3042 About D Acres

3042 words about D Acres of New Hampshire

Rural life in New England has been in decline since the 19^th century. The prime pasture and cropland is being converted to subdivisions and trailer parks. Large tracts of land are managed for mechanized logging with the quality timber shipped overseas. The customs of town meeting and cooperation are fading into history like the railway beds that once provided transportation in this region. There is no local job market and property taxes have risen as folks invest in second homes in the area. It has always been a difficult life in New England to be a small farmer - more so now with global competition and industrial agriculture forcing down food commodity prices. The survival of the landscape, traditions and a sustainable way of life are in jeopardy unless we pursue innovative methods to diversify the farm economy and cooperate on a local level.

We are located in Dorchester, New Hampshire, population approximately 300, no stoplight, no convenience stores. This is a bedroom community where you generally either work in the woods or commute as a single passenger in automobile 1-4 hours to work. The value of timber fluctuates based on international markets, thus when the price is high there is a lot of cutting and when the price slumps there is no work. Walmart is the 2^nd largest employer in the local university town, but no one seems to be working full time with benefits. This land is rock and scrabble that was cleared during the 1800s for the wool market that collapsed after the civil war. The soil is thin and the winter is long. It provides a wonderful, challenging opportunity for an innovative agriculture and community project.

D Acres of NH is a non-profit organic farm and homestead. The mission of the organization is to function as an educational center that researches, applies and teaches skills of sustainable living and small-scale organic farming. The idea is to work cooperatively to achieve many of the roles a farm can play in the community. The project serves as a community center and producer of agricultural products. Instead of the common farm dilemma of seeking work offsite to supplement income, we are looking for creative ways to generate on-farm income. D Acres of NH serves as a model of the modern small farm in New England. The economic and social possibilities of the farm as a center for healthy food, face to face communication, education, goods and services are endless. The vision of this farm is to provide stewardship for the rural landscape while also serving the community.

There are many facets to Development Aimed at Creating Rural Ecological Society. The idealistic vision is to provide the positive aspects of traditional and current technologies producing a simple yet comfortable standard of living. This must involve conservation and adaptation to reduce our fossil fuel consumption. Another facet of this project is the use of the consensus process enabling individuals to cooperatively pursue this ideal. Economics is important as well: D Acres endeavors to exhibit methods for on-farm revenue generation especially through cottage crafts made from onsite renewable resources.

The D Acres concept involves ideas from many sources. There are aspects of the traditional. The Shakers of this region provided an example of a communal living situation that produced value added goods. There are also contemporary organizations such as The Farm and Earthaven that have provided guidance and inspiration through models of cooperative rural development. Experience on islands in the Caribbean and the San Juans provided perspective for possibilities in self-sufficiency and community collaboration. The design ideas offered in Permaculture have helped us plan the physical landscape. With regard to farming we have incorporated ideas from biodynamic, edible landscaping, French Intensive and lasagna gardening. The theme is to research the alternatives and then apply suitable practices for our situation.

The project is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, which is overseen by a Board of Directors. Day to day operations are organized in a consensus format at weekly meetings. The budget is submitted annually by staff to the Board for approval. There are currently 3 staff and 2 part time employees. We are blessed with active participants who have been involved in the project for many year. The property and structures are owned by the Trought family. There is a desire to put the property into land trust but we are concerned with the restrictions of the land trust system. The trusts come with development agreements that limit changes in land usage. Since we are uncertain about the future, flexibility in land use for further agricultural and residential community infrastructure development outweighs the tax reductions.

The staff members have put hours of labor into the belief that this system has a future. These residents seek an agrarian way of life in a beautiful environment. The perks for living here include lots of stimulation from new people annually and strong community ties. Problems include being distant from relatives, stimulation from new people annually and small salary. Getting along as residents can have high and low points. We are building a perennial system in which we are putting stock in a sustainable plan by investing in the soil and the community.

The primary landscape feature of the farm is forest. In addition to clean air and water, the forest is a resource for recreational activities like hiking and biking in the summer and skiing and snowshoeing in the winter. The trail system provides enjoyment for the residents and the general public. The forest also supplies commodities such as firewood, lumber, mulch and craft supplies. A chainsaw is utilized to cut selected timber, which is graded for furniture, lumber or firewood. The wood used for furniture and lumber is transported by oxen to a depot for local milling off-site. Branches are chipped and the mulch is used onsite. We also utilize trees for fence posts and round wood furniture. The value added goods from the forest are processed in the woodshop of the community building. Staff member Sam Payton designs fine furniture and supervises the wood-crafting projects. One of the cottage crafts is birch bark framing. Bark of the white birch is cut into strips to decorate picture frames. Other practical crafts from the forest are wooden spoons and utensils. These activities are ways to generate on-farm income, while serving as practical experience for learners in basic skills like chopping firewood and woodshop fundamentals.

The gardens at D Acres supply nourishment, medicine, and resources for craft products. We are compensating for the clay loam consistency of the soil by adding organic material. Our cultivation strategy is no-till. The growing season is 90 days frost-free. The garden is a series of mulched beds, shaped by the terrain and connected by a path system. According to forest gardening design concepts, trees and shrubs have been planted throughout the garden. We attempt to utilize spatial possibilities that are overlooked in conventional row cropping. We use trellises to grow vertically and provide shade, windbreaks, and control evaporation where desired. There is interplanting of species where they are compatible. Dynamic accumulators like comfrey and dandelion are encouraged and utilized to build the soil.

The design of the perennial garden is for production to increase annually as species mature. We have invested in planting small fruit and nut trees that will not produce maximum yields for many years. Mushrooms and herbaceous edibles are long-term ventures. The intention is to build a garden system that perpetuates instead of an annual system that requires massive inputs of energy each year. Between starting seeds under fluorescents in February and working the soil in New Hampshire bug season there is significant labor and energy involved with annuals. Perennials are cultivated with maintenance whereas annuals are started over every year. There are many varieties of annual vegetables grown but the majority is consumed onsite.

Value added farm products are created and marketed with the intention of offering hands-on experimentation in the pursuit of a sustainable farm economy. There are several different cottage industries, which are complements of the natural resources of the farm and the interests of the staff. Many of the goods that we produce are also consumed. Interns participate in production, marketing and sale of products. We also use the products to reach the general public with point of sale education about the D Acres mission, the value of healthy eating, and the need to support earth friendly agriculture.

The garden provides many sources of services and income. The beautiful scene attracts artists, photographers and admirers who visit and support the farm through purchases or donations. It provides food to the residents and local markets. The herbs are used to spice the commercial kitchen products. We also grow non-edible flowers and utilize the flora for wreathes and dried arrangements. An offshoot of the garden enterprise is a nursery business where plants are potted for a home in other local gardens.

We host seasonal hostel and camping in an effort to redistribute money that has conglomerated in urban areas. We provide a service to escapees from the city. These tourists are exposed to the farm system and the cooperative nature of the enterprise. In exchange for the farm experience guests trade money that was garnered at a much higher hourly rate than is possible in the rural economy.

The commercial kitchen operates to feed staff, hostel guests and workshop participants. There are occasionally seasonal brunches prepared as fundraisers. Twice a week there is a bread baking operation, which supplies our neighborhood with this farm fresh essential while also providing some income through sales in local stores. Canning and freezing is the typical manner that we use to relish the autumn harvest throughout the winter months. The root cellar and our experiments in fermentation are other methods that we employ to preserve the harvest.

There are several approaches that fulfill our educational mission while bringing income and support to the farm. The internship program allows individuals to pay a fee to participate in the project. The very modest fee helps offset food and administrative costs of hosting the intern. They are expected to commit to the hard work that is the daily toil of the agrarian lifestyle in exchange for the experience of hands-on participation. The interns get a feel for the communal lifestyle by sharing responsibilities for cooking and cleaning while also helping in the decision-making of weekly meetings. Six weeks and 26 hours per week of labor is the minimum amount of time that we expect of participants in this program. With less time onsite the difficulty of adjusting to the system becomes too large of a burden for the community.

Managing expectations for new arrivals is a challenge that must be addressed each year. Our interns have varying levels of experience in sustainable agriculture, community living and alternative social systems. All participants come with their own expectations of the ways in which D Acres functions. Some folks expect to be able to pursue their own interests at any given time of year at the farm. Others expect our farm to be self-sufficient in food production. Planning and implementing a sustainable farm system is hard work that takes a lifetime to develop. Each year we build on what we have done in the past, yet many of our projects will take decades of work to come to fruition. This concept challenges many that have been raised in a society characterized by instant gratification.

Expectations can be managed to a certain degree by the information that we offer the public about our programs and daily toil, but regardless of the realism with which we present the project, there is inevitably a gap between what new arrivals expect and what we can offer. In order to mitigate the difficulties that this situation presents, we strongly encourage potential interns to read documents such as our Organizational Manual and Projects & Goals (a short- and long-term planning document for the organization as a whole). We further address this issue through a commitment to dialogue. Community meetings and one-on-one personnel meetings encourage participants to voice their feelings and enable staff to listen and respond to concerns.

Workshops and events are another way to involve and enlighten people about sustainable alternatives. This is a farm classroom where the students get the hands-on experience to retain practical skills. Building a wall of cob or identifying the plants in the field are examples where workshops complement knowledge obtained in books. The workshops are deliberately inexpensive and substantial discounts are offered to locals and members of the organization. We also host monthly potluck community dinners. At these events people meet face-to-face with neighbors they might only otherwise recognize by the type of car they pass on the road. Neighbors share their needs and talents, therefore stimulating the possibilities of the local economy. This contributes to the overall vitality of the organization by attracting dedicated supporters and building up the community.

The genres of educational experiences also include apprenticeships, tours, work posses, and overnight camp experiences. Apprentices pay to learn skills in areas such as gardening, forestry, woodworking or alternative construction. Tours are scheduled for a variety of groups including garden clubs, camps and schools as we attempt to regulate the frequent drop-ins that interrupt our daily rhythm. Schools for at-risk youth bring students to participate in the outdoor labors that can calm adolescent angst. Over-night groups of students have the luxury of experiencing all hours of farm operations. These types of experiences require supervision and planning. We attempt to charge reasonable fees or find funding for these services. These types of experiences combine the knowledge and leadership skills of our staff with the tremendous natural and people-made infrastructure of the property for the betterment of all.

Our educational programs are primarily hands-on. Participants do the process and learn by doing. We want people to get a practical experience that they can use in the future to teach others. This past summer we devoted the summer building program to the construction of an animal husbandry greenhouse. The “g-animal” was an immense undertaking for the residents and workshop participants with fantastic results. The building now houses goats and chickens and provides a working demonstration of adobe, cob, and cordwood construction for the public.

We are experimenting with several systems for low energy living. We shower with a solar hot water in the summer that is heated in a 40-galloon batch heater that was stripped of insulation and painted black. The water tank was then placed into an old refrigerator, which was covered with a sliding glass door and placed facing the sun. The old hot water heater is plumbed and we enjoy showers without using fossil fuel. We use wood to heat hot water in the winter and we also cook a lot with this forest resource. There is a cob oven and cook-top that is used in the summertime while in winter we use the woodstove. To preserve plants from the garden we need a dehydrator. There are two units onsite that we have constructed. Both are systems of screened shelves. One is wooden and powered by an electric oven coil and the other is welded steel that is wood heated and solar powered. Plans are underway to construct a structure that will combine usage as a sauna and dehydrator for plants and lumber. We also operate a humanure compost project. Human waste is collected and composted for several years before being applied to ornamental plants.

The community building was constructed over several years to serve as the core of the project. This structure is designed to complement the natural resources with the possible productive uses of the property. The kitchen is the heart of the operation where we meet daily to share food. Also on the first floor is the woodshop, office and garage space. In the basement there is a root cellar, recreation space, firewood storage, seed starting shelves, and the heating system. We use a wood boiler to heat the radiant floors and domestic hot water supply. On the second floor there is a room we use for meetings, films, yoga and recreation. Also there is studio space for crafting, a library, and space for hostel guests and/or winter staff.

Day to day life revolves around the community kitchen and the seasons of the year. The kitchen is the shared meeting spot for the residents. The seasons dictate the ambience and type of work activities. In the summer there are more people with longer, warmer days for outdoor activity. The winter is a time of hibernation, writing, reading and indoor crafts. During the winter staff live in the community building whereas the summer weather permits treehouse and tent platform independence. Responsibilities and work schedules are divided at the weekly community meetings. There is a communal contract through which residents volunteer time for cooking and cleaning tasks. There are general staff meetings held in early January to schedule workshops and plan the projects and goals of the calendar year. This is also the time that the budget is prepared for Board approval

The calendar of farm projects is defined by the weather especially in this four-season environment. We group farm operations into categories such as forestry, gardening, administration, animal husbandry, kitchen, alternative construction, woodworking, and educational programs. This helps us to plan the responsibilities for these undertakings. We would like more staff to manage the year-to-year process. Artisans of metal, fabric, and ceramics would help augment our craft and educational programs.

This is not a farm where there are rows of corn or soy as far as the eye can see. The land with which we are blessed is not best utilized in that manner. The project is founded on the idea of service to the land and community. By appropriately using the natural resources at hand and providing for the comfort and well being of the inhabitants we are satisfying basic goals. We also serve as a community and education center which is a valuable part of creating a sustainable rural system. Learning from the experiences of previous generations and experiments of today, we endeavor to make this venture ecologically, economically and socially viable.

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