Written by Marie Hoff & Photographed by Noelle Gaberman The Fibonacci Sequence is an enchanting and mythic mathematical pattern. You might be familiar with it. Starting with 0, each number in the sequence is the sum of the two numbers before … so 0,1 and then 0+1, which is 1. So 0,1,1, and then 1+1, […]
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Herdshare & Healthy Soil at Free Hand Farm
Written & Photographed by Koa Kalish As far as the eye can see, soft and verdant grasslands roll out like a thick green carpet dotted with healthy, ancient oaks. A trodden path of tall grass leads the way past a few small creeks to the open pasture where the animals graze. In the foothills of […]
Read MoreA Legacy of Production at Valley Oak Wool & Fiber Mill
Written by Sarah Lillegard & Photographed by Paige Green At Valley Oak Wool Mill, the day starts early with hopes of beating the summer heat. Despite the morning hour, the mill’s owner and sole employee, Marcail McWilliams, is brightly moving between the buildings checking machines and running through a mental list of what there is […]
Read MoreJoshua Farm: Growing Diversity, Growing Family Farming
Written by Marie Hoff & Photographed by Alycia Lang A.L. Chaffin didn’t believe in banks. Born before the Great Depression, he stored his money in shoeboxes under the seat of his truck. After the stock market crashed in 1929, he used this personalized banking system to buy land in Butte County, California. In cash. Agriculture […]
Read MoreTranshumance: a Revival of Grassland Culture
Written by Ariel Greenwood & Photographed by Noelle Gaberman trans·hu·mance noun the action or practice of moving livestock from one grazing ground to another in a seasonal cycle, typically to lowlands in winter and highlands in summer. Grassland, prairie, savanna—in some regions these landscapes are so ubiquitous that they are paradoxically invisible. They are everywhere, […]
Read MoreRooted in Community: Chico Flax
Written by Sarah Lillegard & Photographed by Paige Green Tucked in by the entrance of the artisan barn at this year’s California Nut Festival is a booth that seems perfectly at home with its setting. The light from the open door is catching bundles of dry flax and the barn floor is slowly acquiring little […]
Read MoreAn Ear to the Ground at Flying Mule Farm
Written & Photographed by Sarah Lillegard Arriving at Flying Mule Farm on the cusp of lambing season and on the heels of a snowstorm in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, the fields are damp with recent rain. Ewes and lambs call to each other and in the morning light. It’s easy to get sentimental about spaces […]
Read MoreBuilding Off an Industrial Hemp Variety Trial with One Acre Exchange
Hemp holds tremendous potential as a crop that can contribute to restoring our working landscapes, revitalizing our regional economies, and rethinking the impact of the way we clothe ourselves. Our worldwide fiber consumption has tipped the scale toward a reliance on fossil-fuel derived synthetics, yet bast fibers and blended fabrics emerge as a soil-based solution […]
Read MoreNaturally Colored Fiber Fun at Blue Barn Farm
Written & Photographed by Koa Kalish On a steep and sunny, five-acre hillside in El Dorado County, Catherine Lawson tends to her flock. They are some of the most luxurious wool-producing ungulates around, Merino sheep and Cashmere goats, and here, they live in many colors. Photo of lambs on left by Catherine Lawson. The Merino […]
Read MoreNatural Tanning with Vermont Natural Sheepskins
Written by Courtney Collins & Photographed by Ben DeFlorio There’s a growing desire to support a positive impact on our shared climate and environment, with more and more consumers seeking to better understand their textile sources. When it comes to preserving sheepskins — a tanning process often obscured from farmer and customer alike — Vermont Natural […]
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