Incorporated in 1935, The Adamant Co-operative is the oldest continuously operating food co-op in the United States. The store has long been a gathering space for community members, neighbors, and families, and attracts hundreds of tourists and wanderers every year, making the co-op a unique and fun destination in Vermont.

Decades ago, our historic attached barn was once used to house the co-op delivery truck to take goods to neighbors who were house-bound. More recently, it's been used as storage for events, chairs, paperwork, rodent traps, and all the other mash-mash of things that amass in old barns. There's even a well-loved outhouse in the corner!

However, old buildings need tending to. The barn's sills and floor boards are rotting. The floor itself is uneven and unsafe. Any glass that once filled the windows is long gone. A big, bumbling porcupine lives under it, and every now and then gnaws on the Co-op's porch.

We are raising funds to restore our attached barn to make it a safer and more usable space for the Adamant community to use. We've entered Phase One of the project, which is to take out the floors and sills, jack up the building, and replace the sills. All the work is being done by two local carpenters with a love for and experience in restoring historic barns, as well as a cadre of devoted volunteers. The funds we raise will go towards both materials and to pay the two carpenters.

The barn is more than just a barn. Restoring it to safe, working order means a new potential will be unleashed, means a new future will be written. Who knows what the future will hold? The completion of Phase One will set the stage for some deep community discussion about how the Adamant Co-op members want the barn to be used.

Neighbors have helped with the project in a myriad of ways. Karen donated some large hemlocks on her property, which are now the beams that hold the building up. Dick showed up with his granite working tools and, by hand, carved out what are now the foundational stones. Bruce, concerned about drainage, donated crucial pieces to the drainage system to mitigate rot potential. Josh donated the use of his heavy equipment, saving us many hours. As these things are the bedrock for the building, so too are the ways neighbors show up to help the bedrock for the community.

Our original goal is to raise $25,000 for Phase One. Thanks to the generous donations so far received, we've been able to pay for $15,000 worth of restoration. With just a little more financial help, we will be able to support our community restore this historic structure, and re-purpose it in a way that benefits the Co-op for generations to come!