rss rss rss
  • About
Food / Aug. 08, 2017 / by Amy DuFault / 0 Comments

On a Rest Stop With The Great American Farm Tour

I’ve been working with Sarah Kelley of The Island Foundation and Karen Schwalbe of SEMAP to start a new fibershed as part of Rebecca Burgess’ Fibershed network. Our Fibershed, comprised of both Massachusetts and Rhode Island, is called the Southeastern New England Fibershed and our focus moving forward will be on connecting farmers to both production and resources to make their farms maybe more diversified or more viable than they thought they could be.

From farmer to processor, from financing to cut and sew, we are connecting the dots of the supply chain to bring production back to reinvigorate a once-thriving New England textile industry, basing our geographic radius on the historical textile processing centers of New Bedford, Massachusetts, and Providence, Rhode Island, both of which have extensive remaining infrastructure, and cover both states with an approximately 100-mile radius.

I love getting together with Sarah and Karen because they always are so in the know when it comes to the most interesting things happening regionally with farming.

The three of us were sitting fairly recently at a local farm store over coffee to discuss the potential of the fibershed when Karen mentioned The Great American Farm Tour.  YouTube sensation Justin Rhodes and his family of six are currently traveling all over America in their converted school bus “discovering the greatest sustainable yards, homesteads and farms.”

These guys are the real deal. Last summer they wrapped up their biggest project to date, “100 days of Growing Food”, in which they grew 75% of their food in just 100 days. But the bus tour? This is pretty epic and when people like this are nearby you, you just sort of have to go meet them because what they are doing flies in the face of all logic and when that happens? Well you’ll find me front and center with a big grin on my face. I love these kinds of people.

pariah-dog-farm-8-1024x768

t sounded ridiculous. So ridiculous good that I planned on meeting Karen when she went to meet the family later in the day at yet another farm I’d never heard of here on Cape Cod, The Pariah Dog Farm.

Later Karen texted she was there but leaving but that I should still totally go. A family in a revamped school bus putting a spotlight on farms? Some weird push out the door that only Fridays can do to you (or when you see a picture of a friend like Karen on Instagram laughing with the wayward tour family), happened and I threw on my jacket and was on the move.

The Pariah Dog Farm is, according to Edible Cape Cod, an unusual name for a farm on Cape Cod. But for owner/farmers Matt Churchill and Jeny Christian, these Pariah dogs—which survive off of waste from human settlements—”symbolize a vital ecological niche that inspires their farming philosophy.”

Read the full article here.

 

Written by: Amy DuFault

Pages

  • About

Categories

  • Between The Lines
  • Fashion
  • Food
  • News and Culture
  • Series
  • The Tailor Project
  • Uncategorized
  • Video

Archives

  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • April 2021
  • November 2020
  • April 2020
  • February 2020
  • December 2019
  • October 2019
  • July 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • March 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • December 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • February 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009
  • July 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • February 2009
  • January 2009

News and Culture

RISD’s The Nature Lab Virtual Series on Regeneration

Apr. 06, 2021 / 0 Comments

I have been working with the amazing...

The Great Fantastic on 3 Go-To Books For the Entrepreneur Wanting More

Mar. 04, 2019 / 0 Comments

(A Holiday Reminder) The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

Nov. 27, 2018 / 0 Comments

BF+DA Research Fellow Russell Joye To Focus on Helping Dad with Parkinsons

Oct. 30, 2018 / 0 Comments

Sharon Rowe Tackles Tiny Businesses Going Big in New Book

Aug. 16, 2018 / 0 Comments

LISTEN: Laura Forlano on Designing Textiles for Equality & Justice

Jun. 19, 2018 / 0 Comments

Digital Existentialism & the Jacquard Loom

May. 25, 2018 / 0 Comments

One Woman’s Smart Sanitary Pad Helping Women Take Health Back

May. 21, 2018 / 0 Comments

The BF+DA Kicks Off Futureworks Fashion Tech Residency

Dec. 12, 2017 / 0 Comments

Knitted Rooms at New York Textile Month

Sep. 25, 2017 / 0 Comments

Food

Microspin Founded By An Engineer to Curb Farmer Suicides

Mar. 29, 2018 / 0 Comments

For Food & Fiber, Hemp Garners New Interest Among Farmers

Mar. 15, 2018 / 0 Comments

Harvesting Secret Sea Silk From Clams

Sep. 11, 2017 / 0 Comments

On a Rest Stop With The Great American Farm Tour

Aug. 08, 2017 / 0 Comments

CROSSOVER: The Unlikely Fusion of Fast Food & High Fashion

May. 10, 2015 / 0 Comments

21 Pickup Lines for Foodies with Seasonal Eating Depression

Mar. 10, 2014 / 0 Comments

All those root vegetables got you down?...

21 Pick Up Lines For Harvest Season

Oct. 21, 2013 / 0 Comments

Written by Amy DuFault and Anna Brones...

21 Pick Up Lines For People That Only Eat Organic

May. 10, 2013 / 0 Comments

Are you as pure as your kale?...

23 First World Foodie Problems

Apr. 25, 2013 / 0 Comments

This Mobile Food Canning Operation Goes Where It’s Needed Most

Mar. 25, 2013 / 0 Comments

Sites that inspire

  • Ecouterre
  • © Copyright Amy DuFault, Sustainable Fashion Writer, Consultant, Activist / All Rights Reserved.
  • Premium WordPress Themes / Theme by wpStyles.org