Common Earth Gardens

Common Earth Gardens Common Earth Gardens, formerly known as the Refugee Agricultural Partnership Program (RAPP) is a program of Catholic Charities of Louisville.

Common Earth Gardens, formerly the Refugee Agricultural Partnership Program (RAPP), supports over 473 refugees to find land and produce food at ten community garden or farm sites in Louisville, KY. Common Earth Gardens’ goals are to empower refugee participants to:

• Utilize their extensive agricultural skills and experience to reduce food costs.

• Continue traditions from their homelands that

will ease acculturation to the Louisville Metro area.

• Build entrepreneurial skills and supplement family income by selling produce through local outlets. The program bolsters mental and physical health, community integration, and access to healthy food and supplemental income. Common Earth Gardens supports self-reliance by facilitating access to land, culturally-appropriate training, community education, technical assistance, and opportunities for supplemental income in Louisville, KY.

We organized a water conservation workshop at the Mindat Community Garden. Water conservation and soil health go hand in...
11/07/2025

We organized a water conservation workshop at the Mindat Community Garden. Water conservation and soil health go hand in hand, so many of the same principles from the first workshop were discussed and showcased in this one as well. Mulching using free locally available resources, watering plants in the morning or in the evening to avoid excessive evaporation, and encouraging biological processes in soil by inoculating edible mushrooms in woodchip mulch were demonstrated.

We organized a soil health workshop at the Drowned Willow Community Garden. Growers from the Drowned Willow and St. Igna...
11/03/2025

We organized a soil health workshop at the Drowned Willow Community Garden. Growers from the Drowned Willow and St. Ignatius Community Gardens
attended. We discussed identifying the properties of good soil, analyzing soil structure, nutrient and mineral content, utilizing trenches to manage water run-off, pH and ways to amend soil such as composting kitchen scraps and utilizing free resources available locally. The growers, who often bring their own wealth of agricultural knowledge from their home countries, were encouraged to share their own methods of managing soil health. Non-use of chemical herbicides and pesticides was also encouraged as a base practice for sustainable gardening. Cyrus
worked with a grower on site to demonstrate some of these practices in his plot. Cover crop seeds and composted horse manure were distributed to gardeners afterwards.

Curious about agroforestry? We might have some upcoming volunteer events where you can see what we're working on! Email ...
10/29/2025

Curious about agroforestry? We might have some upcoming volunteer events where you can see what we're working on! Email Mateo at [email protected] for more info!

Don't waste your Okra. Make a delicious stew to satisfy your family.
10/28/2025

Don't waste your Okra. Make a delicious stew to satisfy your family.

Amir & Mateo had the pleasure of visiting our good friends at Brambleberry Farm! They helped walk us through different a...
10/16/2025

Amir & Mateo had the pleasure of visiting our good friends at Brambleberry Farm! They helped walk us through different agroforestry plants, native medicinals, and native trees for our properties! Thanks for showing us around and thanks for letting us pet Churro!

10/10/2025

Cyrus talks about Molokhia and it’s cultural uses and origins

We have honeyyyy 🍯
10/03/2025

We have honeyyyy 🍯

We visited a long time home growing partner to see how the yard farm is coming and saw some super cute friends!Intereste...
09/30/2025

We visited a long time home growing partner to see how the yard farm is coming and saw some super cute friends!

Interested in getting involved with Common Earth Gardens? Email [email protected]!

Last week Cyrus led a group of volunteer students from Holy Cross High School cutting invasives and processing arikara s...
09/23/2025

Last week Cyrus led a group of volunteer students from Holy Cross High School cutting invasives and processing arikara sunflower seed heads! Thanks for sharing your time with us!

09/23/2025

We are now a little more than half way through the Season of Creation as we prepare for some special events in the Archdiocese, which you are all invited to attend.

Join Common Earth Gardens on September 27th for our event and if you can't attend ours, there are many others you may participate in!

Thursday, September 25th at 6:30 pm - 2025 Green Mass
Archbishop Shelton Fabre will celebrate the 2025 Green Mass at St. Raphael Catholic Church. For the first time this year, we will be celebrating with the new formulary for the Mass of Care for Creation that was just released on July 3, 2025.
Following the Mass there will be a reception featuring presentations and displays by students from Catholic High Schools in the Archdiocese. We look forward to learning about the actions they are taking to implement Laudato Si’.
Green Mass flier R

Saturday, September 27th at 11:00 am - Pilgrimage of Hope for Creation at Common Earth Gardens
The pilgrimage will begin at 11:00 a.m. at the St. Ignatius Community Garden (1818 Rangeland Road, 40219) with a prayer service, followed by a walking tour of the Community Garden and Catholic Charities' adjacent 6-acre site, which features a community garden, fruit orchard, bee hives and a 3-acre forest. After the tour, at 1:00 pm, pilgrimage participants are invited to join in a planned Potluck Garden Party for the international community gardeners. If you can stay for the meal, we suggest you bring food or drinks to share.
If you plan to join us for this pilgrimage, please use this link to register before Thursday, Sept. 25 - https://link.edgepilot.com/s/5b8406c4/He04Iv_UikmB8oTQ4lvNLw?u=https://bit.ly/POHC25garden
You can also contact us at [email protected] for more information.
Common Earth Garden Pilgrimage flyer

Tuesday, September 30th at 4:00 pm - 4th Annual Bellarmine Tree Pilgrimage
The pilgrimage will begin with a gathering in the Thomas Merton Center in the 2nd floor of the Bellarmine Library and process through campus up to the chapel. There will be stops for readings, reflections, and prayers at various trees on the campus. The event is open to the public. Please feel free to bring family and friends, and to share with your networks.

Address

435 E Broadway
Louisville, KY
40202

Telephone

+15028732560

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