MESA Project

Pata Viva Farm / Bryce Richard

Funding Received: 2016
Las Cruces, NM
$250,000
Funding Period: 2 years and 5 months
https://www.facebook.com/Pata-Viva-Farm-1475528562757820/

The MESA Project will protect the environment around Las Cruces, NM, by reforming agricultural practices. MESA will design and build a model farm to demonstrate and disseminate sustainable agricultural techniques, and at this farm, culinary artists will use local ingredients to create a series of carefully curated meals for local farmers. During the meals, agricultural scientists will teach a broad spectrum of locally customized strategies for economically and environmentally sustainable agriculture. 

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See below for recent updates, press, and events from this project

blog
Over the course of the MESA Project, we learned a lot about the tasks and timelines for successfully bringing a community together through the culinary... Read More
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When you bring people together over good food and a few drinks, possibilities open up. Here are some pictures of the MESA Meals that we... Read More
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ArtPlace America, in the grant descriptions, mentioned one of its goals as “giving grants to projects that no other grant makers would fund” (roughly paraphrased)... Read More
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Through the MESA Project, team member Pat DeSimio completed his master’s thesis on communication patterns between farmers/ranchers and agricultural scientists--groups that often don’t work that... Read More
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Apart from the very first MESA Meal, which was held indoors because of a surprise monsoon, all of the MESA Meals were held at a... Read More
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Alongside the MESA Meals, the MESA Project coordinated several visual arts projects to raise public awareness about the connections between agriculture and the environment. “Tierra... Read More
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Doña Ana County, in far southern New Mexico, is a heavily agricultural community that hugs the banks of the Rio Grande. Drawing on water from... Read More
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As we continue focusing on the intersection of food, agriculture and creative placemaking on the blog this month, we thought it would be a great...Read more