Our Mission

Our mission is to provide grassroots organizing and technical assistance to educate, engage and empower marginalized communities as a way of overcoming economic and racial injustice. 

ABOUT US

In 1966, Rev. Charles Sherrod co-founded the Southwest Georgia Project for Community Education with his wife, Shirley. A direct outgrowth of the Albany and Southwest Georgia Civil Rights Movement, the organization’s mission focused on empowering disenfranchised Blacks throughout Southwest Georgia. Its programs ran the gamut, from fighting hunger and poverty, to ensuring voting, welfare and educational access, to defending Black farmers against predatory land loss. More than 50 years later, the nonprofit continues to serve the Black community, addressing system problems at the intersection of race, food and land. With Ms. Sherrod at the helm, the organization serves as a leading voice, shaping national policy on behalf of Black farmers, helping them regionally access assistance, training, capital, markets, to better address hunger within the community.

OUR STORY

In 1961, Rev. Charles Sherrod arrived in Southwest Georgia as the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee’s first field secretary. Within months, he kickstarted the historic Albany Movement, which drew scores of civil rights demonstrators, including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Five years later in 1966, Sherrod broke ranks with SNCC over philosophical differences and founded the Southwest Georgia Project for Community Education, Inc. with his wife, Shirley. The newly formed nonprofit picked up where SNCC left off, boosting Blacks on the voter rolls, advocating for the rights of Black children in formerly all-white schools, and otherwise moving a marginalized community toward the mainstream in Albany and surrounding counties. Fifty years later, we continue to this advocacy work, especially at the intersection of race, food, land.

Our Programs

FOOD

We offer resources toward a more accessible and community-centered food system.


  • We educate and provide outreach to consumers on healthy food, nutrition and agribusiness opportunities to underserved farmers.


  • We are also establishing a regional food hub to distribute local produce to the region.


FARM

We offer farmers training, networking opportunities and market access.



  • We offer onsite technical assistance and training workshops on a myriad of farming practices, including techniques in soil conservation and resource management.


  • We offer farmers increased access to funding streams, including USDA cost-share, grant and loan programs 

Human Rights

We educate and empower communities, helping them with grassroots organizing to give voice to social justice and human rights issues that matter to them. 


  • We train and educate communities on state and local policy to better access available services and economic opportunities.


  • We assist in collective grassroots organizing to mobilize and engage young women and community leaders in ways to achieve community-driven solutions. 






TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

We provide on-site technical training and support to small and disadvantaged farmers, educating and assisting them in the following areas:


  • Applications to government-sponsored programs 
  • Land conservation practices
  • Farm and crop planning
  • Farm fencing
  • Surface protection management techniques in heavy use areas
  • Irrigation system installation
  • Hoop house installation 
  • Integrated pest management
  • Record keeping
  • Regenerative agriculture practices
  • Tree planting
  • Wildlife habitat management

CONTACT

To learn more about programs and how to get involved. 

Please contact us at info@swgaproject.com

Opening Hours

Mon - Fri
-
Sat - Sun
Closed

Send us a Message

Have a question? We’re here to help. Send us a message and we’ll be in touch. 

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