Connection

“People often ask me what one thing I would recommend to restore relationship between land and people. My answer is almost always “plant a garden”. It’s good for the health of the earth and it’s good for the health of people. A garden is a nursery for nurturing connection, the soil for cultivation of practical reverence. And its power goes far beyond the garden gate - once you develop a relationship with a little patch of earth, it becomes a seed itself.” - Robin Wall Kimmerer from Braiding Sweetgrass

This little farmstead we are co-creating all about connection.

Land acknowledgement: Upon arriving we started to research the local history to understand a respectful land acknowledgement specific to this area. We live on Treaty 1 territory, traditional territory of the Anishanaabeg, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota, and Dene Peoples, and the National Homeland of the Red River Metis. We are grateful for all those who have saved seeds, tended land, and passed on plant knowledge before us. We hope we can create meaningful relationships that are respectful of the local histories. Sharing seeds, carefully tending the land, and growing healthy food for the community are some of the ways we want to do this.

Ancestral connections: Although Greg and I (Karin) mainly grew up in cities, we both have gardeners, farmers and homesteaders in our not-so-distant family histories. Setting up a farmstead, with daily tasks of planting, tending, harvesting, and preserving, is giving us the chance to reflect on the lives of these ancestors who did this work before us. It is allowing our children to tap into their family histories of generations past.

Local farm connections: In this first year here, this farmstead has allowed us to connect with a variety of other local farmers in the community. Some who have become mentors that we can call on to help answer our many farming questions. Some who provide our strawbales or firewood and stay to chat after the delivery is done. Others who have generously gifted us extra berries, plants and other resources from their more established gardens. Without this farmstead-in-the-making we would not have met any of these new friends. Interestingly, social media has been a wonderful connector in this realm as well, initially allowing us to discover other Manitoba CSA farms and market gardeners which then has led to in-person friendships.

Cycles, seasons and weather: With our hands in the soil, we have never felt so connected to the weather on a daily basis as we do now that our work is closely linked to the natural elements around us. The cloud formations that bring rain, the cold clear starry nights that could allow first frost, the northern lights that surprise us at midnight, the overhead bird migrations signalling spring and fall.

Soil Food Web connections: Farming is the perfect opportunity for both practical hands-on learning and research. This year have been taking Jean-Martin Fortier’s market gardener masterclass, practicing permaculture plantings, and reading about the Soil Food Web to improve how we grow and generate abundance. In all these studies we are learning about intricate connections between worms, nematodes, bacteria and fungi that create healthy soil as the foundation for growing healthy food. Healthy soil = healthy food = healthy people.

Community connections: We hope to nurture connections in the community through skills-sharing opportunities in what we are calling our Farm School/Folk School. We are starting to offer a few immersive farm-based classes and events focused on practical topics related to food preservation, health, growing food, and ecological living, to help create a resilient empowered community. Check out our upcoming classes here, and if you have a topic you think would be a good fit please let us know!

What kinds of connections are important in your life?