Vision - a global perspective: A world where cultural and biological diversity are sustained and enhanced, communication between individuals and nations is non-violent, pollution is minimal and waste is transformed; where the needs of people are met without compromising future generations or the integrity of ecosystems.   Mission: Our mission is to develop, demonstrate, and teach sustainable agricultural practices that improve quality of life, local production, and environmental stewardship.   From the Executive Director, Chester Anderson The basis of a local food system is the capacity to grow crops that store easily and consistently produce from one year to the next. I call these foundational crops. Our challenge at La Boca is to grow foundational crops with minimal imports and costs while concurrently growing the soil. Foundational crops traditionally found in the 4-Corners Region include grass, grains, beans, squash and the animals that convert grass to meat and milk. At La Boca will also grow non-traditional crops to supplement food production and experiment with development of other varieties that could become foundational crops. To rebuild local agricultural systems requires attention to redeveloping and developing traditional technologies, traditional knowledge, modern technologies, and current knowledge. At La Boca, we are developing an integrated, sustainable farm with instructors, tools and curriculum necessary to teach and train farm managers and rebuild that knowledge base that is critical to rebuilding local agriculture. We are also exposing hundreds of children, teachers and community members to sustainable farming as well as creating a model that can be used throughout the world to rebuild local food production. Development of LBCS over the last 5 years has been accomplished on a thread of a budget. When we started we had land, water, some infrastructure and the mission of developing a working, integrated, sustainable farm, to serve as a hub for research and education. We have learned a great deal over the last 5 years and with the staff that we currently have we are poised to start teaching. What is needed is an infusion of capitol. We have the talent and knowledge to spend the capitol wisely and with this infusion we can begin the process of disseminating the knowledge and capacity that is necessary to grow food locally and in large enough quantities to contribute substantially to the regional population - the very foundation of a local food system. As Woody Tasch says in his book Slow Money –  If we want to restore and preserve soil fertility, if we want to preserve and restore small and midsize farms and promote organic agriculture, if we want to diversify and decentralize our food supply and revitalize local communities, if we want to preserve biodiversity , if we want to remediate polluted and depleted aquifers, if we want to promote human health and childhood nutrition – if we want these and many other related benefits, or even if we merely wish to defensively invest a portion of our assets in a food-system safety net, then we are going to have to figure out how to deploy capital appropriately, in new ways, and in meaningful quantities for the long run. Over the last 5 years I came to understand that I had to get into the thick of farming myself, to get my hands into every aspect in one way or another, to get a feel for how each component of the farm worked. I also had to learn how to do business, how to run a non-profit, manage employees and subcontractors, to stay sane, to not micromanage and to let others try and fail and learn and thus build the depth of knowledge necessary to make La Boca resilient and not dependent on any one person for its success. This strategic plan outlines the history and background of LBCS, our current status and the components required to continue development and operation of LBCS. We have 2 major areas of focus: education and sustainable farming and under those 2 areas we have the strategic goals of development of staff, instructors, physical and administrative infrastructure and funding. The instructors are our farmers and the core of LBCS. They are integrated in this way to provide real-time, real-life instruction in sustainable agriculture. Ultimately support sustainability as defined by La Boca: the ability of people to meet their needs without compromising the needs of future generations or planetary ecosystems; leading to sustained or enhanced bio-diversity and minimal and transformed pollution and waste.   Premises: The increasing costs of oil and natural gas will make it prohibitive to continue with the current, global scale of agriculture Regional, intensive agriculture will become more and more critical for our food source and will depend on a larger number of trained, knowledgeable and skilled farm managers We need to be proactive in the training of these farm managers   Goals: Short Term (1-5 years) ·        Operate seasonal internship program ·        Develop accredited apprenticeship program curriculum ·        Produce a diverse variety of vegetables using innovative sustainable agricultural practices. ·        Develop and execute a successful 20 share Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program ·        Breed pigs and expand pork markets ·        Build and develop infrastructure for rotational grazing with cattle, sheep and chickens ·        Facilitate seasonal field trips with Durango Nature Studies, Open Sky, Fort Lewis College and other educational entities. ·        Host a variety of educational workshops including butcher, blacksmith, horse shoeing, timber-framing and gardening. ·        Develop and execute an effective fund-raising plan to carry out all farm operations, wages, and capital improvements (via grants, events, product marketing, membership, donations)   Intermediate (5-10) ·        Train 10 to 20 apprentices each year on how to manage and operate a sustainable, integrated farm. ·        Increase acreage and production to include fruit such as apples, stone fruit and berries ·        Expand CSA operations to 50-100 shares ·        Obtain financial viability with above projects   Long-term (10+ years) ·        Develop, demonstrate and teach others a replicable model of sustainable agriculture, educational and living practices. (i.e. consulting services) ·        To enhance and support a vibrant sustainable local economy ·        Enjoy a life that is community-supported, environmentally sound and economically productive. ·        To last 10+ years without burn out