Windy Flat RV, San Pablo, donates a trailer for the 2.2 acre farm. (September, 2015).
Duarte Trees and Vines
Annie's Annuals
Tom Burchell of Burchell Nursery personally delivers 850 cherry, apricot, nectarine and peach trees to Richmond residents in honor of Cesar Chavez. 
The 
Welcome
The Self directs the functioning of the whole psyche in an integrated way. According to Carl Jung, conscious and unconscious are not necessarily in opposition to one another, but complement one another to form a totality, which is the Self.
(Excerpt from Personality and Personal Growth 6th ed. Frager & Fadiman, 2005)
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Self-Sustaining Communities (SSC) is a Richmond, CA, organization working with low-income residents and community members to create wide-scale, environmentally sustainable local food production in distressed and needy neighborhoods. These projects have engaged a wide spectrum of the community, from the mayor to recently released offenders, in a "from-the-ground-up process" to reclaim and rejuvenate abandoned and blighted parcels and make them hubs of productivity.
Watch the video below to understand what we do. Watch more videos at our youtube channel.
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An interview by Councilwoman Jovanka Beckles, of Linda Schneider of Self-Sustaining Communities.
Watch more videos at our youtube channel.
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Contra Costa Times
The greening of Richmond took another step and another shade -- as in olive green -- on Friday.
A donation of 1,000 olive trees from McEvoy Ranch, a prestigious Petaluma-based organic olive grower and olive oil producer, arrived for initial distribution to the community.
Trees were given out starting at noon at the farmers market at 24th Street and Barrett Avenue, where representatives of the ranch and city officials joined Linda Schneider, founder of the group that arranged the donation.
"We are truly becoming a city of fruit-bearing trees to further our healthy Richmond direction," said Mayor Gayle McLaughlin, who attended the distribution event. "Trees are known to improve air quality, beautify our community and even help reduce crime."
While McLaughlin was speaking Friday, the space shuttle Endeavour flew overhead, prompting gasps from onlookers. A pleased McLaughlin said the two events -- trees and space shuttle -- added up to a spotlight day for the city.
The donation was coordinated by Self-sustaining Communities, a community organization that originated in El Cerrito and is now based in Richmond. It tries to direct donations to underserved neighborhoods in the East Bay.
Over the past three years, the organization has negotiated donations of more than 10,000 fruit, nut and olive trees from California growers to help low-income areas provide for themselves.
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Making a Difference in Marin host Norman Solomon interviews Linda Schneider, MA, the founder and director of Self-Sustaining Communities and Kevin L Hampton, a community developer, about the community gardens they are developing in Richmond.
Check out the video at the Marin TV On Demand website.
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What’s the buzz? Urban beekeeping comes to Richmond
The bees from Self-Sustaining Communities come and go from their hive on a warm February morning. (photo by: Lexi Pandell)
Just over a year ago, an oasis blossomed in a rundown Richmond neighborhood off of Highway 580. Cars speed by on the busy freeway overhead and the Safeway Beverage packing plant, large and industrial, looms within eyesight. But here at the Self-Sustaining Communities garden, chickens peck at nubs of grass, a pair of rabbits dart in and out of their burrow, and, if you listen closely, you might hear a faint buzz. Thousands of bees flit between the nearby plants and their wooden, man-made hive in the middle of the property. Clumps of bright orange pollen cling to the bees’ swollen legs and the insects quickly disappear inside the hive, preparing to make honey from the nectar they collected.
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Sustaining the Earth
Eric Greanleaf, PhD interviews Linda Schneider, Founder and Director of Self-Sustaining Communities and Kevin L. Hampton, Richmond Community Developer about their work. The two have collaborated to bring the concept of Sustainable Living to Richmond, CA building community gardens and teaching sustainable skills.
The video is available for viewing at the Marin TV On Demand website. Check it out today!
Our Commitment
Our work/mission is to assist in creating a systemic change in the SF East Bay of Northern California which meets environmental, social, and sustainability needs by addressing those areas upon which survival is dependent, specifically food, energy, transportation, shelter and social inclusion. We focus on low-income, high crime areas, but are not necessarily limited thereto. We approach these areas as part of an integrated larger area where coming together to make a systemic change can effect greater well-being for all members of the community.
Given the collapse and dysfunction of the current economic situation, the unemployment, environmental issues and crime, creating a new model is an opportunity we have at hand, by utilizing grassroot efforts, community building and social technology, among others.