Heartwood Institute - Garberville, CA

Without having attempted to "end" my trip at a certain point, or place, I have found a community to connect with and explore more deeply. To my surprise, it has many of the elements that I loved about the last community I lived in, and doesn't have some of the elements that i didn't appreciate as much.

The Institute is primarily a educational center, teaching the healing arts, health related courses, and specific intensives. I major shift is to happen this coming February, as they shut down the courses and begin to re-allign for there new goals. They are very interested in being a center that teaches sustainable living skills, and have taken action in the form of a permaculture plan for the entire property. For this they contracted Doug Bullock, another Orcas connection, a very experienced permaculturalist, and someone I admire. In short the new owners are wanting to change the direction of the community and the landscape as well.

Currently, they have a two gardens and a nice orchard, many structures for guests, a beautiful old lodge, a pool/sauna/hot tub setup.

I've been working down in the garden for the past week, and find the team very amicable and a good source of knowledge. Today a prospective new garden manager has come to see the property and inquire about the future plans and goals. She was a nice women, a mother figure, and Ammachi devotee, we connected.

Much in transition here at present, and more change to come. Adapting with the times is the mode, and there are amazing opportunities for the right people here.

The Avenue of the Giants - Humboldt County, CA

Thirty one miles of massive ancient peace. This avenue runs along highway 101 through the Humboldt state park and along the Eel river. I stayed here for a few days and enjoyed the simplicity and the quietness of the forest. It's hard to capture these trees with a standard 35mm lense. I tried, but must stack two photos on top of each other to capture a entire tree. As well as redwood giants, they have amazing specimens of poison oak here. Some vines climbing the redwoods for sun were as thick as my arm, and very numerous along the roads and open spaces.

As well as forests to enjoy, I found many fellow cyclists gathered here, more than any other park so far. Standing out was Antonio, from Italy, he's riding from Anchorage to Argentina, and volunteering along the way. He loves kids, and looks for shelters to help at where children have been neglected. He had amazing stories of running into wolves on the Alaskan highway, and many bears too! The key he says in a showdown with bears is to be big, and hoist you bike above your head.; He fortunately didn't have to try this.

-Into Garberville today, and time to settle in to some work.

Agate Beach - Arcata, CA

Just finished up the tour. My last day was short, but not uneventful; my chain snapped on 101 about 4 miles from Arcata. The first and only mechanical problem with my Surly. So, I had to hitch the last bit into town to get fixed up, but while holding the chain dangling in my left and my thumb up in my right, I caught the second truck that was passing by!

Thanks again to all the farmers and communities for welcoming me into your homes and sharing your visions with me. I had a fantastically educational trip, and hope you all enjoy the blog. If any of you would like to add to the descriptions and stories I posted of your farm, feel free! Just email to me your additions, and or corrections.

Happy Season!

Port Orford, OR

Had a nice ride from Bandon today. Longest yet, clear skies and a good talewind, one of the few. It makes such a huge difference. I suspect tomorrow I'll make it down into the Redwood National Park, and spend a bit of time amongst the elders. Then finish up the trip with the last leg into Arcata, CA. I'm pushing on 700 miles currently.

The Pacific - Winchester Bay

Smooth riding here on the Oregon coast. A great many state parks to camp at with amazing geological formations, and clear sunsets.

Oregon state parks are great for supporting cyclers. Good shoulders on the roads here, and four dollar camp sites for those who peddle. Just a few more days before I reach California. I'm just outside Bandon now.

Aprovecho - Cottage Grove, OR

"Aprovecho is a non-profit research and education center located outside of Cottage Grove, Oregon. Our 40 acre rural campus is the classroom for our ongoing educational programs. At Aprovecho you will experience live working examples of Appropriate Technology, Sustainable Forestry, Organic Agriculture, Permaculture, and the interconnectedness that is shared by these systems and with the land.



We offer many different opportunities for learning through our Internship program, Permaculture courses, Americorps program, special workshops, apprenticeships, and volunteer opportunities. If you are interested in any of these programs, or would like to set up a private workshop for your school or group feel free to contact us.

Aprovecho means “to make best use of” in Spanish. On our forty acres of south-facing slope, we are making best use of our resources by growing our food, processing our wood, and generating our energy. Aprovecho’s mission is to serve as a model of sustainability. Our model of sustainability relies on Permacultural design, appropriate technologies, and connecting with the greater Cottage Grove community. While our garden, orchard, livestock, and surrounding community provides us with fresh produce, we continue to seek ways to localize our food security . We cut, yard, peel, dry, and chop wood from our forest, and depend on a local sawyers and horseloggers to assist us in our processing of dimensional lumber. We harness energy with appropriate technologies via bicycle grinders, vegetable oil fuels, passive solar housing and heating, photovoltaic electricity, and efficient wood-combustion. Additionally through natural building techniques such as strawbale insulation, flat-sided small diameter poles for studs, and earthen plaster, we make best use of low-cost, locally available materials."

I had a great time here at this educational retreat. Just being here overnight and present for a few meals and meetings, I was able to gather that the management and leadership have much, experience in guiding their interns through the eight week program offered. Spring, summer, and fall, they guide over twenty interns through their educational campus, and train them in techniques for a sustainable future.

For more info, look through their website, and take a look at the outdoor kitchen in my photo album. All fire cooking!

Contact:
Aprovecho Website

Persephone Farm - Lebanon, OR

Farmers: Jeff and Elenor Falen

Thirteen acres of mixed vegetable production in the foothills of the Cascade mountains. Jeff and ElenorFalen have been working this piece of land next to the South Santiam river for over twenty years. They've developed some unique attitudes to streamline the business, and market their produce.

Located between Lebanon and Sweet Home, they endeavor to farm in anticipation of the future and use as little plastic as possible. This reflects in their efforts to not artificially extend the seasons. Jeff feels this connects him more deeply to his land and his crops. They want to have the farm become more sustainable each season, and have taken steps and sacrifices to move in that direction. Jeff was recently spotlighted on the website of the Portland Farmer's Market , "Meet the Farmer", about his philosophy and business. They sell produce wholesale, at many farmers markets around the western part of the state, and occasionally to restaurants.

Working at a medium organic commercial scale, Jeff and Elenor employ one field manager, local farm laborers, and one intern this season. They pay minimum wage to all employees and deduct living expenses for interns. Moving over to a minimum wage system was not planned, but was
a move they had to make because of a disgruntled past intern, who engaged in litigation, which she lost on most counts. This was a intern who went on to create similar trouble at other operations, and it is a shame to bring trouble like this to family farms. The family farm is more than business and money. It is an experience of home and life.

Jeff really enjoys the apprentice program, and only wishes that the energy invested would stay on the farm. Every year they have had to go through the same instruction with new interns, training them for life on their own farms in the future, or just providing a break from city life.
It's easy to understand this, it must feel like leaking energy. Apprenticeships, traditionally, would last for years, and the training would be re-payed to the master over years in different ways, often the apprentice would become the new master and take over the business as the old master retired. This is what many farmers desire, to have someone steady to train, and be able to teach what they have learned over a lifetime of seasons and experiences. Especially being able to hand over the land to this person. To have a multi generational connection with one piece of property. We need young people who are willing to commit to this lifestyle, to connect with these farmers, and fill their shoes over time. Otherwise we will see what has happened now: sold land to developers, and loss of farmland.

In this new organic method, with all of the creativity that is involved, this is the time to have steady training programs and the passing on of the experiences that the small farmers are acquiring. It is a rebirth of the old ways, and it takes incredible work on the part of these current farmers to learn these methods, and master them for their climate and location. What a support it would be for a farmer to know that all his work is not going to be lost, but carried on for generations to come!

This creativity is evident on Persephone farm. Jeff has come up with many solutions and has explored them over time. He developed a "egg mobile"(see photo album); which starts with a old farm trailer and then has a coup built on top. The roof is used to gather rain water for the chickens, and the coup is easily moved every three to four weeks to a new location. They have two of these built on the farm and they work beautifully. To keep foxes and other threats away
they have a four foot high electric fence(net style), and Jeff says it works well, they haven't lost any chickens in a long time.

Jeff and Elenor are also inspired about beneficial insects and encourage them with plantings of marigolds throughout the fields. I also saw bat boxes and bird houses throughout the property.

For irrigation they use the local river and aluminum pipe with overhead sprinklers. Drip lines are still in effect with the tomatoes as of blight problems, and they chose to bury them a few inches deep, as Jeff finds this extends there life considerably.

Another invention I saw(and you can explore too on the photo album), was a electric Allis- Chalmers G tractor. Something Jeff put together in his spare time with his electrical experience, it can be charged from any outlet.

An excitingly inventive farm, with care and respect for the land, with a healthy focus on a balanced lifestyle, and attention to the farmers mental and emotional longevity.