THE FOLD
We keep meeting people who want to do what we have done: start a sustainable, regenerative small-scale family farm. Why? Because they want to experience greater abundance and security by living in balance with natural systems and producing much of what they consume. They want a lifestyle of natural resilient abundance. What's missing is a safe place for small family farmers to go from start to regenerative, learning principles and developing skills that are customized to their family, goals, and climate. A place where it's safe to ask questions, where you can explore new thoughts and ideas, and you don't have to have all the right answers.
That's why we have created THE FOLD!
Opportunity ends on Saturday, April 27th at midnight MDT. Admitting new members for the next ...
THE FOLD Membership is currently closed but join our email list to get notified when we open again for membership admission.
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Join our mailing list and get updates on all the happenings at Peaceful Valley ...
- EARTH STEWARDSHIP PRINCIPLES IN ACTION: Our weekly newsletter sharing with you our thoughts and experiences around Earth Stewardship and regenerative land management.
- Available Products: Breeding stock, THE FOLD membership opportunities, courses, etc.
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Here's the back story ...
When we first started on this journey, we felt like we were on our own, piecing together information from lots of different sources: lots of videos, lots of books, lots of classes and courses and certifications. Everyone had their "program," their "secret bullet," and though it was all good information, no one talked to us and our specific situation. Everybody wanted to tell us how to do things their way, regardless of how different our situation was. We felt like we were constantly fitting puzzle pieces together and wondering which pieces we were missing. Unfortunately, we tended to find the holes via mistakes: mistakes we made from lack of knowledge, and that was incredibly frustrating! Sifting through all of the systems, we learned two critically important things...
First: When you start something big and courageous, it's good to have people in your corner ...
Over time, we actually found that our biggest asset was our own family: our own diverse team of deeply engaged, hard thinkers, and hard workers who were committed to our specific family farm. We could bring new knowledge to the team and then like magic it would get applied to new problems and challenges. That was our secret weapon: a group of like-minded people who were safe to learn with and bounce ideas off of, to brainstorm solutions with. They were also a group of people who had a remarkably diverse set of skills and interests: woodworking, engineering, soil biology, food science, English, artistic design, energy therapy, natural healing, animal husbandry, pasture management, construction, water management, food forests, etc., etc..
Second: Master the principles ...
Master the principles. Master the mindset. Every system we studied was based on principles that transferred to our situation even when the system as a whole didn't. We live in the high plains desert of Wyoming, most regenerative farming systems are optimized for very temperate climates, but, we found that we could parse the principles out of the system and could work with them.
And that's what we want to bring to you ...
As you're building your own regenerative small family farm, we want you to have access to a diverse team of deeply engaged, hard thinking, hard working people dedicated to helping you build out your farm in the best way for YOU, with your goals, your climate, your family, your situation!
We want you to have access to the principle-based knowledge that we've gained over 20 years of study and implementation, and the team of brilliant problem solvers that have always benefited us.
And so, in an effort to start something big and courageous, we are making a call out to anyone interested in being part of a group of like-minded regenerative family farmers. Together we will:
- Learn the principles and strategies of regenerative agriculture.
- Troubleshoot problems, searching for situation specific solutions.
- Be a safe and supportive network.
We will create regenerative, resilient, and abundant small family farms!
Here's our vision for our regenerative family farm ...
if this is anything like what you want, join us in THE FOLD.
Where we started ...
- Land - Brittle, susceptible to drought, fire, wind, sun, desertification.
- Water - Extreme evapotranspiration: most water that falls, runs off or evaporates.
- Animals - Not optimized for the climate, vulnerable to diseases and parasites, haphazard species selection.
- Soil - Decided lack of soil biology! Dry, cracks, doesn't hold moisture, non-fryable.
- Plants - Lots of pioneers (aka weeds), hard to establish trees, lots of work!
- People - Passionate and excited but overwhelmed, scattered, stressed, and discouraged. Don't quite know where to start or what to do next. Shooting in the dark!
Where we're going ...
- Land - Moist, resilient, abundant, gentled winds, dappled shade.
- Water - Numerous water retention features: ponds, terraces, gabions, trees; water that falls, stays to nourish the plants and animals.
- Animals - Resilient adapted landrace breeds that thrive in a network of interconnected species that support each other and the land and plants they rely on.
- Soil - Thriving soil biome, rich with humus, high water retention capacity.
- Plants - Rich diversity of species, established mature food forests, self-regenerated woodlands, rich deeply-rooted pastures. Abundant life!
- People - Passionate and excited! Resilient, observant, focused, peaceful, confident, unified, connected, superior problem solvers.
Here's what we're thinking ...
This is subject to change as we adjust to make sure everyone is experiencing transformative change and growth but here's the current plan ...
Monthly Workshops
Sometimes when you're working on a project or going through a challenge, all you need for a break-through is another pair of eyes. So, the plan is that every month, we would meetup to workshop members' challenges, questions, and ideas. Before the meeting, we'd send out a call for topics and during the meeting, the Peaceful Valley team and other FOLD members would share any thoughts and/or we'd break into smaller teams to troubleshoot and brainstorm ideas.
Monthly Deep Dives
Every month we would meetup for a presentation on some topic of interest. The Peaceful Valley team would either prepare and present the content or, if the topic covers an area where we feel we do not have sufficient experience, we would curate the content from an external sources. As part of THE FOLD, you could suggest topics or ask questions. These discussions will obviously have some of our practical solutions, but will remain largely principle based. We want you to develop the mindset for seeing and solving your unique problems. Here are some of the topics we think might be interesting:
- Animal Systems: shelters, water, breed selection, landraces, species interactions, winter management, breeding, birthing, guardian animals, predator management, harvesting, etc.
- Soil Systems: soil biology, composting, mycology, nutrient cycling, etc.
- Plant Systems: permaculture, succession, food forests, holistic management, rotational grazing, pasture planning, etc.
- Water Systems: gravitational water, water retention, eye-brow terraces, gabions, etc.
- People Systems: natural healing, food preservation, stress resilience, communication, goal setting, etc.
Community Discussions
Have you ever asked a question in a Facebook group really needing feedback on a problem you were experiencing and gotten completely bashed as a result? Yep, we have too. We actually don't ask questions on Facebook anymore. Get burned too many times and you learn.
We'd like to enable a way for members to ask questions, answer questions, and share the pains and the wins in a safe way. The rules of the group will be based on the principles of seek understanding, and judge not!
The PV Team
Cherstin Sparks
Cherstin knows something about everything, and if she doesn't know something, she knows where to go to find the information. She has particular interests in natural health care, food production and preservation, pasture management, veterinary science, and animal husbandry.
Burton Sparks
Burton is an engineer and is a master question asker and systems thinker: he is going to help you ask the questions that need to be asked so you know you've thought through everything. He also has a passion for nutrient cycling, including human waste management, and has studied under Dr. Elaine Ingham. He is going to have answers for you about composting and soil biology development.
Elena Sparks
Elena is our poultry connoisseur. She knows the strengths and weaknesses of just about every domesticated bird breed on the planet! If you have questions about birds she's going to be able to get you answers. She also has a passion for genetics and breeding for flock and herd improvement. In her spare time, she is developing her natural gift for photography.
Christy Russon
Christy is a strategist, she sees how things fit together and loves systems. She is also a personal development coach and energy therapist, so when it comes to the emotional/mental side of things, she's the one we talk to. We have all benefited from Christy's incredible ability to help people see, understand, and process the sometimes tough emotional challenges and stresses that living this kind of life creates.
Virgil & Teresa Russon
Virgil is our builder guy. If you want to know about planning and constructing anything from a cabinet, to a feeder, to a timber frame building, he's got you covered! He's also a mechanical engineer who knows something about just about everything engineery.
Teresa sees the big picture. She can help you work through the big goals and keep the larger perspective in mind when planning your projects. She is also a master of edges and fences: if you need to know about creating beautiful spaces, she's your lady.
Have Questions?
We've set up a couple Q&A calls over the next couple of weeks for just that purpose ...
Meeting Times
Tuesday, April 16th at 6:00PM MDT
Saturday, April 20th at 2:00PM MDT
Wednesday, April 24th at 9:00AM MDT
Zoom Link for all meetings
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83732355461?pwd=dVg2akc4NTE4UTBYMEl1WldEbHdhdz09
Or, send us an email at team@peacefulvalleyfold.com
Stay Connected!
Join our mailing list and get updates on all the happenings at Peaceful Valley ...
- EARTH STEWARDSHIP PRINCIPLES IN ACTION: Our weekly newsletter sharing with you our thoughts and experiences around Earth Stewardship and regenerative land management.
- Available Products: Breeding stock, THE FOLD membership opportunities, courses, etc.
By sharing your contact information you are agreeing to receive communication from us. We are committed to respecting your information and will not share it. You can withdraw your consent to receiving communication from us at any time by unsubscribing.
Join THE FOLD!
We're so excited you want to join us in THE FOLD.
For the price of a couple of bags of chicken feed, you can start your move to regenerative sustainability!
We're asking for a year commitment, but you can pay either all at once or monthly.
THE FOLD
Yearly Membership
paid monthly
$25/month ($300/year)
THE FOLD
Yearly Membership
paid yearly
$250
We don't have all the payment logistics setup yet, so if you want to join, we're going to do this the old school way. Send us an email at team@peacefulvalleyfold.com with "Sign me up as a founding member" in the subject line. Let us know which payment option you want and we will reach out with a Venmo or Paypal invoice. If you chose a monthly subscription, expect to receive a new invoice every month.
When you join THE FOLD as a founding member your membership fee will be locked in at the founding member rate as long as your membership remains current. This is the lowest the membership fee will ever be, it's a unique and limited time opportunity to join on the ground level and we want to reward our founding members for their assistance.
Opportunity ends on Saturday, April 27th at midnight MDT. Admitting new members for the next ...
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303-349-5514