Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Farming as a ecomonic community endeavor

[Lynn Nadeau (welcome]

Much as the Utah group expressed, at RoseWind Cohousing in Port  
Townsend WA we have a substantial food garden, as well as young  
orchards. I have gone from seeing it as a hobby garden, to seeing it  
as an important asset for our health, sustainability, and economic  
localization, albeit in a small way. As we have gained skills, and  
learned the value of getting outside guidance,  our garden has grown  
in size and quality. As one of about a dozen families in the de-facto  
CSA, I have no need to buy potatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, beets,  
parsnips, cabbage, shallots, leeks, broccoli, squash, or salad greens   
and am also provided with some tomatoes, parsley, cucumbers, dahlias,   
and other goodies. All members of the project benefit, also, from the  
inclusion of garden produce in our shared meals, and all of us can  
graze our berries and have some apples.

Another way we support economic localization efforts is by example.  
Neighborhood "Community Gardens", in our town, have increased from  
about 6 to about 26 in the past few years, and we participate in that  
group, sharing information, touring folks through our garden, etc.

The neighboring Port Townsend EcoVillage also has a substantial  
vegetable garden CSA, and we both have honey-bees.

I was pleased last weekend to walk around the Farmer's Market here,  
admiring the colorful harvest abundance, while noting with  
satisfaction that I already HAD most everything that was for sale! Not  
at $3.99 a pound, or whatever, but for a minor money cost, and showing  
up twice a week to socialize and weed or plant. And I can just step  
outdoors and pick a little bit for a specific meal, as fresh as it gets.

No, it's not "farming". Less than an acre of our land. But it makes a  
difference.

Lynn Nadeau
www.rosewind.org
where we have a sunny spacious house for resale
photos and info on our web site