Over the past few months, some posts on this blog have explored how the current flash mobbing trend might be applied in the context of volunteerism.

Today’s guests post was written by Kimberly Coburn, a copywriter in Atlanta with an interest in sustainability, local food, and daydreaming about her eventual homestead, who helped organize Atlanta’s “Crop Mob” – a spontaneous gathering of volunteers who believe in farming and sustainability.  It’s an interesting case study in thinking about recruitment and engagement.

One February morning over coffee, I happened to check out a New York Times piece on a North Carolina group called Crop Mob — folks who get together to help sustainable farmers work their land and, in the process, help create a unique sense of community that can be hard to come by in more urban areas.

You would have thought someone had just shown me my first paperclip: so smart, so simple, so…why didn’t we have one? A few emails and Facebook posts later, Crop Mob – Atlanta began to take shape with Mike Lorey’s tech savvy wonders and Darby Weaver’s wealth of hands-on experience.

We got together at the Peachtree Road Farmer’s Market one Saturday morning for a kickoff meeting with a pretty decent turnout.

It seemed that plenty of folks thought the idea was long in coming and were charged about getting to learn more about where their food came from and the work that goes into creating it.

We couldn’t believe our luck when one of the city’s most touted up-and-coming restaurants, Miller Union, asked US if they could provide food.

We were overwhelmed by the kindness of that offer and their dedication to the local food movement. Not to mention that each mob so far has come complete with one of the best meals I’ve ever tasted!

Crop Mob – Atlanta has continued to grow really quickly with a great surge of enthusiasm and support behind it; registrations for our “mobs” are filled the day we announce the event!

While each of our mobs has had a unique personality so far, there have been some amazing unifying elements — and no, I’m not referring to weeding.

There’s nothing like gathering in a dewy field in the early morning with a bunch of strangers knowing that by lunch you’ll be chatting like old friends and sweating in ways you never imagined possible.

You can see amazing progress made over the span of a few hours. And mobbers who enter timid, afraid they’ll accidentally pick crops when trying to pull weeds, leave confident and eager to try a new task.

And, my favorite part, is that no matter how hard some people work or how convinced I am that they’ll tell their friends terrifying tales of their backbreaking labor — those are the first people on Facebook and Twitter raving about what an awesome time they had.

Whether you’ve always wanted a taste of the farming life, want to support sustainable farmers, are eager to pick up some new skills, or are just the type who will work hard for an important cause and a good meal, Crop Mob is for you.

If you want to know more about the details of our mobs to date, check out our recaps at www.CropMobATL.com. But, to be honest, trying to explain the sense of community and good, clean fun that comes with a mob doesn’t do it justice.

Come check one out for yourself!

We’d love to have you “join the mob.”