Raised Up
If there are ever two people in the world who know they are not, and never will be “self-made,” they are Nicholas and me.
I remember at our wedding reception standing before our family and friends when it was our turn to say a few words. I looked out and saw our village. I knew we stood before the people we loved because they had brought us there. They had loved us, encouraged us, taught us, coached us, believed in us, and supported us. They saw gifts in us, called them forth and nourished them. Nic and I are were who we were because they, our village, had raised us up.
While many might feel that a wedding day is about the bride and groom, we felt that our wedding day was a celebration of community.
Our Village
Our family, friends and beyond have continued to support, believe and encourage us throughout our marriage.
Like when I had my third baby and didn’t cook for 9 weeks, because that’s how much food was brought over.
And that summer I sat in a chair for 7 weeks after I had both my feet operated on, when my 4th baby was only 3 months old, and almost every day there was somebody there to help look after my children, bring us a meal, or entertain me so I didn’t go crazy!
Or like the time we shared our dream of living on a property that would become “a place of rest and refuge; a place of physical and spiritual nourishment,” and anonymous donors came forward saying they believed in our dream too, and wanted to support us in it.
Our community supports us over and over again. We are who we are, and where we are, because of every act of generosity, every listening ear, and every bit of confidence and trust that has been placed in us. Our village believes in us, and so we “go for it” time and time again.
The Sum of Many Parts
In permaculture, we strive to recognize the interconnectedness of all the parts. In nature, elements thrive when they are working together. The environment starts to disintegrate when parts are eliminated or isolated from the whole. Nature works in community. Community is an essential part of what we love about permaculture.
We can do so much more together than apart. While Nic and I have some skills and talents, there are a whole lot more that we are lacking. And so, we invite others in. Our graphic designer friends, Sunil and Helena, helped us articulate our vision for this place and created a logo we love! Our friend Jenna has been taking pictures of our goods and services to help with promotional material on our Facebook page, not to mention her unending moral support. A long time family friend, Dan, needed a place to plant a garden, a garden we would would love to plant but could not possibly care for right now, and so we offered him a plot of our land in exchange for some produce. Last year we hosted a working-bee at which 50 people showed up to help us chop wood and spread mulch throughout the orchard before the winter. The list goes on and on…
We are the sum of many parts. Our community is one of our greatest strengths. Together we are doing SO much more than we could ever do on our own.
We are grateful for our community. We love our community. We want our community to be a part of what we do at Fiat Farm. Come join us.
Above: My Dad helping plant our orchard, wood stacked by our friends who came out to our working-bee, and Jennifer Glenn, partnering with us to put on a Garden Naturalization workshop.
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