aforementioned post:

this weekend, I went to the sunshine lavender farm's holiday celebration, as I promised you that I would. I spent some time talking to Annie (lavender farmer), gaining advice, insight, ideas, and excitement. pretty contagious. don't read any further unless you want it, too.

she introduced me to Fabian Lujan, of the farm fairy, who I have placed a link to over on the right of the page. Fabian recently (meaning in the last decade) relocated to this area from argentina, where he had worked as a photographer. while there, he and his wife, Sandra, cultivated an interest in bee-keeping, and gave it a try.

he told me of his apiary origins, saying:

the man teaching us said to start slow, or small, with maybe one or two hives. we started with twenty, and soon had eighty hives.

 

they were given access to an abandoned school to use for the hives. unfortunately, in the early 2000's, they lost the hives to flooding. soon afterward, they moved to elon, nc, where Fabian planned to continue to work as a photographer. after a little while, bee-keeping arose as an interest again, and the photography petered away.

now, the farm fairy provides wildflower honey (tones of blackberry and molasses), herbal soaps and jellies, and Fabian is enjoying a great deal of specialty bread-baking. 

Fabian shared with me his interest in square-footage farming, something that he spends time aiding people in the starting/maintenance of. in this practice, the 'farmer' builds a small box, which is then simply cultivated as a miniature garden. Fabian tells me that a 4'x4' space can feed 2-3 people. this is not simply a rural practice, either. with some waterproof paper and a cheap automated irrigation system, a small corner of an apartment can become a produce stand.

this is something that interests me greatly; urban and/or community gardening and its position in terms of providing cheap sustenance. there seem to be two problems which a mutual solution: those who are surviving foodstamp-to-foodstamp, and farms unable to provide enough labor. Fabian speaks of a local community garden (the anathoth community garden, anatothgarden.org), where the participant pays an annual fee, and works on 'working days,' which normally end with a potluck lunch. Fabian points out that

seeds are very cheap, produce is not.

 

Fabian also mentioned to me a film called 'fresh,' which I have been looking into (link provided on the right). options are provided by the makers for those who wish to screen the film. I wish to screen the film. I am in contact with weaver street market, as well as a few more venues, to see if there is interest in providing a screening with a small cover. if anyone is interested in this, thinks it's a great idea, wants to help, wants to tell me that they don't want to help, or knows someone who may want to get involved, be sure to let me know.

I suppose that's all for now, besides a few photos from saturday. it was a gloomy day, and I'm afraid I didn't bring my a-game, but these will provide a nice appetite-whetter. the first is of what, in the spring, will be rows of lavender, and the second is a photo of the farm barn taken with a holga.

come back often. I know that I will!

seriously, I will.

oh, the funding ball is rolling now, will keep you all posted as things develop.