A year of exciting growth, changes, challenges, opportunities and partnerships has stirred individuals and communities. Our farm, Spirit Farm, has seen an increase in newborn pigs and sheep, as well as increase in garden harvest, and in particular abundance – chili, potatoes, cucumbers and broccoli; along with a splendid harvest with many diverse vegetables never grown in the area.
The farm has demonstrated that growing your own food in the Southwest is possible when applying compost full of beneficial bacteria, fungi, protozoa and nematodes; little friends beneath our feet that we have not recognized and have more importantly not established a partnership. Spirit Farm has completed its primary mission of impacting people on a spiritual and practical level. Some have gone so far as to make critical changes to eating habits and addressing consumer consumption practices.
Animal Husbandry is also being modeled by raising animals with clean feeds using a fermentation process that not only removes the fertilizer toxins, increases bioavailability of nutrients, and also enhances the immune system; together, the end-product of fermenting feeds is that it produces cleaner meats.
We are making our farm move towards a cyclical demonstration of repurposing all aspects of feed, compost and growing connectivity with mother earth. The journey is an inward pathway of reconnection and reattachment to the earth and sky in a “natural” process.
Many children, youth, adults and elders have visited the farm, close to 600 this year alone. We have often found ourselves in the middle of deep discussions of indigenous perspectives, spiritual reflections, climate changes, community resiliency, as well as migration towards the indigenous lifestyles. We enjoy the farm and the fullness of living animals and plants but we have found we are not alone and on a pathway to real freedom and independence from corporations and government welfare.
In addition to visitors to the farm, we have developed opportunities to network and disseminate our knowledge in community workshops in New Mexico and Arizona. The majority of our workshops are in Native communities with expansions into non-native localities. The conferences and farm visits this year provided key information for us to apply, in addition to building connections with like minded individuals and organizations. Many are paying attention and desiring to be a part of the conversation about regenerative farming (Soil Life Farming) and indigenous cosmology.
Our numbers of workers are growing this year and have made the work bearable and possible to expand the infrastructure. In order for us to take the time to host visitors and workshops at the farm, travel to conferences and farm visits, and hold outlying workshops, we depended heavily on volunteers locally, from other states and several other countries. As we look back on the impact of the volunteers on the farm, we realize we would not be in the place of growth today. And yet, as we turn the corner into the farm, we realize, “there is no place like home.” We thoroughly enjoy being a part of the many sources of life on the farm upon our returns, to reconnect and ground ourselves from the fast paced lifestyle and chaos taking place in cities and communities across this country. Furthermore, people are hungry and disenfranchised with the industrial system and chaos happening all across the world and we, in our small way, are pulling the string to sound the note that speaks to hearts and minds.
As our organization is growing, so is the infrastructure and needs. We have just secured monies to complete the guest cabin – we are so excited to be able to bring this dream to fruition. In addition, a 12 x 60 mobile home was recently donated and sitting on our property for office space and housing. Other projects include completing animal shelters, remodeling a small building for a cooler for food storage, adding a storage unit and additional green houses.
We have truly enjoyed working closely and collaborating with other like minded organizations and individuals to continue to expand our goals of growing more growers and increasing the opportunities for healthy food choices in our local Native communities.
We have plans to target youth and expand and share our knowledge of Soil Life Farming and composting endeavors with college Interns and interested Native Apprenticeships. We have started conversations with Fort Lewis College to provide Native interns to learn on the farm.
Recently we have been involved in conversations and meetings with Navajo Sheep producers to establish and supply meats for local restaurants and meat shops in order to regenerate ancient production of Navajo sheep. This also involves healing the overgrazed lands with regenerative grazing practices and land management. If done properly, using both traditional and regenerative practices, our Navajo lands can be healed by the sheep themselves.
A local homesteader has presented an offer to our organization to purchase their large used fodder machine (produces high quality clean feed from seed in 6 days) for $30,000 (half the cost of a new machine this size). The owner is flexible and willing to work with us in a capacity that works for both of us. This machine would allow us to finish the animals under high nutritional standards and capacity. This is a machine that can be shared with all our local partners, farmers, collaborators and Navajo Sheep producers. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers for wisdom and funding opportunities.
Our plate is full, and we often find ourselves in just the right place at the right time talking with KEY people. Our farm is often bustling with volunteers and local workers.
Please help us in hiring indigenous workers to help circulate the dollar in our native communities through sponsorship. We are also in need strong donors who can keep the ‘general support’ account flourishing in order to support the mission of Soil Life Farming and grazing approach to agriculture. Your financial support allows us to continue to spread the message of ancient native wisdom to heal ourselves, the earth, and the environment. Wealth has often been hurtful to our indigenous people but let us use wealth to heal our indigenous people towards sufficiency. Please join us in this worthy cause and become a donor today.
