It was our first rainy day as we moved across the lovely rolling landscape that bears the name Tennessee. Happy to see working farms of all sizes, we felt at home here. I would strongly recommend the area to anyone willing or wanting to farm - with or without the effort towards a community sustained project. As with much of the country, many are selling off acreage to survive and a few of the counties have really taken a beating in this economy.

One particularly hard hit area reminded me of my Western Appalachian roots. The land seemed to have been strip mined and much of the hilltops were obviously clear cut, and little or no care taken to rectify the brutality. We stopped in a shop to talk to the keeper and he confirmed my thoughts about the area. Industry left and the people are struggling. It was evident everywhere. When I said I noticed that few people were farming or even gardening, he said they had all “gone lazy”. I listened as he sadly conveyed the reality of existence there. He fought back tears and I could see was grateful for a sympathetic ear.

I don’t believe the people are lazy. I hunch they are beaten down and have forgotten, as most of us have, how to grow food, process it and feed our families. It is my experience at Echo Valley that it takes very little to ignite the passion for and the wonder of farming. And the earth is happy to oblige our efforts. We just need to be reminded. We are not lazy.

Because of this man and his family and many more good people, and because of what we are learning at Echo Valley, we will continue to help people reconnect to the land. We will share what we know and continue to learn more.  You are invited to be part of this “stone soup”.

I have decided to continue this blog. If you are enjoying it, please share with others. We will cover topics around farming, stewardship of land, land trusts, community building, seed saving and more. Thank you.