Tom Heath
Good morning. It’s a beautiful Sunday in the Old Pueblo. And you’re listening to KTDT Tucson. Thank you for spending a part of your brunch hour with us on your downtown Tucson Community sponsored rock and roll radio station.
Tom Heath
This week, we’re going to continue our conversation with Herman Harris and Randiesia Fletcher about their Innovative approach to sustainability, food security and affordable housing. The concept is called the urban Forest. Last week we dove into the details. This week, we’re going to bring it on Home with how you can help.
Tom Heath
Today is March 7th. My name is Tom Heath and you’re listening to Life Along the Streetcar. Each and every Sunday, our focus is on social, cultural and economic impacts in Urban core and we shed light on hidden gems everyone should know about. From A mountain to UArizona and all stops in between, you get the inside track right here on 99.1 FM streaming on Downtown Radio.org and available on your smartphone with our very own Downtown Radio Tucson app.
Tom Heath
On the show. If you want to get us our email is contact@Life along the streetcar dot-org that’s also our website where we host all of our previous episodes. You can find us on Facebook and if you want to listen to the Podcast you can go over Spotify, iTunes, SoundCloud or simply ask your smart speaker to play Life along the streetcar podcast.
Tom Heath
We’re going to start Today’s Show with a little bit of a celebration and a look to the Future. In February, the 4th Avenue Conspiracy Co-op on Fourth Avenue experienced their 50th Anniversary. They have been in that general area for the last 50 years and they celebrated. It was a tough year for all businesses, grocery stores included. So this was a although somewhat subdued, a very important celebration. They announced a lot of changes to their their operating philosophies with Some of the new merchandise that they’re bringing in but they also have been talking about a big project on the horizon.
Tom Heath
This is something we actually brought up about a year ago. If you’ve been in the Fourth Avenue Co-op, you have to enter from a Fourth Avenue, the parkings in the rear on the east side of the building, but you got to walk around. So they are working on an East entrance project and it’s much more than just putting a door into the store. It’s actually going to be integrating their entire campus which Spreads over that alley there, which is Hoff Avenue. It goes a little bit to the East and that most of that complex there between Hoff and third is owned by the Conspiracy Co-op. So there are some parking available there and they also do some of their cooking and they have offices in that area. So this is a campus that stretches really from 4th Avenue to 3rd Avenue with Hoff running down the middle and the East entrance project is designed to bring all of that into one cohesive space.
Tom Heath
They’ll be additional parking, of course, they’re going to be utilizing rainwater harvesting. They’re going to be planting trees using the more modern sustainable types of pavement. Not just putting as I say blacktop on dirt, they are going to be working with more sustainable materials. And as you move from 3rd Avenue where you could probably Park on Third Avenue or enter into the parking lot from 3rd Avenue, walk across Hoff into the soon-to-be East entrance of the Co-op.
Tom Heath
They are going to have a covered patio that will have some outdoor vegetable opportunities, maybe some Arts crafts or demonstrations going on out there. So really you’re talking about from Fourth Avenue to 3rd Avenue, a cohesive campus concept. This is called the East entrance project. And if you actually had over to the coop and go into the store, they’ve got a working model of what this could look like. They are working with Rob Paulus, a local architect is names pretty familiar with those of yiou in the Urban area. He’s done housing and Commercial projects some on Fourth Avenue as well and they are in their Capital campaign. So if you want to learn more about that head over to their website, it is going to be posted on our Facebook page after the show, head into the coop and check out the model and see if this is something that you want to support.
Tom Heath
Our feature today also has to do with food and food security. It is the continuation of our interview from last week. We met up with a fantastic couple a few weeks ago and did a Zoom call with Herman Harris and Randiesia Fletcher. These are two individuals that are working on a very unique approach to what they call the urban Forest. It is a sustainable food secure and an affordable housing model that they are building. They’ve been doing it with their own funds. They’ve been doing it with their own time and they are at that point where they’re starting to A larger impact in their project has been picked up with Local First Arizona scale-up program and other Community Partners. They’re about to launch a Kiva fundraising opportunity. We’d actually hoped it would launch prior to the Airing of this show, but it will be coming out soon and we’ll keep you up to date on that.
Tom Heath
Last week and I really hope you go back and check this out. We spoke with Herman and Rhodesia and we got their story why they ended up in Tucson and what is driving them to create this Urban Forest concept and I got their story is just absolutely, it’s just very genuine and sincere and it comes from a place of pain and and and excitement and they are really a couple that I’m excited to share their story about. So today we’re going to focus on the second half of that interview. The very first segment of what you’re about to hear is a repeat from last week just to give you a taste of what the project is about and then we’re going to launch into some things that they’re doing with Funding and some long-term goals that they have. So I hope you enjoy this interview with Herman Harris and Randiesia Fletcher
Randiesia Fletcher
My name is Randiesia Fletcher. This is my husband Herman Harris jr. And we are the founders of the Urban Forest Project. And this project goal is to reduce the heat island effect by a 20 to 50% in the urban areas by providing sustainable low income housing by building green Walls green spaces and edible Food Force so that our clients can live on the property don’t have to spend as much money on grocery bills. So everything is sustainable on the property and then they’re they’re light build your all the energy bills are less expensive because the way that we’re building our properties with Morrison’s energy star and so their energy bills are way low, just that’s keeping the cost of your being lower for them.
Herman Harris Jr.
So a lot of the things that we start are currently here at our new home address and then we’ll take those and if they begin to work and we can we can see it as a part of the The Phase 1 and 2 project of the urban Forest. We then take them from here and go over there and set up over at the urban Forest address and then we actually have two gentlemen that are currently there. A part huge part of their culture is to cultivate from the ground and to grow things and to into already be sustainable to a certain level. And so we take it we bring it over there we planning for them and then they just kind of maintain it and take care of it. So we’ve already started on a low level on the low level the Urban Forest project but we have you know, you’ll soon find out is very much bigger than the tall plants and Outside cultivating of vegetables.
Tom Heath
We are in our interview with indicia Fletcher and Herman Harris of the Urban Forest project will be back to the last segment of that interview in just a moment. I want to remind you that you’re listening to Life along the streetcar on Downtown Radio 99.1 FM and available for streaming on Downtown Radio dot-org.
Tom Heath
All right, we’re going to finish up our interview with Rhodesia and Herman about the urban Forest project.
Randiesia Fletcher
There’s actual people over there. There’s actual vegetation we have done and our kids are a part of this too. So, you know we go over there all the work that we’ve been doing on the house. You see my little girl over there Plastering or it’s some stucco. So everybody’s hasn’t that has a vested interest in this program.
Herman Harris Jr.
We’ve already put in a lot of work thats for sure but there is a ton more work to do!
Tom Heath
I always get excited because I I think it where you started and where you never thought you would be and if you think of now is where you’re starting where don’t you think you’re going to be and how amazing as on this journey as you just get plugged in to more and more people at this is just for that. I’m just absolutely phenomenal, but you’ll talk about Pop Cycle helping out and doing some marketing or advertising for you what the Project’s you’re doing. These are not coming free. What how are you raising money?
Herman Harris Jr.
Well, initially, and this is something that I bet I can get I told my wife and me and we kind of agreed early on that. We wanted it to make sure it remained ours. And so we didn’t want to take any investor who are really heavy on no Investments because we wanted to be able to make sure it was going to be what our vision was. So we were really heavy on, you know, people can donate it and hopefully they’re willing to do that and put some Sweat Equity into it. But literally on our income just just from us working in all the income that we have. That’s currently how we supported. We are currently going through as you mentioned earlier the Kiva loan process and getting funding for that but on the backside of that we’re hoping to generate some donations to kind of help pay that off so we don’t have to bear the entire one. That might be lonely. It’s really us just funded with no I’ll wear anything that we have come.
Randiesia Fletcher
Yes. So like if I sell some artwork, it goes straight into the business account. And so the people that live over there right now are limited income. So we are taking care of them. So we are paying the light bill, that gas bill, the water bill. We are paying the mortgage, one of the guys helped out a little bit. So we’re paying for it and literally as Herman goes to work, every paycheck he gives about to two-thirds of his paycheck to the business. And so the other third comes here to the house kind of sustain us here and then whatever I bring in that’s how we sustain ourselves here, but we’re still taking care of people over there and taking care of the project needs as well.
Herman Harris Jr.
It was just a lot of a lot of learning we had a people that taught us a lot of things about how to be flowing how to put indoors how to you know, get on YouTube is always helpful for do-it-yourself projects, but it’s a lot of our you know us and our kids and volunteers and people just understanding what we want to do and being on board with their ideas and offering where they can be had a lot of assistance from a lot of different people. And so that’s how we’re getting it done is just you know, whatever funding we bring in, whatever donations we get and just a lot of hard work and assistance from a lot of different people.
Tom Heath
Now the Kiva that’ll be a more organized effort. And that should be launching here sometime in March and will make sure we keep people up to date on those launch dates because Kiva is that Community investment vehicle where people really can become investors in your project and potentially earn the benefits of being an investor. It’s not just a donation and that’s really where some of the larger money I think is hoping to come from because the projects that you’ve got lined up or you’re starting to talk about the major projects are going to require a lot of groundwork and foundational work to get them going and then we can’t ask Herman work any more hours.
Randiesia Fletcher
He is going to start chemo soon. So he’s a cancer patient. So my goodness Home for a little bit. And so that that extra income hasn’t been here. So we just do it we’ve been doing it though. And we still take care of the people on your house too. So doing the best that we can.
Tom Heath
The two of you are just absolutely amazing and we’ve got to find you some more support of the the concept of what you’re doing has such large ramifications. I can think of some folks that will talk off air that may be interested in or this know if you contact her Mike’s got a lot of connections you may want to talk to them, but we’ve got to figure this out because what you’re doing is really important work. And and once that model is there and we can just take that and know that if we have this size lot wherever it is, we can create this Urban Forest that’s going to be huge for Tucson and other places as well.
Herman Harris Jr.
Yeah, and that and that’s what guess what one of the things that Mike was. Mike was really passionate about his in and we’re so grateful that that he believed in our project enough to say You know your project sounds like a project where you know, once it’s done we can just you know for lack of a better term just kind of cut and paste it and then cut it out and see exactly where he says see where else it can fit and so him really really getting us excited about. Hey, like you guys can not only be the model for the for the city but possibly for the state and then possibly four other states across the country that was One of those things that we’ve got I talked about where I never imagined that it would get to that point. We were literally talking about one house and one address and when we got to spend with Mike he’s talking about, you know stuff as might happen across the country is hope we do I can you die. Can you not get excited and they’re passionate and want to do all you can to make sure it works and so, you know, you can’t ask me to work anymore. But you know, if I can do something else, you know, we don’t we’ll do it if I can do it with my own hands we going to do. So we’re completely excited about it. So yeah, it was just Mike has been an intricate part of this entire process. We would net we would not be where we are talking to you without without Mike and his Scale UP programming and of course Local FIrst we would not be sitter here.
Randiesia Fletcher
It expanded our minds a lot of times we’ll get You know, it will stay so narrow-minded and it’s important, you know ballet dancers. Don’t learn the art of ballet just staying in one room. They have to go and experience so many other performances and see other people and dance in order to yes. I want to improve my performance and by us getting the education that we needed helped us improve our performers and broaden our Horizon and make our Dream bigger than what we ever imagined it to be.
Tom Heath
What what what didn’t we talk about that that you think we should be conveying this interview?
Herman Harris Jr.
There’s a lot of different ways for people to help and you know, not only is just donating to the Urban Forest project. But as you see behind me, you know, my wife’s an amazing artist. And so we have a website that promotes some of her art and as she mentioned all of the proceeds from the art go to our Urban Forest project and of course our business, which is Harris Fletcher Enterprises, and so she’s on Instagram and Facebook and a couple of the different platforms.
Tom Heath
How do we find our what are those platforms?
Randiesia Fletcher
For Instagram? We’re under for under the Urban Forest by HF And the an Instagram Living2Portraits, the number I number the number two.
Herman Harris Jr.
Website is HarrisFletcher.com
Herman Harris Jr.
But yeah, and then there it also has you know that brief as you probably saw just a brief backdrop of our backgrounds and where we come from and what we’re doing and that’s really about it. You know, we you know, we had a just a goal of us no longer. Not us, but our fan our immediate family and generations after no longer being in poverty and it’s branched out to not only just our family but others in our community and then hopefully, you know and communities all across the country. So again, I would just encourage people to you know, whatever is in you whatever God put in you whatever your purpose is just go after that and you were very very quickly see that all the right people will come to you. There will be people of like-mindedness and they will definitely push that thing to a place where you didn’t imagine it would ever go. So just we thank you for hosting us. We definitely appreciate all that this radio program is going to do for us man. We couldn’t be couldn’t be any happier. Couldn’t be any more thankful.
Speaker 1
Well, Randiesia, Herman. I don’t know what got you from Los Angeles and Chester, Pennsylvania to Tucson. On what forces happen, but you are in the right place at the right time, and we’re fortunate that you are here.
Herman Harris Jr.
Absolutely. Thank you. We appreciate it. Thank you.
Tom Heath
Well that concludes our series with a Hermit Harris and Randiesia Fletcher about the urban Forest project. I invite you to head over to our website page lifelong the streetcar.org and listen to last week’s episode was episode number 141 about their backstory and their motivation is truly truly an inspiring story. What my name is Tom Heath and you are listening to Life along the streetcar in downtown radio 98.1 FM and available for streaming on Downtown Radio dot-org. All right.
Tom Heath
Well, we are bringing episode number. 42 to a close but there are a few things. I’d like to remind you of and some places. I’d like you to check out. One is our show page, which is Life along the streetcar.org you can hear past episodes including last week’s introduction of Herman and Randiesia, their first part of the urban Forest project was aired last Sunday. You can also in the search function look for the Fourth Avenue Co-op.
Tom Heath
We you know, they just Celebrated their 50th anniversary in a couple years ago. We did an interview with them. And if you’d like to know more about their story, you can find that on our website page. And while you’re on the internet searching for those types of things, head over to Downtown Radio.org. This is our stations site and you’re going to find the playlists the or should say the shows the DJs and their bios, very eclectic mix of music that you’re going to hear on downtown radio.
Tom Heath
One of my favorite stations to listen to I’m sorry. It is my favorite. Not one of it is my favorite station to listen to I have the app. And what I do is I can play that app in my car. So no matter where I am, you know from outside of Tucson. I’m getting downtown radio and we have some extremely knowledgeable DJs. They’re all volunteers they play an Eclectic mix of music and if you’re a rock and roll fan, you don’t want to tune in Monday through Saturday if you like all Alternative styles of music check out our Sunday lineup. It is a great show.
Tom Heath
You know, right before us is been DJ Bank the musical bum with the Art of Easing and it’s a good way to start your Sunday off. As a reminder, we have a tie Logan with Heavy Mental coming up after us and then we move into some more music for the rest of Sunday. So I hope you are listening and you stay tuned and while you’re on that Website, look at that donate button. We are a volunteer run station. I know you think we’re so good at this we must be rolling in the dough.
Tom Heath
Well, we would like that to be the case. We are looking for ways to expand, to improve our quality of shows and programs and your support is definitely a big part of that. So head over to the website click the Donate button set something up for a one-time or maybe a reoccurring donation and Show your support for Downtown Radio for our community and you’re supporting local artists local music as well. As a lot of Mental Health Resources that Stations don’t typically promote but Downtown Radio does all that information is available on our website.
Tom Heath
Well, we are in the middle of March, the Ides of March some would say, and we’ve got the St. Patrick’s Day coming up on Wednesday and we got some really cool shows for you over the next couple fo weeks.
Tom Heath
Continuing kind of on this housing theme. We have Susan Kaufman from Meb management that is managing the Rendezvous Urban Flats. They’re going to talk to us about the history of the Urban Flats the local ownership that decided to develop on that space right next to One South Church the tall building in Downtown how they’ve integrated within the community and the work that they are doing to support downtown and the region and then the following week. Is actually larussa with real events and she’s going to talk about her newest Venture that started in the pandemic stricken 2020 called Black’s Friday an effort to highlight and focus on the black owned businesses in our area.
Tom Heath
This movement has taken off and she is surrounding herself with extremely talented and knowledgeable folks that are taking this this movement to a whole new level and she’s announcing a Very cool event on the 31st. So you’ll want to tune in next and two weeks. I’m sorry and listen to that that’ll be are on the 28th and you’ll learn all the details of the event on the 31st of which I’m going to go to and I can’t wait to tell you all about it. But this is your show. It’s a community show. We are we are hyper local, we focus on A mountain to UArizona. That’s like a three and a half mile stretch of Tucson. So if you know of topics we should be covering those hidden gems. We like to highlight. Please reach out to us! Contact at Life along the streetcar dot-org, hit us up on Facebook. You can find us lots of places. So please do let us know and if you have a social media account or you know, someone that does that focuses on Tucson share that with us, tag US, post on our page and we would love to share all the great things that are happening throughout Tucson in this wonderful City in which we live and we’re always looking for those connections.
Tom Heath
Well, St. Patrick’s Day is on a Wednesday. So some of us may celebrate that historic day. And sometimes it involves a little bit of Irish music and some food and beverage and honor of that. We’re going to leave you today with one of my favorite Tucson bands. It’s a band I fell in love with when I first moved to Tucson in the 90s. This is the Mollies and we’re going to hear a live version. I wonder if I was at that concert, a live version of Whiskey In the Jar from the mollies. Well, my name is Tom Heath. It’s been a great week for me. I hope you have a fantastic week and I do hope you tune in next Sunday for more Life along the streetcar.
