Toki Oshima illustration By Joyce White In her 1987 book “The Chalice and the Blade,” Riane Eisler shows us a culture that existed for thousands of years, in which the inhabitants enjoyed peace, prosperity, cooperation, and equality between men and women. She calls that a partnership model of society, represented by the chalice; its opposite
Toki Oshima illustration You know what really matters when mention of the ECB in the mainstream media makes you think, first and foremost, “European corn borer!” and not the far less important – to our community – European Central Bank. What matters to us is growing food, flowers, trees, herbs and fibers in quality,
John Bunker and Laura Sieger model the apple design T-shirt that has been reprinted as a fundraiser for MOFGA’s Maine Heritage Orchard. Kip Sieger photo By Laura Sieger, MEHO intern For years people have been asking if the 2009 Common Ground Country Fair T-shirts with the apple design are still available. They’ve long been sold
A “Green Man” carving by Pat Austin in the display gardens at David Austin Roses, Albrighton, near Wolverhampton, England. Photo by Simon Garbutt from wikipedia.org By Joyce White Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better. – Albert Einstein I’ve always suspected there is some kind of magic in woods, fields and
The author with her husband, Charlie Allen. Photo by Myles Allen By Lynn Hower Allen In 1975, the year we met, my then husband-to-be, Charlie, bought a derelict house and 10 acres of land in Union, Maine. The long, rectangular property stretched across a south facing slope at an elevation of 600 feet and had
Karen and Paul Volckhausen. Photo courtesy of Happy Town Farm Sheep are an integral part of nutrient cycling at Happy Town Farm. English photo Karen’s cut flower business has grown since she retired from nursing. Photo courtesy of Happy Town Farm Paul and Karen Volckhausen were the “farmers in the spotlight” at MOFGA’s 2017 Farmer
Emily Oakley spoke at MOFGA’s Farmer to Farmer Conference about making a living on a small farm and about having input into national organic standards. Left to right: Jim Gerritsen (Wood Prairie Family Farm), Emily Oakley, and Eric Sideman and Dave Colson from MOFGA. English photo As organic foods gain an ever wider audience and
Gail Edwards’ four children were born at her Blessed Maine Herb Farm in Athens, Maine. Shown here, under a favorite apple tree, left to right: Belle Hilmer, Rosa Rosario, Edwards, and Gracie Hilmer. Rosa is holding her newborn son, Emilio, while 2-1/2-year-old Mariano is front and center. Edwards’ son, Johnny, not shown, lives on Nantucket.
Abbey Verrier is one with an heirloom apple tree. Photo by John Bunker By Abbey Verrier For the past four years, I’ve spent my fall seasons driving through Maine’s countryside, one eye on the road and the other scanning the landscape, searching for apple trees. I started doing this while apprenticing with John Bunker and
By Alice Percy, MOFGA President The fair is 6-1/2 years older than I am, and I have enthusiastically attended almost every single one from the time I was a babe in arms. (I missed two, in the early oughts, because my father – Jim Torbert, the MOFGA-El Salvador Sistering Committee’s representative to the board –
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