Sustainable Living: Peaceful Pea Farmstead
Donation protected
There are many voices calling for change. We are ready and excited to be a part of that change... Please join us on this journey! Bonded by our common desire for sustainability, Niklas and I (Ruth) have set out to see how closely, and simply, we can live with the land.
Sustainability focuses on the ability to meet our current needs without compromising the ability to meet our needs in the future. Some of these needs include food, water, shelter, creativity and connection. By using natural resources without replacing them, we may be compromising our ability to support ourselves in the future. Many people believe that environmental sustainability is necessary for our survival.
So in response to this, we hope to create a farmstead starting this spring. A farmstead is land and infrastructure that allows space for an individual, family or community to actively create the things they need while still having a source of income to support themselves for other things. Some examples of this are growing food and selling the surplus locally, holding workshops for a team building project, or spinning sheep's wool for yarn to be sold at the farmer's market. There are countless ways of what this could look like!
Sustainability and Farmsteading With the intention of listening and learning, we hope to embrace natural lifecycles to meet our needs. So that when we take, we can be mindful to give back also like: growing food to feed ourselves and others, preserving food for later, composting peels, saving seeds, and starting the process all over again with rich soil and a handful of new seeds. Or carving a spoon from the broken branch of a black cherry tree, swirling and stirring a delicious meal, and when it is over and done with, chipping it up to act as mulch for the garden... to return to the earth once more! We have planted oak and maple trees so that the future generations may benefit in similar ways that we have.
How much food can we grow? Last year, while staying at our friend’s place, we canned nearly 100 jars of local/homegrown food, dried herbs, mushrooms and fruit, foraged for teas and tended to animals, receiving eggs, meat, manure and companionship. We learnt about and honoured these lives by acknowledging our role of service and responsibility, and of giving and receiving. We also learnt that a place like this, that can meet many of our needs, does exist! (And it is incredibly beautiful, too!)
What will we do? In September 2020, we made a huge leap towards our dream: purchasing 4.6 acres of land! Now, we are low on funds to set up important infrastructure like:
- a well and rainwater collection system
- a garden with fruits, vegetables and flowers
- a roadside farmstand to sell extra produce and homemade goods
- housing and fencing for animals like chickens, rabbits, goats and sheep, and
- a shed to store food
We also dream of connecting to our communities in new and exciting ways: by offering "pick your own" fruits and vegetables, access to a shared seed library, and welcoming those who are curious about what we do!
Why is this important to us? For Niklas, supporting him would mean he could continue doing what he absolutely loves: building! Often, he is ready with helping hands for neighbors, friends and family. He is ready with his first design to start building come spring.
Have you heard the saying: “it takes a village to raise a child”? For me, togetherness is a vital part of sustainability: together we can share resources and knowledge, support each other in unique and interesting ways, and promote healing, community and understanding. While together, nobody is alone. To have healthy land where we can live excited and full lives with each other would be like tasting the greatest fruit life has to offer!
Supporting us: As humble recipients of financial aid, we hope to use the funds in the best way possible. We are excited to focus on repurposing, trading, purchasing used and supporting local. Any additional funds will be kept for the continuation of the farmstead.
Want to support us, just not financially? That’s okay, we total understand! There are countless ways to help us, like:
1. Sharing this gofundme page with others, and
2. Doing that thing you do, whatever it may be! It will get back to us in its own way :)
Thank you for reading!
The first rows in the garden... to be continued :)
Sustainability focuses on the ability to meet our current needs without compromising the ability to meet our needs in the future. Some of these needs include food, water, shelter, creativity and connection. By using natural resources without replacing them, we may be compromising our ability to support ourselves in the future. Many people believe that environmental sustainability is necessary for our survival.
So in response to this, we hope to create a farmstead starting this spring. A farmstead is land and infrastructure that allows space for an individual, family or community to actively create the things they need while still having a source of income to support themselves for other things. Some examples of this are growing food and selling the surplus locally, holding workshops for a team building project, or spinning sheep's wool for yarn to be sold at the farmer's market. There are countless ways of what this could look like!
Sustainability and Farmsteading With the intention of listening and learning, we hope to embrace natural lifecycles to meet our needs. So that when we take, we can be mindful to give back also like: growing food to feed ourselves and others, preserving food for later, composting peels, saving seeds, and starting the process all over again with rich soil and a handful of new seeds. Or carving a spoon from the broken branch of a black cherry tree, swirling and stirring a delicious meal, and when it is over and done with, chipping it up to act as mulch for the garden... to return to the earth once more! We have planted oak and maple trees so that the future generations may benefit in similar ways that we have.
How much food can we grow? Last year, while staying at our friend’s place, we canned nearly 100 jars of local/homegrown food, dried herbs, mushrooms and fruit, foraged for teas and tended to animals, receiving eggs, meat, manure and companionship. We learnt about and honoured these lives by acknowledging our role of service and responsibility, and of giving and receiving. We also learnt that a place like this, that can meet many of our needs, does exist! (And it is incredibly beautiful, too!)What will we do? In September 2020, we made a huge leap towards our dream: purchasing 4.6 acres of land! Now, we are low on funds to set up important infrastructure like:- a well and rainwater collection system
- a garden with fruits, vegetables and flowers
- a roadside farmstand to sell extra produce and homemade goods
- housing and fencing for animals like chickens, rabbits, goats and sheep, and
- a shed to store food
We also dream of connecting to our communities in new and exciting ways: by offering "pick your own" fruits and vegetables, access to a shared seed library, and welcoming those who are curious about what we do!
Why is this important to us? For Niklas, supporting him would mean he could continue doing what he absolutely loves: building! Often, he is ready with helping hands for neighbors, friends and family. He is ready with his first design to start building come spring.
Have you heard the saying: “it takes a village to raise a child”? For me, togetherness is a vital part of sustainability: together we can share resources and knowledge, support each other in unique and interesting ways, and promote healing, community and understanding. While together, nobody is alone. To have healthy land where we can live excited and full lives with each other would be like tasting the greatest fruit life has to offer!
Supporting us: As humble recipients of financial aid, we hope to use the funds in the best way possible. We are excited to focus on repurposing, trading, purchasing used and supporting local. Any additional funds will be kept for the continuation of the farmstead.Want to support us, just not financially? That’s okay, we total understand! There are countless ways to help us, like:
1. Sharing this gofundme page with others, and
2. Doing that thing you do, whatever it may be! It will get back to us in its own way :)
Thank you for reading!
The first rows in the garden... to be continued :)
Co-organizers (2)
Ruth Li
Organizer
Woodlawn, ON
Niklas Traser
Co-organizer