I am winding my time down on Dianne's farm as I prepare to leave next week. This has been an amazing adventure, culture shock, and wake up call. I have grown soooo much spiritually, emotionally and physically. In 7 short weeks I have witnessed and participated in a farm that IS becoming the change they want to see in the world: sustainable lifestyle, forest farming and permaculture being practiced and taught. Dianne and her family are a fast growing population all through world as they gear up to the 100 mile diet and post carbon world.
I hope I can write more often as I process what I have learned to pass on. My culture shocked brain could only absorb so much as literally everything is new to me!



My first lesson has been living in a permaculture environment:  Permaculture is a design system based on ethics and principles which can be used to establish, design, manage and improve all efforts made by individuals, households and communities towards a sustainable future. How that  shows up here is we recycle almost everything.  We took the trash to the dump yesterday and for a family of 5 of us we filled one tall kitchen trash bag (cornstarch plastic) for one month!!!  There is a no new plastic rule so when you buy at the market you take your own containers and refill using the bulk bins.  We don't buy anything that's not in a 100 mile circumfrence from here.
Her organic garden grows most of the food for the year.  We have been collecting seed for next year (Heritage), canning and freezing for winter.  She barters some of her food and medicinal herbs for local organic turkey and beef.  She does buy grains and dairy.  Her garden is grown in permaculture, forest farm style.  Forest farming is an agroforestry practice characterized by the four "I's"- Intentional, Integrated, Intensive and Interactive management of an existing forested ecosystem wherein forest health is of paramount concern. It is neither forestry nor farming in the traditional sense. Forest farm management principles constitute an ecological approach to forest management through efforts to find a balance between conservation of native biodiversity and wildlife habitat within the forest.  We wild craft into the forest for many medicinal plants and roots also.
If any of you have questions please email me!
 
Fare thee Well,
Janet

Job Description as a Wwoofer

This is Mark from Quebec.  As you can see he's peeling apples.  We dried apples today.  We also weed, water, pick seeds (paper bags hanging in bags in photo below), dry herbs in one of the many driers, wild craft into the bush for many different herbs, press herbs (photo below), help with medicine making, pick fruit, pick ripe vegetables and make dinner or freeze, make AWESOME, organic fresh picked meals, sing, yack, contemplate and rub my sore muscles with arnica cream! 

Laird Creek Farm 2

These are more photos of views from the farm.....
Laird Creek, Alpine Meadow, sub tropical meadow

Laird Creek Farm 1

Hi from Nelson, British Columbia!
I am wwoofing on this amazing medicinal herb farm in Kootney Lake Region.  The Kootney region is part of the Columbia River running south to Spokane, Washington.  On the pollution global maps this area boasts the cleanest water and air in the world!
The farm is run by Dianne Luchtan.  She has lived in the region for 40 years.  She is a true medicine woman, women's rights activist, and revolutionary.  She is on the cutting edge of sustainability and environmental issues. Her land is 30 acres, most of it still forest and Laird creek runs through it.  Her 2 sons and their families live here in their separate homes (one son lives in his converted very cool bus!) Her sisters also live here.
Her business, Laird Creek Essentials, is medicinal tinctures, creams and salves.  She also sells heritage, organic seeds.  Along with the growing of some medicinal herbs, she grows all of her own fruit and vegetables for the year.  Which means right now, being fall, we are picking for freezing and preserving for winter and harvesting seeds for spring seed sales.  She also participates in 2 local festivals at the end of the month.
Her water comes from an artisan well and they just hooked a pump to the Laird creek.  She is in the process of researching water power alternative energy to eventually live off the grid.  We recycle everything!!!!  I mean almost everything!!  She only takes 1 large trash bag to the dump once a month!  This house also practices "no new plastic" and everything she buys is local with the exception of coffee (and that is fair trade organic)! 
Fare Thee Well.....more photos to come!
Pioneer Janet

        Lola's House

Flower Farm or Flower Shoppe?

August 2010

Now this I could do!  They're not organic flowers but I could convert it eventually.  Inside the barn here is a flower shoppe.  I applied for a job.  When I told her my story she was surprised that I lasted as long as I did in the business.....florists work hard........don't they Leslie!