2022 at the Organic Compound
Our hearts and bellies are full, yet again, as we look back on another powerful and uplifting year stewarding this story. There is a strong feeling of rootedness that came from this year. We witnessed so many of our friends and family returning to the garden, to this land we call home. People who have gathered here for over a decade.
It felt so good. It was an inspiring year co-creating with all of you in the garden and across the land during our events. We feel that support so deeply. We give thanks for 2022 and for this life, empowering each other to get closer to the land, to come together and be inspired by the regeneration that is happening on so many levels.
Whether it was just a casual Sunday Garden Gathering where a few of us planted seeds or a song shared at Halfway to Harmony (our annual concert) with a big group of amazing people, the love was always felt. That love, was from you, from your presence on the land. The beauty and empowerment that comes when people gather is felt not only by those who gather, but by the land itself and the greater community that surrounds it. 
Every action has a reaction and your contagious inspiration is quite refreshing to say the least. We find it necessary. Because, as you know, it’s strange to be alive at this time during what seems like a peak in civilization, the crest of our potential and the carrying capacity of the Earth. 
For those of us who are holding so dearly to the diversity of life and the purity and potential of ecology, it is difficult to be faced with the harsh realities of such a loss of diversity, such a dilution of what once was here on Earth. To be holding on to the dream of stewarding the restoration of the Earth, of our society and it’s relationship to it’s abundance is our hope. One cannot call it a dream however, the only way to achieve this goal is to go all the way (or as deep as you can), while realizing we each have our own story, our own struggles and our own path of destruction and of regeneration.
On our path, here at the Organic Compound that has looked like a decade long journey into all things homesteading, permaculture, agroforestry, an agrarian way of life or whatever you want to call it. And in the year 2022 we walked that path when we harvested wild strawberries, braided sweet grass, planted native grasses, grafted apple and pear trees, planted our garden, harvested herbs, made medicines and salves, bottled tinctures and blended teas, raised chickens, harvested the abundance and gave thanks to the land and waters that give us life.
We shared that abundance at our gatherings and in ceremony we celebrated that love. In support of this dream we shared our story, collaborated with our partners and opened up our home for more innovation and celebration of life. Reflecting back on all of it we especially cherished the times with our family, raising children and welcoming our elderly grandmother to live in our home. We recall the moments gathering for farm tours with the Regenerative Agriculture Alliance, in collaboration with Clean River Partners. We remember the joys of raising flocks of Tree-Range® Chicken and supporting the evolution of the food business we co-founded, Tree-Range Farms (formerly Regeneration Farms).
We brought goats back to the land to continue our silvopasture journey. We had our “look mom, we’re on TV” moment when Zoë François from the Magnolia network captured us for Zoë Bakes (season 3 Episode 9), her baking show where she shared the story of the hazelnuts we steward. We were also featured in Savanna Institute’s video series Partnering for Agroforestry. We were able to purchase hazelnut and elderberry processing equipment as a part of the Kiss The Ground Farmland Program’s Regenerating Communities Grant.
We hosted one of the most powerful Halfway to Harmony’s to date with some of our favorite musicians and teachers. We played host to two magical weddings and some wonderful Sunday Garden Gatherings. This winter we experimented with creating products from the land and debuted them at a local event.
To us, this year felt like a real level up on all fronts. It felt like not only were we successful, but our friends, family and the businesses and organizations surrounding this vibrant community were onto something big. And as we root down with our little family on the land and act out our roles on this planet, we have each other. We have the hope and inspiration of this community powering our dreams. When we feel like we are wavering from that path, we have this reminder. We have these precious memories of all of our efforts and support for each other.
Many Thanks and Happy New Year!
Your friends at the Organic Compound
