky. “No one's gonna hand you (a) 10 unit property first thing out the bat,” says Katie. “That's not something that's gonna happen.”
For Katie, Mike, and Marcelino, however, a new housing project isn’t just about growing the organization. These three, along with Katie’s two kids, are searching for secure housing for themselves.
“Marcelino has been, you know, housing insecure his whole life. And so this is his step towards stability... he wants to work together to find stable housing,” Katie says, indicating that Marcelino was at work at Amazon. “I'm on disability,” Katie goes on. “I'm a single mom. I have a fixed income. And with the landlord trying to raise the rent, there's…there's nothing I can do.”
Despite Katie’s landlord having offered years of support, encouragement, and lower rent to Katie, he is now raising the monthly rent. And with that, Katie and her kids, along with Mike and Marcelino, are actively seeking a new space. The group is hoping to build a model for what effective housing solutions could look like in the future.
“The pilot project is the first step,” Katie explains. “What we want to practice is communication skills, teamwork, co-housing just in general.” Mike nods his head and adds, “this interpersonal shit is hard, and it's important. A lot of projects just fall apart because people don't know how to manage conflicts.”
But the “interpersonal shit” also may be the necessary solution. Katie co-authored a white paper that detailed some housing solutions for Washoe County, with an emphasis on small-tailored programs. “This is a small tailored program that could address the housing crisis and food crisis at the same time. So that's kind of, like, the point here,” Katie chuckles.
“What we're currently doing, specifically with really poor people, is warehousing them. We're putting them in giant buildings and then (there’s) just not enough staff, and it's complete f-ing chaos. And it's rude,” Katie says. Part of the success of small-tailored programs, Katie explains, has to do with the continuum of care that can be provided in smaller settings.
“You can staff them easier…you walk people through getting into stability.” Whether for unhoused populations, veterans, those with mental illness, folks on disability, Katie argues that these small-tailored programs are proven time and again to be more effective.
Katie, Mike, and Marcelino are looking for a 4+ bedroom house in the area, with enough room on the property to start up another garden, of course. Their hope is that their model will be another example of a successful small-tailored program.
Having their dream space would not only allow them to live on site– “we could facilitate workshops. We could grow the program as a whole and we could engage with the neighborhood, and get them involved in compost building,” Katie says eagerly, smiling as she thinks of it. “Sharing resources, you know… all the things that we want to do.”
The group of five are hoping to secure a house by this winter. Soil Solidarity will negotiate the lease, but the tenants (Katie, Mike, and Marcelino) will make the monthly payments. And in exchange for affordable rent pricing, the homeowner will enjoy tasty home-grown crops.
Katie, Mike, Marcelino, and all of Soil Solidarity are seeking the community’s help in their search for a new home. And they encourage everyone, whether they know of houses for rent or not, to come to a volunteer day at Soil Solidarity. According to Katie, there is always something to be done.