Desert Forge Foundation

Desert Forge envisions a robust, local food economy which stewards land and water resources while training returning Veterans and local community members to be the food and agricultural entrepreneurs we need. As farmers retire, as land begins to change hands we imagine redirecting the funds leaving our region working instead to train, equip, fund, and grow a transformative climate-informed revival where children are fed, families thrive and invest in the renewal of rural areas and we experience the next age of abundance.

In the future, the Desert Forge Foundation envisions a national training center for arid agricultural technology, restoration design and planning, human-centered design, regenerative technologies, and food innovation. In the process, we will engage returning Veterans in a sense of purpose, service and leadership - properly stewarding and reintegrating those who have given so much for all of us.

In the Spring of 2021 Desert Forge will launch a formal, three year agricultural training program which works to bring healing to returning Veterans and our local community through job training, entrepreneurship and the arts. Focused around our shared story - of individuals, of the land, of families and community - Desert Forge will lead the way in agricultural entrepreneurship and restoration by employing service-oriented Veterans and civilians to become the solution we need.

Desert Forge works to engage and unite local non-profits, businesses, government and individuals - serving as a force multiplier by convening and connecting. With a vision of robust engagement, we know we are all better served when we work together. To that end, Desert Forge strives to be service-oriented and a good neighbor while providing actionable opportunities for trainees to learn and serve, helping our local foodscape to grow and thrive.

From 2014 - 2020, Desert Forge has worked in a number of different agricultural programs, received grant funding from both local and national organizations and been recipient of numerous local grants.

In 2019, Desert Forge focused on diversifying its funding strategy, to build in operational controls and to make better decisions based on data, measurement and participant feedback. As an organization, we made a commitment to professionalize, to prioritize specific issue areas in support of deeper impact. Realizing and identifying our unique strength as serving as a "force multiplier" we have worked to come beside and serve already existing efforts in the agricultural and food space while working to revitalize our own 8-Acre home farm, which we began working on in November 2019.

In 2020, in spite of the COVID-19 Pandemic and restrictions to specific aspects of our programming, Desert Forge has responsibly hosted a 7 agricultural events on our home farm, have continued to assist partner farms and organizations with their efforts to expand local food production.

In early 2021, we will be applying for a USDA Grant which focuses specifically on creating opportunities in Agriculture for Veterans. Desert Forge will be seeking full program funds which will allow us to expand our program offering and formalize our training, recruitment, and agricultural production.

Within the next 5 years Desert Forge aims to break ground on a state-of-the-art National Training Center