Originally published on The Exchange
2015arrived quietly here on the homestead, with very little fanfare… but great expectation. 2014 was a pretty momentous year for us. It was filled with lots of wonderful, important changes – ones for which we are all extremely grateful – and ones which, truth be told, presented their fair share of challenges and strains adjustments at the same time.
Building a community-focused, community-driven business has been no small undertaking, especially given our less than obvious beginnings. Building a peri urban farm has been an even bigger adventure! So, by the end of 2014, we found ourselves happy, but a bit worn for the wear… and far more disorganized than we’d cared to admit.
2014 Milestones and Accomplishments
Completed a Permaculture Design Certification course
Began a large scale (5 acre) soil remediation and water management project
Officially registered the homestead and cultural center as a farm
Hosted our first international exchange student from France
Launched our Communiversity dialogue and discussion series
Took the whole family on a whirlwind, dream European vacation
Shot our first international wedding in Germany
Bought, raised AND sold our first herd of Nigerian Dwarf Dairy goats
It’s amazing what a little reflection can do to recharge your soul!
It seems all the transition of the past few years was beginning to overflow and 2014 had run away with us. I hesitate to put it that way, because I don’t want you to misunderstand. 100% of it was good – great even. It was just time to slow things down and take inventory. Once we did, we were more than eager to shut 2014 down and usher in 2015, geared for all that’s next on our path.
Now that we are fully fledged, beginning farmers, we find ourselves shifting to consider every aspect of faith, family, life, business, and so on – examining every what, why and how of self-sufficiency. What are we going to produce? What’s the best way to feed ourselves and our animals? Will the market support our efforts? Will the community embrace our work? How can we make time for —- everything — and still do it with excellence? And if not everything, what has to go? Why do I love this so much!?
For the Right Hand Man and I, the beauty of examining these questions closely, has been finding the answers together. Taking the time to examine our goals through the lens of faith and family, balancing the never-ending stream of cultural programming ideas tied to the farm and beyond, is exhilarating. So, I am happy to report that this year, in addition to developing the farm from the ground (soil) up, as well as periodically hosting visitors and guests, we will be continuing our:
– Cultured Kitchen Series
– 5 Acre Studios projects
– Communiversity workshops
– and supporting community programs, like Barefoot in the Park and GGC’s Excursions Concert Series
We are also working on introducing a virtual podcast series, along with handful of farm-based programs and activities:
– Intersections Intercultural Podcast Series
– Farm-based Team Building Challenges
– Friday Night Fish Fries and Soul Food Circles
– Farm Days, Farm Tours, Permie Workshops and more!
So stay tuned and say a prayer for us as we keep things organized and moving on track. If you have any tips or suggestions on staying organized and keeping a farm/business running smoothly, please drop us a line by adding a note in the comments below!
