farmer-interviews

A quick word with Richo Cech

Sun, 27 Nov 2011 04:07:41 +0100

Went to visit Richo in Williams Oregon, yes Williams, that small town tucked in the mountains near Ashland Oregon that has not only Horizon Herbs seed company but is also the location of Herb Pharm maker of tinctures en masse for the American populace (think dark dropper bottle with yellow label and green writing). Richo was very accomodating to us right before he was to depart for Thanksgiving festivities but he still obliged us by taking us around the property in the pouring rain. After our tour we went to help him out on another property that he had just bought in the middle of "town" . There I asked him briefly what his favorite herb was: "St Johns Wort" he replied quickly. He then went onto explain how he used very few herbs these days, he could get by with just Goldenseal and Self-Heal and that as long as you had the respiratory and urinary tract covered you were pretty much set. When I asked about colleagues he just insisted that he didn't have time for that, and that us loading that wood on that truck was a good representation of what he does most of the time. I like that kind of simplicity, it is rare to find these days. Thank you Richo.

Hieronymus' Agent

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 06:50:40 +0100

So just a quick note. I had an absolutely amazing time the other day with a man named Bill Jensen. You see for a couple of months now I had been acquiring the materials to build was is called a hieronymus machine. (See KeSera) basically
it is an instrument that utilizes something called Eloptic, or Orgonic or even Scalar Wave energy to be able to diagnose the frequency of someone's ailment and even treat them for that ailment as well.
In other words, a really fancy pendulum or dowsing rod. I had something like this done when I was in Georgia at a trauma doctor who essentially had a biofeedback machine that saw the frequencies that my body hesitated on (called a stick reaction
on my machine). I want to do a more in depth entry on this later, so I will leave it at that for now. Regardless, I got to go talk to the man who had acquired all of Dr. Hieronymus's documents and instruments back in the day
and had posted his machine plans on the internet. Bill lives in the suburbs of Seattle and very graciously invited Luke and I into his house on a cold rainy night last week. At first I wasn't sure what to say, I had so many questions and
didn't know where to start. So we brought in my machine, he saw it and said that it was the best one that he had seen (phew) because it understood all the properties of what actually transferred eloptic energy.
He then went on to show me this really awesome Tesla coil set up that he had made that showed how Scalar waves actually worked. He put about a Watt of Power into one of the coils and then he connected
a lower unpowered coil between the main powered coil and another main unpowered coil. What happened was the the unpowered coiled's LED started to actually light up and the powered main coil LED actually dimmed.
For those of you who can't remember their physics that is a pretty interesting phenomenon because it implies that there is some sort of communication happening between the two coils, a form of giving of energy from
one to the other that doesn't follow the normal circuit electricity properties (remember circuits in series and in parallel - same amperes goes through all of them in theoretical setup with no resistance).
Needless to say, I learned a whole heck of a lot in that hour or so I spent with Bill.

Our Time at Sustainable Settings

Sun, 06 Nov 2011 00:04:24 +0100

It all started with a phone call made by Luke when we were in Boulder. He had spent most of his internet time looking for places for us to go and visit. An hour or two later Brook called back and said that it would be fine if we came up. Sustainable Settings is a sustainable Ranch that follows much the same model as I would like my land to eventually follow. It provides produce, raw milk and eggs and is an educational hub for different homesteading and sustainable practices. Because they are so close to the high net profit folks of Aspen, they sell cow shares and get lots of money from the wealthy folks to expand their operation.
So after finally leaving Boulder, we made the long trek up Vail Pass and down into Carbondale just past Glenwood Springs. We arrived to animals running about, gorgeous sun and Rose and her son Sheperd lying on the trampoline reading books. We met Brook just a short time later who gave us a tour around. We got there late enough that day that all we did was take in the little calf named Boss, (which not having much experience herding animals was pretty funny when left just to Luke and I. We were fed a fantastic meal by Rose along with a lot of delicious raw milk and caem to learn that this was the norm around here.
Small wonder we stayed two days longer then we were supposed to. The next day we met Zopher, one of the three interns working at sustainable settings, and then we met Ty and Mark the following days. We fed all the animals (2 draught horses, two pigs, about a hundred chickens with some turkeys, about 100 broilers, and a turkey with some little turklings (my name for baby turkeys)). We learned how to splice broken fences using strainers and fence tools, we helped put up the dairy, we helped organize the library (which was quite impressive though did leave me in doubt about the state of the world and the hope therein). We also had an amazing meal making gyoza (momo's dumplings whatever) which was an absolute feast and so communal and wonderful. We hit out first batch of snow as well but Rose was so gracious as to let us sleep in the house as opposed to having to gruel it out another night in the tent in the middle of the 125 year old apple grove.
I learned a lot and I know that Luke did too. One thing that I certainly learned was how wonderful it was to meet and get to know people who trusted you and took the time to get to know you despite always having to have guests and entertain. By the time that we left I felt well fed and like I had been there forever, because in many ways it felt as if they had let us stay there forever. We worked hard, but we talked hard and ate hard too. My kinda place. I do hope that someday I can have something like it, and Rose and Brook certainly gave me some ideas about how to go about it.
Thanks y'all. Much obliged.

Sustainable Settings "Three Answers"

Sat, 05 Nov 2011 23:27:05 +0100

We interviewed Brook and Rose at seperate times over oolong and puerh tea.
Favorite Tools:

Brook: My Heart - running descisions through your heart instead of your mind.
Rose: Hori Hori, 4 tine digging fork.

What would you do differently:
Brook: Spent less time forcing things. Been patient.
Rose: Preserving more food (having the time to do so). More time with my children, put in perennials right away (though they mentioned that Permaculture says to live in a place for at least a year to decide where to put things.

Most Rewarding Part:
Brook: Seeing people who have been here evolve. Seeing kids have an epiphany in their barnyard. Figuring out who you are.
Rose: Knowing where your food comes from. Providing for the community.

Extra Advice:
Brook:
Keep your eyes on the prize.
Know your audience and how to communicate to them.
Bring the whole group up together. Each individual can bite of the parts they need to raise their consciousness.
You can never get your time back.
Keep a low overhead
Get out the system while you can.

Rose:
Keep relationships healthy; communicate with each other.
You NEVER KNOW WHO YOU ARE TALKING TO
Pay your bills
Lock the door and have hours.

Me and Cathy's "Three Answers"

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 17:58:37 +0100

Favorite Tools:
Ron: Chainsaw, Corncobber for canning sweet corn (so you get the whole kernel)
Kathy: Camp stove (Coleman duel fuel camp stove because you can use gas and white fuel)
Shannon: Solar panels (to power her amps.

Would do differently:
All: Started earlier, done this years ago.

Rewarding overall:
Ron: Absolute peace of mind.
Kathy: The satisfaction of not being connected to the grid and being more self-reliant.
Shannon: Not having to rely on other places for entertainment.

Most Rewarding Task:
Ron: Improving the soil
Kathy: Cooking seasonally, and canning.
Shannon: Picking then immediately cooking.

Other advice:
Take everything as it comes, and enjoy each moment.
participate in Farmer's Markets to meet like minded people so that you can survive even when you can't pick your neighbors.
Don't do tons of research, just dive in! Everything is a whole lot easier than what it would seem.

An abode on the edge of the GMO sea

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 17:25:22 +0100

The Hayden's, what to say about the Hayden's (nothing censored because I know they will read this ;)). Such wonderfully good people. Ron is a local, having grown up on his families farm that
has been theirs since the 1860's. He wanted to return to his family farm to build a house in the woods and start to try have a go at it. Having spent most of his career in cabinetry (for 27 years)
it wasn't difficult for him to just sort of build a cabin, from the trees that he fell right there on the spot. He is an incredibly hard worker, having double dug about an acre of hard
pan clay and amended it with innumerable
grain truck loads of horse manure. Cathy is another hard worker, she has a full time job at the health department but also manages to do most of the cooking, harvesting, preserving and indoor tasks.
Shannon, their daughter, is a virtuoso (www.shannonleehayden.com) Cellist who has recently returned from Yale after getting her masters (without even needing
to get her undergrad first mind you). She makes absolutely incredible music, using her cello, a guitar and a loop machine amongst other things (pencils, phonebooks whatever).
Together they live on the edge of the abyss, soy beans were being harvested on one of the days that we were there. But there spot is just stunning, on either side of the woods he has used
government programs to restablish the prairies, about ten to fifteen acres it appears. Every three years he burns them to ensure the disturbance neccesary for prairie maturaity and health,
but they are a haven for all sorts of wildlife and absolutely stunning to walk
through in the evening and morning. The garden itself winds around the edge of the prairies in a long strip which acts as a fire break for the burning in the early Spring. Somehow he has managed
to turn this dead dirt into a living thriving soil (must have been all that double digging). They also live off the grid with no running water to speak of (which has been particularly
useful since the drought this summer) and using solar, wind and a backup generator for power.

The soil is not the only thing that is thriving in this holding, these people are just God's gft to hospitality. They showed us everything, treated us to everything and let us stay in their tent in
pine woods. To see them work together too is just a blessing, you can tell they are so happy to have Shannon back filling their world with beautiful music and she is happy to be back
amongst the simpler kind of life. The first night we ate heartily and watch an old silent movie (Phantom of the Opera), or at least half of it, on a reel to reel projected onto a sheet between two
pine trees. The next day, Luke and Shannon got to playing together (which I know he really appreciated), and we had a lovely music sharing session over chili. The last day I helped Cathy process
tomatoes and Luke helped build a roof. They bid us adieu over Moonshine hamburgers just down the road. Not a place that we will be forgetting anytime soon.

For more photos go to: Facebook and Photos on KeSera

Wild Grace - Carol's Answers in Brief

Fri, 07 Oct 2011 16:21:51 +0100

Carol has been what feels like a long time friend of Luke's and recently mine. Luke interned there last summer with Carol's partner Dwight where he was taught many useful and rewarding things about Permaculture.
I have put photos us of Carol's place but here are a few excerpts from
Carol is also an amazing artist - she creates stunning quilts. Go here to see them: http://www.sacredarts.info/artquilt.htm

1. Most Useful Tool:
Sewing Machine

2. Do differently:
Make sure to pick your neighbors and have friends close by.

3. Rewarding:
Having the privacy to connect with nature. The expansiveness of the land, everyday it grows.

Other advice:
Meditate everyday.

Carl and Ruellen's Three Questions

Fri, 07 Oct 2011 15:33:51 +0100

1. What is the most useful tool you have:

Carl
Squeezo Press (Victorio) or Kitchen aid to peel and squeeze apples and tomatoes
Tiller
Chainsaw

Ruellen:
4 tine fork
wood splitter

2. What would you change or do differently:

Ruellen: Build house further from the easment
Carl: Nothing (Though later he chose not to use reverse osmosis water because it gives him heartburn.

3. What has been the most rewarding:

Carl: This is paradise, everything the whole endeavor
Ruellen: Having berries (she is famous for her pies) and making things from scratch.

Other useful tips that they have found:

Always put some windows on the north side of your house
Teach chickens to come in at night if they are free ranging to prevent wildlife eating them
Get an automatic milker
barn like (gramble?) roofs give you a lot more space
grow on the top of the ridge but you have to add a lot of top soil as it runs down the hill.
can easily get too hot in the upstairs - need ventilation - no loft
No reserve/osmosis water
Change all land not in use to forestry (As long as you maintain it as such) to save on land taxes.
Make house modular
Get a mill or bring someone out to mill the wood that you have in order to get rid of trees and get wood,
Need a storage area

Carl and Ruellen's Homestead

Fri, 07 Oct 2011 15:35:34 +0100

We visited or first homestead (not counting the one that we are currently staying in) last night. Ruellen and Carl were a couple who has kept full time
jobs as an RN and a Microbiology teacher but had managed to build a house, and addition, a barn, two sheds and a cob house (well that was mostly the sons initiative) along with
maintain an acre of orchard in cultivation and an acre of garden under cultivation while still maintaining this homestead. Over the years they have kept
chickens (which were nearly all eaten), a cow Matilda (but they had wrist problems and could not maintain the milking) and pigs (which they fed the milk by products from the cow so
when they gave away the cow they gave away the pigs we assume). They had sixty acres altogether most of it was wooded area on a ridge near Belmont, Indiana ion Brown County near Nashville, IN which
is the most hilly and wooded region in all of Indiana that I have seen thus far. They have a very friendly German Shepard named Tucker and a pile of wood in front of their house about 15 feet tall. They have
the most out of control kiwi';s I have ever seen, a hardy Kiwi variety that apparently tastes like the food of the Gods and takes down trees like any good Chinese does (think Kudzu and the original name of Kiwis is Chinese Gooseberry).
We have a lovely venison meatloaf for dinner and were very grateful for all the great information that they gave us. Thank you Ruellen and Carl!

Format of Farmer Interviews

Fri, 07 Oct 2011 15:30:54 +0100

We use the term "farmer" in a very general sense - these could be homesteaders, researchers, writers - just about anyone.

We ask three questions (amongst many others)

1. What is your favorite tool
2. What would you do differently
3. What have you found the most rewarding (whether a task or just generally from doing the work you do).

Let us know if you want any other q's

We will post photos of the individual farms here: