[Cross-posted from bikeloc, where Robert and Aaron are documenting their cross-country journey, capturing stories of The Local Food movement through potlucks.]
It’s typical to find us after a hard day of riding in a new town, pretty damn hungry and without a space to sleep.
Being out on the road with life packed away in a small trailer has freed me from the mental congestion created by technology, clarifying what’s fundamental to my sanity, health, and general well-being. The folks that house us for a night may not understand the greatness of the gift they give when they open their doors to us – good food, a warm (or cool) place to relax, and some fresh conversation. They’re making a social investment in us.
Our longest ride to date, over 90 miles and through nasty thunderstorms, led us into Indiana where we stayed for two days with friends of Matt Kendig, a guy we met on Couch Surfing, and an ambitious young gardener who’s found his green thumb with the help of a few books, Square Foot Gardening, and Cricket Bread.
Kendig and his friends are part of a tightly-woven church community whose members have created a strong emotional support network for one another; they’ve found that they are more productive when they work together rather than compete, give rather than take, and share rather than consume alone. Aaron and I got to participate in one of their group activities when we helped plant the 509 Community Garden, which Kendig talks about in the video above.
And the emergent thread, or perhaps the common ground that connects them is a deep understanding of the importance of collaboration and cooperation, and the value they place on their relationships with their communities, customers, and the earth.
Like Kendig, a handful of other successful farmers and gardeners we’ve met between Vermont and Indiana subscribe to this idea of social investment and community support.
Hardwick, Vermont
We first encountered this together-rather-than-alone idea when we visited Andrew Meyer of Vermont Soy and Vermont Natural Coatings in Hardwick, VT. “Look at what the financial system has done,” said Meyer, comparing return rates of stock market investments the social, smaller-scale community investments he and his fellow farmers have made together in Vermont. Within their business collective which meets every couple of months, they’ve loaned one another nearly $500,000 on nothing more than handshakes, and depend on one another for sharing of other resources such as machinery, job postings, and transportation.
Cobleskill, New York
In Cobleskill, New York, we talked to Jim and Adelle Hayes of Sap Bush Hollow Farm, who get along pretty darn well with their neighbors. Despite their farming ties, the two families live significantly different lives: Jim and Adele’s version of TV is the wall-sized big-screen window on the south side of their living room, while their neighbors have satellite. Still, they’re neighbors, so they eat meals together, share stories, and discuss ideas. And like the farmers in Hardwick, they and a small network of farmers in Cobleskill routinely get together to talk about what’s working on the farm, what’s not working, and what the needs of each farm are.
Over the course of the last month trekking from Vermont to Indiana we’ve encountered dozens of inspiring individuals, as successful as the few mentioned above. And the emergent thread, or perhaps the common ground that connects them is a deep understanding of the importance of collaboration and cooperation, and the value they place on their relationships with their communities, customers, and the earth. Whether it’s Kendig building a community garden to take what he needs and give away the rest, or Jim and Adele Hayes and Andrew Meyer growing selling food for their livelihood, it’s clear that they’re driven by a second kind of profit that sates the soul.
Here are a few more shots from planting at Kendig’s 509 Community Garden.
