Farm Hopping Tour Learns Farming Skills

There are times when I wonder if people are so disconnected from the food they eat that humanity will lose the ability to grow food for themselves entirely, but that thought evaporated from my mind tje day a wave of young people arrived to help @skipleyfarm .

Danielle Gennety @oursacredacres brought over some enthusiastic, inspired, fun people @bloomingbiodiversity who were eager to learn and help with growing food. In fact, they spent the summer travelling from farm to farm exchanging labor and energy for food and knowledge about growing food and caring for the Earth and soil. They call it the Permaculture Activation Tour.

To me it was an illuminating experience, much like a ray of light in a sometimes gloomy looking landscape. With GMO’s, pesticides, herbicides and processed foods dominating our food shelves and no one seeming to care the least about what they are putting into their mouths or their kids mouths, it was refreshing to see a new generation of people passionate about real food and willing to back up their convictions with direct action.

YES! That is what it’s going to take to change our unhealthy food production and distribution systems and create something more local and sustainable. Getting your hands dirty will make your conscience and your health squeaky clean.
I get a real warm feeling inside when I see people take action and take responsibility for the consequences of their food choices.

Seeing the intention and motivation to do something about creating good food that has integrity and wholesomeness fills me with a sense of well being and hope that the torch of humanity will not be snuffed out. It sounds cliche to say that young people are our future but it is truer now than ever.

Corporations have tricked us into believing that processed food is actually food when in reality it is nothing of the sort. They don’t care about your health and play lip serving to your concerns. Profits are what drive corporations and the more palatable they can make their processed, chemical mush they call food and the longer it can sit on a shelf before it’s consumed the richer they become.

The longer the shelf life of the food one eats, the short the shelf life of the one who eats it.
Groups like OurSacredAcres and BloomingBiodiversity make me smile for the future and are shining examples of a growing trend to embrace our connection with Mother Earth and all She provides for us and to absorb the ancient knowledge that is our heritage and responsibility to keep alive. Real food starts with real people with a real concern for a real solutions and that begins with getting your hands dirty.

A special thanks to Danielle and Sophia for bringing us all together and if I did not get the chance to personally thank you for your help last week at Skipley Farm forgive me and know that your help was deeply appreciated and honored. I hope our paths cross again in the near future.