Bring Water to Woven Farm!

To: The Sweetwater Community and People Who Want to See Small Local Organic Farms Survive.

Many of you have already met Samantha Otto & know of her Woven Farmstead.

This extraordinary young farmer joined our market a few seasons ago, coaxing an

amazing amount of vegetables from a very small piece of leased land near Wesley

School in Muskegon.

Over a year ago Sam & her husband purchased a piece of property in Fruitland

Township. They worked diligently to clear that land, & had installed a greenhouse

(in the middle of winter) & shortly after that put in a well and were on their way to

realizing the dream of a new farm when through a visit from strangers one day

learned they had been sold the wrong parcel of land!

After consulting with the real estate agent who sold them the property Sam secured

the correct parcel and without skipping a beat deconstructed the hoophouse & well and moved it to the new parcel further north.

To try to explain Sam’s “get it done” spirit, you only need to read what she wrote

after moving to the new parcel: “It’s wild how vastly different this space is,

compared to what we thought we had purchased. In many ways, the differences are

flustering. So many set backs and losses and extra work going into the differences;

yet this land continues to shine with its beauty and offerings. I am grateful for this

space, and so excited to share it with you this season.”

The new property had to be cleared, it needed a road and the weather did not

cooperate. None of which stopped Sam.

Until now.

Again from Sam: “Once the land was ready, we reinstalled the well earlier this

month only to discover it was dry. We then reinstalled it again, and again, and

AGAIN! We are currently on our 5th install and our 3rd set of parts. Between hitting clay, stripping threads, and wasting a whole lot of time, we are shifting our focus to other alternatives, and will hopefully have water soon!”

As of this writing Sam is bringing in water and doing as much handwatering as she

can manage. Several neighboring farms, Tortoise & Hare & Lundell Farm have

offered to help give her water in large containers, but CLEARLY this will not work for the field crops and the future of her farm’s success.

The growing season is here, and the professional drillers Sam has conferred with

have told her that she may have to put in a residential well. Which means she may

have to go very deep, maybe 200 ft deep. That will be expensive and that brings us

to our urgent request: The Woven Farm needs funds, immediately, in order to get water.

You can read about Sam’s saga on her Instagram page here https://www.instagram.com/the.woven.trifecta/

All farmers know that they will contend with the vagaries of the weather, and accept that without question as part of the cost of farming. But this is different; this is a

show stopping emergency. The growing season is here, and The Woven Farmstead needs our help, and the sooner, the better.

We are setting a modest goal of $5000 in hopes that we can quickly raise the

needed funds and fingers crossed, surpass that goal to help Sam get water to her

farm.

Please consider making a donation.

For the Sweetwater Local Foods Market

Diana Jancek & The Committee to Get Water for Woven Farm