- B
- K
- N
People always say "follow your dreams" do they or did you?
I could say that my motivation for starting this farm is about myself and my own personal goals. Yet the real motivation is to provide children in my community with quality food grown in a local and sustainable way. I want to inspire the next generation of farmers and show them a sustainable way to produce food thats is both beneficial for their health and the health of our world. My goal is to leave this place in better shape than when I got here.
We live in a time where fast food is king, the environment is burning and cell phones have replaced human interactions. Turning away from these societal pressures I want my kids to learn the value of food and have a connection to the soil. I want to help inspire them to follow their dreams and be themselves. I want them to be proud of their father and know that everyday when I leave early in the morning to pull weeds I do it with a smile on my face and pride in my heart.
Hopes and dreams
Tyler Domsic- The Farmer
I remember when I was in high school, I took a assessment test to see what type of career best suited my personality. A pilot was my number one best match job and coincidentally farming was number two. In retrospect I believe that I have been on this path my whole life without even knowing it. I believe that this journey was put into motion with a quote from a dear friend "live life to the fullest and don´t take anything for granted" KGF.
In the fall of 2017 I was informed that I was one of the fortunate few to be accepted as a 2018 CASFS Apprentice. The program, https://casfs.ucsc.edu/apprenticeship/ the Center for Agroecology &Sustainable food Systems is a farming Apprenticeship in Ecological Horticulture providing training in the concepts and practices of organic gardening and small-scale farming. While on the farm we Apprentices spent over 300 hours of classroom instruction and 700 hours of in-field training and hands-on experience in greenhouses, gardens, orchards, and fields. The UCSC Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems offered me a Certificate in Ecological Horticulture. CASFS is a widely recognized leader in the subject around the United States and all over the world.
After my acceptance to the program Sofie my wife, Saga 4 and Emmy 1 and myself packed up our newly renovated house. We said good by to our friends and left the cold dark Swedish winter behind for a warm California spring. Moving was especially hard for our four year old who had to say goodbye to all her friends at preschool for some new unfamiliar type of existence in a place where they didn't speak Swedish. It was a hard trip for us all to make it was good to come home to California. I grew up in the area but moved to Sweden to be with Sofie when I was 20. Our family and friends were especially happy to have us for such a long trip instead of the usual month long vacation.
Although the Apprenticeship was intense, very time consuming and left little family time, Sofie and I knew that the program was what we need to keep us going on our journey. We knew that the intensive farming program offered me a chance to learn a wide range of skills that I believe would take me much longer to master on my own. It gave me the chance to make mistakes and learn from them with guidance from other farmers. We have a huge network of wonderful people who we keep in touch with almost daily. It also gave us the chance to learn the fundamentals of running a small scale farm.
Sweet Strawberries
Now back in Sweden, we would like to start our own farm from the ground up! For the past few months I have been planning out our farm. So far we have a good plot of land, built a propagation greenhouse, bought and started all our seedlings for the upcoming season and have started to cultivate relationships with local restaurants, brewery's, schools and florists all while while on paternity leave with my daughters.
Delicata
The Farm
Our parcel of land is roughly 1.2ha/ 2.4acre located in the South of Dalarna right outside of Stjärnsund. We were first drawn to the area because of all the inspiring things being done with the local permaculture project https://xn--stjrnsund-x2a.nu/ . Part of the project is to become a truly eco-village and we plan on helping towards that goal by providing food the community. With their help we were able to find the plot of land we will be farming now. The land has not been disturbed in over 25 years, basically making it a perfect spot to start a farm. Its close to a lake so irrigation is made possible especially since Sweden has been in a long drought. Luckily very close to the main road where we can easily place our market cart for all to see.
We will also be assisting in managing a community garden near our farm. We hope that people in the area who don't have access to land or lack the experience, can start gardening can have a place to learn and grow.
The beginning
Our goals
We aim to create a more sustainable food system and focusing on direct marketing through contact with the people who buy our produce. We want to grow sustainable, organic food and focus on community involvement. Currently CSA farming is very small in this area and after seeing how it can impact local communities, we know it’s something our community needs. Initially we plan on selling CSA boxes and participating in local farmers markets. We like to meet the people who eat our food and educate people on why this type of agriculture is the most sustainable way to produce food. We have been keeping bees for 7 years now and plan on starting a local honey coop to increase the amount of pollinators in the area. We want to help educate people on the current alarming decline of honey bees and other solitary pollinators. As a bonus we have some of our hives pollinating our veggies and making honey for the community.
Future Beekeeper
We are working with a local brewery in the village https://stjernsundbrygghus.se/ and will be planting roughly 150 Swedish heritage hops this season. We hope to help influence new micro brewery's to use local hops and moreover Swedish hops. Our hop yard was made with local trees that were pulled out by horse that we cut, barked and burned. We were able to do so with the help of friends who own forest in the area.
We are working towards setting up a kitchen garden with the local Waldorf school. The kitchen gardens purpose will be to help the kids understand about where their food comes from, how its grown and the pride that comes with growing your own food. Ideally we would like to help produce enough fresh greens for the kids to eat during the growing season.
Broadforking Garlic
Why we need your help
Starting a farm requires a lot of upfront investment. Everything from the seeds to the fields themselves needs to be purchased months before the investment might be returned. As this is our first season farming on a brand new parcel of land we have very little access to any of the infrastructure need to get started. First we tried to get help in the form of the many grants for farmers, but discovered most of the powers do not believe in small-scale of our farm therefor we were unable to access any help in that way. We have scraped by with many creative solutions and not so ideal fixes to make our savings last but now we are out of funding.
Stinky feet
With all our upfront costs we have been trying to prioritise the most important things first yet we have reached a point were we need help. For that reason we are reaching out to you, our friends, family and their friends to see if you can help us realise our dream.
Every contribution will go directly to help fund this farm. You're donations will help us put a downpayment on a Bcs tractor and the implements needed to cultivate our land. Fencing to keep out all the deer, moose, rabbits and wild pigs in the area. Irrigation and solar setup for watering our plants and hops. Seeder and flame weeder to keep the weeds under control. Produce cleaning station and packing materials.
If you can't contribute financially please just help by spreading the word on social media.
You can also follow our adventures https://www.instagram.com/rainbow_family_farm/
We are so grateful for your support!
Love.
Tyler, Sofie, Saga and Emmy
I could say that my motivation for starting this farm is about myself and my own personal goals. Yet the real motivation is to provide children in my community with quality food grown in a local and sustainable way. I want to inspire the next generation of farmers and show them a sustainable way to produce food thats is both beneficial for their health and the health of our world. My goal is to leave this place in better shape than when I got here.
We live in a time where fast food is king, the environment is burning and cell phones have replaced human interactions. Turning away from these societal pressures I want my kids to learn the value of food and have a connection to the soil. I want to help inspire them to follow their dreams and be themselves. I want them to be proud of their father and know that everyday when I leave early in the morning to pull weeds I do it with a smile on my face and pride in my heart.
Hopes and dreamsTyler Domsic- The Farmer
I remember when I was in high school, I took a assessment test to see what type of career best suited my personality. A pilot was my number one best match job and coincidentally farming was number two. In retrospect I believe that I have been on this path my whole life without even knowing it. I believe that this journey was put into motion with a quote from a dear friend "live life to the fullest and don´t take anything for granted" KGF.
In the fall of 2017 I was informed that I was one of the fortunate few to be accepted as a 2018 CASFS Apprentice. The program, https://casfs.ucsc.edu/apprenticeship/ the Center for Agroecology &Sustainable food Systems is a farming Apprenticeship in Ecological Horticulture providing training in the concepts and practices of organic gardening and small-scale farming. While on the farm we Apprentices spent over 300 hours of classroom instruction and 700 hours of in-field training and hands-on experience in greenhouses, gardens, orchards, and fields. The UCSC Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems offered me a Certificate in Ecological Horticulture. CASFS is a widely recognized leader in the subject around the United States and all over the world.
After my acceptance to the program Sofie my wife, Saga 4 and Emmy 1 and myself packed up our newly renovated house. We said good by to our friends and left the cold dark Swedish winter behind for a warm California spring. Moving was especially hard for our four year old who had to say goodbye to all her friends at preschool for some new unfamiliar type of existence in a place where they didn't speak Swedish. It was a hard trip for us all to make it was good to come home to California. I grew up in the area but moved to Sweden to be with Sofie when I was 20. Our family and friends were especially happy to have us for such a long trip instead of the usual month long vacation.
Although the Apprenticeship was intense, very time consuming and left little family time, Sofie and I knew that the program was what we need to keep us going on our journey. We knew that the intensive farming program offered me a chance to learn a wide range of skills that I believe would take me much longer to master on my own. It gave me the chance to make mistakes and learn from them with guidance from other farmers. We have a huge network of wonderful people who we keep in touch with almost daily. It also gave us the chance to learn the fundamentals of running a small scale farm.
Sweet Strawberries Now back in Sweden, we would like to start our own farm from the ground up! For the past few months I have been planning out our farm. So far we have a good plot of land, built a propagation greenhouse, bought and started all our seedlings for the upcoming season and have started to cultivate relationships with local restaurants, brewery's, schools and florists all while while on paternity leave with my daughters.
DelicataThe Farm
Our parcel of land is roughly 1.2ha/ 2.4acre located in the South of Dalarna right outside of Stjärnsund. We were first drawn to the area because of all the inspiring things being done with the local permaculture project https://xn--stjrnsund-x2a.nu/ . Part of the project is to become a truly eco-village and we plan on helping towards that goal by providing food the community. With their help we were able to find the plot of land we will be farming now. The land has not been disturbed in over 25 years, basically making it a perfect spot to start a farm. Its close to a lake so irrigation is made possible especially since Sweden has been in a long drought. Luckily very close to the main road where we can easily place our market cart for all to see.
We will also be assisting in managing a community garden near our farm. We hope that people in the area who don't have access to land or lack the experience, can start gardening can have a place to learn and grow.
The beginning Our goals
We aim to create a more sustainable food system and focusing on direct marketing through contact with the people who buy our produce. We want to grow sustainable, organic food and focus on community involvement. Currently CSA farming is very small in this area and after seeing how it can impact local communities, we know it’s something our community needs. Initially we plan on selling CSA boxes and participating in local farmers markets. We like to meet the people who eat our food and educate people on why this type of agriculture is the most sustainable way to produce food. We have been keeping bees for 7 years now and plan on starting a local honey coop to increase the amount of pollinators in the area. We want to help educate people on the current alarming decline of honey bees and other solitary pollinators. As a bonus we have some of our hives pollinating our veggies and making honey for the community.
Future BeekeeperWe are working with a local brewery in the village https://stjernsundbrygghus.se/ and will be planting roughly 150 Swedish heritage hops this season. We hope to help influence new micro brewery's to use local hops and moreover Swedish hops. Our hop yard was made with local trees that were pulled out by horse that we cut, barked and burned. We were able to do so with the help of friends who own forest in the area.
We are working towards setting up a kitchen garden with the local Waldorf school. The kitchen gardens purpose will be to help the kids understand about where their food comes from, how its grown and the pride that comes with growing your own food. Ideally we would like to help produce enough fresh greens for the kids to eat during the growing season.
Broadforking GarlicWhy we need your help
Starting a farm requires a lot of upfront investment. Everything from the seeds to the fields themselves needs to be purchased months before the investment might be returned. As this is our first season farming on a brand new parcel of land we have very little access to any of the infrastructure need to get started. First we tried to get help in the form of the many grants for farmers, but discovered most of the powers do not believe in small-scale of our farm therefor we were unable to access any help in that way. We have scraped by with many creative solutions and not so ideal fixes to make our savings last but now we are out of funding.
Stinky feetWith all our upfront costs we have been trying to prioritise the most important things first yet we have reached a point were we need help. For that reason we are reaching out to you, our friends, family and their friends to see if you can help us realise our dream.
Every contribution will go directly to help fund this farm. You're donations will help us put a downpayment on a Bcs tractor and the implements needed to cultivate our land. Fencing to keep out all the deer, moose, rabbits and wild pigs in the area. Irrigation and solar setup for watering our plants and hops. Seeder and flame weeder to keep the weeds under control. Produce cleaning station and packing materials.
If you can't contribute financially please just help by spreading the word on social media.
You can also follow our adventures https://www.instagram.com/rainbow_family_farm/
We are so grateful for your support!
Love.
Tyler, Sofie, Saga and Emmy
Organizer
Tyler Domsic
Organizer