The local community venue for makers, fixers and artists to meet and support the sustainability of our communities.

Tell us what you love about the farm

Compost Hub: Wed & Sat 9am-5pm Spring-Fall
See Calendar below for our events!

Upcoming Events

Join us at the farm in person or online for a volunteer day, a class, or a social meetup.

Subscribe to our calendar to automatically keep up-to-date about all our events:

Our Impact

 

Animals Program

The Animals Program at MakerFarm is home to goats, chickens, and ducks, with volunteers teaching animal husbandry and care to APC and local residents. Animal Program has participated in APC events with kids by bringing animals for awareness and education, and provides a place for adult volunteers to connect with animals in a therapeutic way.

Outreach:

  • Door-to-door engagement with APC and local residents through goat walk-abouts to bring animal therapy through the neighborhood

  • Animal Program at Bay Area MakerFarm has been a gathering place for local/APC children to pet and play with goats, chickens, and ducks, and reconnect with nature

  • Chicken and duck eggs available year round at a 50% discount for APC residents

  • Volunteer-hosted Animal Care Days open to local youth & adults monthly on the 3rd Sunday, plus weekly after school hours starting December 2024

 
dirtpickup.jpg

Compost Hub Program

(Just received our last compost drop of the year! Once it’s gone we’re out for the winter, but compost availability will resume in March.)

Part of the City of Alameda Resilience Hub program, Compost Hub provides free compost, straw, and woodchips to the community every Wednesday and Saturday (as seasonally available) from 9am - 5pm. We only ask residents to limit themselves to one carload or three bikeloads per month to ensure everybody gets some!

Outreach:

  • Providing literal tons of free finished compost has benefited hundreds of local gardens.

  • Facilitates exchange of gardening knowledge, recipes for fresh produce, and more between community members and volunteers chatting at the Farm

 

Farmcycles 🚲 Bike Shop & Bike Clinic Program

Farmcycles is a fully tooled, open-to-use bike shop for the local community. Monthly Bike Shop Clinics receive regular attendance by 10-20 kids, local residents and families each month, including 16+ volunteer hours per month by MakerFarm volunteers to help fix bikes for and teach bike repair to local residents.

Outreach:

  • Posted fliers in common community areas each spring and summer since 2021

  • Notices sent via the APC newsletter

  • Bike Clinic hours are posted outside of each gate on Barber’s Pt Rd and Main St.

  • Dozens of APC and local members personal bikes have been fixed by MakerFarm volunteers

  • Dozens of bikes have been given to APC members and local residents at no cost

 

Community Garden Program

The MakerFarm Community Garden Program installed 100 linear feet of fully irrigated raised garden beds on Barbers Point Road with over 50 varieties of edible plants, produce and flowers for pollinators.

Outreach:

  • Produce, flowers, cuttings and seeds are available to the community for free

  • Plots of community garden space have been given free to multiple APC residents and are available for free to other local residents.

  • Quarterly celebrations and volunteer days promoted on the APC newsletter

 

Native Plant & Pollinator Garden Program

The Native Plant & Pollinator Garden program converted an old mound of decomposing sugar cane at the center of the MakerFarm site into home and ecological support for over 150 species of native plants, insects, and birds! A bench and bird bath & fountain provides birds with a place to drink & snack on seed pods and humans the sound of running water for a peaceful meditation spot during open house & volunteer work days at the MakerFarm.

Outreach:

  • Full color signs educate viewers on the plants and insects they may observe

 
The pale yellow gas fired brick kiln stands open to show recently fired unglazed porcelain pots, bowls, and cups

Pottery Barn Program

The Pinch of Thyme Pottery Collective provides a creative outlet for the timeless art of pottery to those who have been disenfranchised from ceramic arts because of its cost, and the lack of programs for at risk communities. This program includes free & sliding scale workshops to the public at large, and seeks to grow to provide community enhancement in the form of subsidized art installations that would commemorate outstanding public figures who have been overlooked or forgotten.

Outreach:

  • Collaboration with ClayPeople to provide donated materials free of charge to participants

  • Provide education and opportunity for local & APC residents to participate in ceramic arts

  • Create larger pieces for municipal art

 

Community Event Program

Bay Area MakerFarm regularly hosts free and open to the public social events, listed on our Calendar

  • Open monthly potlucks attended by community members and APC residents involved with the farm including their families

  • Free live music/ bands play at the farm -open and advertised to the public on website calendar and Facebook

  • Free farm movie nights posted to calendar on our website and open to the public

  • Free and open to the public FarmJam music sessions monthly; weather permitting, giving access to a large assortment of musical instruments to try

 

Youth Outreach Program

Bay Area MakerFarm engages local children with a space to learn about regenerative agriculture, native plants, and connecting with animals through events such as:

  • Collaboration with youth groups such as Young Naturalists and Park Day School

  • FarmCycles Bike Repair Clinic monthly free workshop days - Third Sundays, 12p-2p

  • Animal Care Days - Third Sundays, 12p-2p

  • Youth after school archery - Wednesdays 2:30p-3:45p

  • Kids without a parent need a signed permission slip once per year, available from a MakerFarmer at the Barbers Point Road entrance, or click here.

 

Tools Program

The Tools Program at Bay Area MakerFarm provides no-cost access to shop spaces and tools for those with demonstrated safe-use skills

  • Textile & Mending Lab with consumer and commercial sewing machines, free fabric & yarn materials, and free sewing supplies

  • Wood Shop with hand & power tools for woodworking tools

  • FabLab with laser cutter & etcher, 3d printer, plasma metal cutter, and more. (We’re working on getting our CNC machine operational, too!)

Our Collaborative Network

River & Reed logo - a dark brown stylized clump of reeds coming from a wavy-line representation of water, with the words River & Reed large over Stress Resilience sized smaller

Get Involved

Here are a few ways you can join the community of farmers and makers:

  1. If you are interested in renting space or in collaborating with the Makerfarm on a longer term project, please fill out this form to apply!

    • We will have 20 ft containers available for rent in the coming months, so apply now to be considered to move in to one of those spaces.

    • We also offer 6 month leases for people who may need outdoor space to work on building out a van or another outdoor project.

  2. If you have any other questions or interests listed below, use the “Contact” form on this page to get in touch.

    • Join a Makerfarm Project

    • Learning a new craft

    • Teaching a workshop on your craft

    • Growing food or flowers for yourself and/or your community

    • Want to participate in mutual aid efforts for Alameda Point resiliency.

  3. Check the calendar for volunteering opportunities and come by the farm!

  4. If you are in a position to help us financially, please donate or become a regular patron on Patreon.