He moved to Circle Acres in February to help Noel start the farm, and in exchange he lives in the wolf den, gets just about all the food he can eat (which we…
Starting a farm isn’t all that glamorous, but it’s rewarding. Here Trace and Gray are safely and cautiously putting up a fence for floretta… it’s low res ’cause it’s shot on a cell…
The cold rain that started a few days ago held steady on Sunday morning, but I felt energized because I was on my way to the Crop Mob – a gathering for an unstoppable group of new farmers who meet at a farm once a month to tackle projects, share skills, have fun and build community.
The croparazzi was in full effect. My friend Logan, who is a photojournalist, had come to town the night before – he’s become interested in people who are moving from urban areas to rural areas to create a new life. John had been visiting our farm for the past week, continuing his project on our land-partners’ Noel and Danielle. The filmmakers of The Greenhorns, a documentary and project on new farmers in the United States, had made it in as well during their tour in the Southeast.
My worlds of food activism and media activism collided, here, in Chatham County, and it felt awesome.
I called the cook-team position long before I knew that it was going to be cold and rain relentlessly. Since Trace and I have moved, we haven’t had a complete kitchen, so I jump at any opportunity to cook for a large group of people. Although, my eagerness for being part of the Crop Mob cook-team was based in something larger than fulfilling an appliance and cookware void.
I’m done with hierarchy; I’m done with wasting my time fighting the machine. I’ve seen so many anti-capitalist, anti-globalization, anti-war, and (name your issue) activists burn the fuck out from working tirelessly against “the machine.”
I’ve always been a scavenger, D.I.Y., and live for building radical communities. I am going to spend my abundance of energy on creating tangible differences in my life and in my community.
I am taking my food activism to a different level. I am a new farmer. I am no longer just a farmer’s market groupie. I’m taking another piece of my life back – resisting and challenging the current industrialized system – and I’m not looking back.
Farming is being done beautifully, creatively, and successfully outside of the industrial model. We will continue to resist. We will continue to rise up. We will continue to make it happen. And we will tell our own stories.
2 years ago
