Rid-All Green Partnership is an urban agricultural center and community education hub in Cleveland, Ohio. Founded in 2010 on just 1.3 acres of vacant property previously used as an illegal dumping ground, Rid-All today spans over 18 acres and includes 10 different enterprises focused on food access, economic development, community development, and agriculture. We spoke with Rid-All Co-Founders Keymah Durden and Dave “Dr. Greenhand” Hester about their work, winning the Global Ties U.S. 2024 Citizen Diplomat Award, and why citizen diplomacy matters.
Rid-All was nominated by the Cleveland Council on World Affairs (CCWA), a Global Ties U.S. Community-Based Member organization, in recognition of their work as a CCWA community resource to make global connections and build mutual understanding between cultures through the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) and other exchange programs.
Several founding members of Rid-All Green Partnership (from left): Damien Forshe, Randy McShepard, and Keymah Durden. All photos provided by Rid-All.
Where did the idea for the Rid-All Green Partnership come from? How did it start?
Rid-All Green Partnership started out as an exterminating company. Damien Forshe, one of the original founders, saw the need to make healthy food accessible to low-income residents that he served, particularly the youth. During the same time, the mortgage crisis hit most major cities leaving many neighborhoods with vacant lots and neglected homes. Randy McShepard, another Rid-All co-founder, proposed to convert these vacant lots into usable green spaces. Keymah Durden, the final co-founder, had experience operating a chain of vegetarian restaurants and was able to introduce healthy food options as part of the newly formed Rid-All project.
What was your reaction when you found out that you were receiving the Citizen Diplomat Award?
We were overwhelmed that our work had received that type of recognition. Over the past 13 years we have hosted groups from a wide variety of backgrounds but did not realize that the larger international community had recognized our work.
In addition to your work in Cleveland, you are also active in several projects overseas. Can you elaborate on those? Have any international visitors you met inspired any new collaborations?
We currently have projects in Belize, Israel, Kenya, and Ghana. With our international projects, we have learned to appreciate the wide range of cultural differences as it relates to agriculture as well as the changing landscape of farming as we know it. Additionally, we have developed a great sense of appreciation for Indigenous agriculture practices at these various locations and the shared ancestorial knowledge that each culture has.
Ghana project participants.
Each time we host an international group, we experience a renewed sense of unique ideas and cultural expressions that foster the potential for expanded international partnerships in the areas of food production and climate smart agriculture. An example of this is our work in Belize, which has led us to collaborate with a local school to provide remote STEM courses.
In your view, what makes citizen diplomacy so important?
Citizen diplomacy is at the core of what makes us a human family. We realized early on that food is a common language that unites all people. We have used this relationship with food to foster experiences that show our similarities versus our differences. It is the foundation of how we share agricultural ideas and techniques at a grassroots level to foster community development.
With all the growth of your organization over the last decade, what’s next for you?
With rapid growth over the last 13 years, our goal for this year is to assess what we have done well, what needs improvement, and what unique opportunities lie ahead for our organization. We feel that this will allow us to better serve our community while staying true to our core mission and values.
Aerial view of Rid-All Green Partnership with downtown Cleveland in the background.