I spent a month at Summit Farms and felt inspired to start my own homestead!

I originally reached out to Summit Farms in May 2024, after being accepted to WWOOF’s Future Farmer Program. I arrived in late June with my partner and my friend, and we quickly settled into a weekly schedule of routine farm maintenance, some exciting special projects, and local adventures. In our first week, we became very familiar with planting, growing, and harvesting carrots, shallots, and garlic, participating in every step of the process from prepping beds and planting seeds to harvesting produce and selling it at the farmer’s market. I also got to know some of the community surrounding Summit Farms, and I was inspired by the amount of mutual aid, voluntary support, and shared joy that goes into everyone’s relationships here. By the end of our stay, we got to see a hundred year old chicken coop restored so that chickens can join the paradise found at Summit Farms!

My time spent here was also reflective and expansive on a personal level. I aspire to live in a world where everyone has access to fresh, abundant food options, a loving relationship with the land they live on, and resources to heal from the harm of states, borders, and empires. It was especially fruitful to witness Mitch and Michelle’s ethos in practice, to have deep conversations with them, my partner, my friends, and my WWOOF cohort, and to inspire transformation within myself towards my dreams. I hope I can come to Summit Farms again one day and visit similar inspirational land projects around the world!

– Josephine