Our Story
Although I’ve spent 30 plus years farming and gardening in Appalachia, I don’t consider myself a “local.” You might say I’m spoiled. My grandfather’s farm in Northern Michigan, where I was raised, is both flat and fertile. West Virginia hillside farming is daunting. The soils here—like the air, the streams and the people themselves—have been used and abused for 150 years. What little farming that still exists in the rugged northern panhandle is centered around raising hay bales to feed beef cows. Truck farming to produce grains, fruits, and vegetables for human consumption is long gone. Gone too are the 300 plus family owned dairy farms that once graced Marshall Co., West Virginia. If you’re young and looking for a descent paying job, it’s either time to move or resign yourself to a minimum wage lifestyle. Maybe you’ll get lucky and get hired by…….…you guessed it, King Coal.
The “real” locals, those who can trace their heritage back for two or three generations, love Appalachia. That spark of original mountain culture permeates their very being, Unfortunately, their bodies tell a different story. Morbid obesity and diabetes are the norm. That’s the price you pay when you no longer grow what you eat and eat what you grow. Like most Americans, their industrially grown food is starving them nutritionally while fattening them for the “big round-up” by the pharmaceutical and health insurance industries.
Something is out of balance. The Small Farm Training Center is one of many local organizations challenging this dying paradigm. We farm, we garden, we teach, we encourage , we improvise and most importantly we listen to input. We also call a spade a spade when it comes to identifying the political, economic, cultural and spiritual stumbling blocks to restoring the environment and securing a safe, stable food supply. That’s what this website is about—empowerment, inclusion, and practical advice. We nourish both person and place. Enjoy