Date of Award

1-1-2018

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

M.A.

Department

Anthropology

First Advisor

Richard Clemmer-Smith, Ph.D.

Second Advisor

Alejandro Cerón-Valdes

Third Advisor

Sarah Hamilton

Keywords

Neo-liberal, Non-profit, Political economy, Social capital, Urban agriculture

Abstract

In 2013, a non-profit, Re:Vision, established the Ubuntu Farm to work with the local Somali Bantu refugee population. It was supposed to improve access to fresh produce, offer educational opportunities, skill training and more. Early on in 2014, it became clear Re:Vision was not delivering on its promises, and by 2015 the farm had ceased to exist. Using participant observation, interviews with farm participants and staff and a review of publicly accessible financial documents, I argue that Re:Vision maintained a conflict of mission, which contributed to their farms' failings, despite their ability to grow plenty of vegetables. From there, I attempt to identify which shortcomings were singular to Re:Vision and which were influenced by neo-liberal governance. My findings suggest that non-profits often have to choose between serving funders and their target communities. This choice can disadvantage the community, while the non-profit reaps the benefits of association with wealthy foundations and donors.

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.

Provenance

Received from ProQuest

Rights holder

Raymond Alexander Pang

File size

143 p.

File format

application/pdf

Language

en

Discipline

Cultural anthropology

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