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Here's a 50-year vision.
(and a poem)
THE SUNSHINE FARM
BACKDROP:
The paradigm of sustainability asks us to consider whether the way we live our lives is economically viable, ecologically sound, and socially healthy and just. With this paradigm in mind, a look at our own private lives and those of others around us provides some sobering reminders. For many in the Chelan valley, good paying and rewarding jobs are difficult to find. Here and elsewhere, our food and transportation systems use natural resources at alarming rates and contribute to ecological crisis. Couples divorce, the elderly live their final years isolated and alone, and many kids grow up with limited adult role models.
We know these things. These realities weigh down on us constantly so that over time, we begin to assume their presence as part of our normal existence. The children in Iraq know nothing but war, having grown up in a land torn by conflict. Our own children are also growing up in conditions of violence. The dangers are different but equally as deadly to the bonds of love that bind us together as family, community, culture, and species.
LIVE THE QUESTION: How can we live in a richer, more sustainable fashion?
In order to provide for our children and future generations, we endeavor to create a model of sustainable community called the Sunshine Farm in the Lake Chelan Valley. Part farm, part residential community, and part retreat venue, the Farm sets out to ask the question, How can we, as a community, live in a richer, more sustainable fashion?
The poet Rilke advises to not seek answers to such questions. Instead, he urges us to “live the questions”. This approach of ‘living the questions’ forms a cornerstone of philosophy at the Sunshine Farm. We do not know how to live in a sustainable fashion. We do not know how to create a new way of sustainable living out of our industrialized habits and ways. But we know we must try. We know we must keep these questions of sustainability alive in us so that one day in the future, as Rilke continues, we may find that we have “without even knowing it, lived our way into an answer”.
THE SUNSHINE FARM:
In order to keep these questions of sustainability alive, we endeavor to create The Sunshine Farm, on the current site of Sunshine Orchards four miles from the town of Chelan on the south shore. The Farm will be made up of:
- A working, sustainable farm that grows a wide variety of crops, and makes a wide variety of artesian products for sale to residents and visitors of the Lake Chelan Valley.
- A multi-generational residential community that blends the needs of individual privacy with communal inter-dependence at an affordable price.
- A learning center that hosts workshops, classes, and retreats that focus on sustainable living, creative expression, and spiritual growth.
In creating these three elements, many aspects of a sustainable lifestyle will be encouraged. The farm will provide economic and creative opportunities to work with the land, as well as healthy food and a clean environment. The community will provide stronger relationships, affordable housing, and a warm hearth upon which to raise our young and care for our old. And the learning center will provide economic opportunities as well as an educational outlet in which to share the ideals and practices of sustainable living with others.
As an additional land-use benefit, The Sunshine Farm will keep more of Sunshine Orchards in open-space than would a traditional housing development. The Farm's clustered architectural design will keep the vast majority of the property in agricultural production, thus helping to preserve the aesthetic of the south shore.
BREAKING IT DOWN:
While the process of creation follows its own course, we present a few specific ideas below as starting points for the journey:
Ag on the Farm: The farm will be an intensive organic agricultural enterprise that aims to minimize its need for off-farm inputs (fertilizers, sprays, etc.). Roughly 15 acres of land will be in production of ‘cash-crops’ at any one time. These crops, a wide variety of vegetables, nuts, and tree fruits will be sold at the Sunshine Farm Market (an existing market located on the property next to Hwy 97a), local Farmers’ Markets, and through the Sunshine Organics CSA (a subscription based food service). The farm will also sell food to the local school district, nursing homes, and hospital.
The remainder of the land will be utilized for rotational grazing and green manure production. The farm will grow pasture-fed beef and poultry as well as support a small goat-dairy and cheese making operation. A flock of sheep will provide wool for spinning and crafts.
The Community: The residential community will consist of twenty to twenty-five single-family dwellings oriented around a Central House. The community will be organized around the well-tested Co-Housing structure in which residents own their own home and communally own the surrounding land and Central House. The Central House will be the hub of communal activity where many meals are shared, resources are shared (such as tools and computers), and group entertainment is held (dances, games, storytelling, etc.). The layout of the buildings and grounds will foster a sense of connection with many walking paths, outdoor play areas, and a central pond and shade trees for relaxing.
The Learning Center: The learning center will comfortably house and feed up to forty guests in a series of seven to ten small cabins, a central dining hall, and several gathering spaces. Spectacular organic food from the farm, coupled with the incredible views of the lake and the nourishing agrarian environment will make the learning center a popular location for classes, workshops, retreats, and meetings.
Specific workshops and classes will focus on the three 'elemental arts' integral to sustainable living. Namely:
- The domestic arts (cooking, gardening, food preservation, sewing, etc.)
- The creative arts (poetry, painting, dance, sculpture, etc.)
- The healing arts (yoga, meditation, tai chi, etc.)
These elemental arts provide a sturdy foundation for an individual interested in leading a more sustainable life. The retreat center at The Sunshine Farm will educate and inspire hundreds of such individuals a year.
QUESTIONS TO LIVE – The Next Steps
There are many ‘questions to live’ in creating the Sunshine Farm. Here are a few currently being considered:
How will it pencil out? Business plans need to be written for all three elements of the Farm. Both the farm and the retreat center will have income and expense streams. The community will have construction costs initially followed by maintenance expenses. How will all of these numbers work out? Much work needs to be done in each element.
How will the current Sunshine Orchards be transformed into an organic, sustainable farm? Much work is ongoing in this area involving a market garden, a composting operation, and overall farm design work.
What will the community ultimately 'look like' and what will be its timeline for development? A small band of community members has been formed and is beginning to develop a vision for its neighborhood. We would like to be moving into our homes by 2011.
What is the overall ownership structure? Current considerations would create a 3 to 5 acre parcel for the community and a series of half-acre 'agricultural estates' surrounded by preserved farmland (which drive the project economically). The Evans family would own the remaining farmland in the short-term and lease land to the learning center. In the long-term, the farmland could be deeded to a land trust or other stewarding entity for management and care.
FINAL THOUGHTS
It is our hope that the Sunshine Farm will be a sustainable community in every sense. Its members will enjoy social sustainability through strengthened relationships, better childcare and elder care, and a stronger sense of place and home. They will also be able to take part in stable employment based on a regional food economy as well as be a part of creating goods and services of the highest artesian quality. Members and visitors of the Farm will be a part of ecological change, leaving a lighter footprint on the earth in the form of reduced consumption of fossil fuels and material goods.
Finally, it is our hope that the Farm will help bring a greater sustainability to the Lake Chelan community as a whole. Working as partners with other valley organizations as well as individuals and families, we will all be a part of change that leads to a better lake valley home.
Supported by our teachers and ancestors and committed to our children and future generations, we work to make the Sunshine Farm a reality. Thank you for your interest in our visions and dreams.
READ ON! 'THE VISION REVISITED', a 2007 update. |
