Forest Farming FFFHAMS

[JessicaKatherine]

So I’ve been recently moved to help create a forest farm. God (our higher self) connected me with a community of others who are going to begin a forest farm anti fragile community. We’re on phase one. We’re scheduling meetings and doing research now. I am curious if anyone else has been called to this direction and if so, can we begin to collaborate/share ideas?
(I felt this would be a productive place to reach out to and see if anyone else feels called to this)
Thanks! 

[Leo Gura]

Just watch out for New Age cults.

[Zedman]

What these guys are doing might be an inspiration or good shared experience. They are not focusing on food sustainability but are crafty and resourceful when it comes to setting up facilities/ housing/ infrastructure.

 

[Yimpa]

My parents started building a farm a few years ago, but I never was interested in it. However, I did mention your post to GPT-4, and the advice given sounds like sound advice:

Quote

Absolutely, forest farming is a fantastic venture and there are many resources and communities available that can help support your endeavor. There are several key areas you'll want to focus on as you begin:

1. Planning and Design: Permaculture design principles will likely be incredibly valuable as you plan your forest farm. They provide a holistic framework for designing human settlements and agricultural systems that mimic the relationships found in natural ecosystems. 

2. Choosing the Right Species: You'll need to carefully consider what kinds of plants you'll be cultivating. This depends on your location, soil type, and climate, among other things. In general, forest farming often includes multiple layers of productive growth, such as trees, shrubs, herbs, and ground cover.

3. Community Engagement: Building a strong and supportive community is essential. You could start a Facebook group or a regular Zoom meeting to connect with others who are interested in forest farming. This could be a space for people to share ideas, resources, and experiences. There are also plenty of existing forums and social media groups dedicated to this topic.

4. Sustainable Practices: Consider looking into regenerative agriculture practices that improve the health of your soil and the productivity of your land. You might want to learn about composting, green manures, and other methods of building soil fertility.

5. Educational Resources: There are many books, online courses, and workshops on forest farming and related topics. A couple of seminal works in this field are "The One-Straw Revolution" by Masanobu Fukuoka and "A Forest Garden Year" by Martin Crawford. 

You're right that there may be others who read this and feel called to contribute or join in some way. I'm happy to help facilitate that discussion and answer any specific questions you may have about forest farming.

 

[Cocolove]

Where are you doing this?

My life purpose is related to sustainable food production and I do market gardening and permaculture food forestry. I just got 20 acres and am going to probably live there and farm there. I've been farming for a couple of years and got a lot of help from volunteers. I'm located in Minnesota. I've read dozens of books on the topic and after farming for a couple of years I know it's what I want to do. 

But anyway I think long term I would want to create some sort of community on my land. I am running things as a business and I want to become financially stable and independent and not have to work, so for some time I might offer people a low wage plus a place to live and food to eat to help farm in the summer.

[ndm678]

I live on a 20(ish) acre homestead. My intent was for it to be more communal, but its difficult to get the right mix of people. 

Some books that helped/inspired me are:

Living The Good Life - Helen and Scott Nearing 

The Self Sustaining Life and How To Live It -Richard Seymour 

Starting and Running Your Own Farm Business - Sarah Beth Aubrey

You Can Farm - Joel Salatin

Folks, This Ain't Normal - Joel Salatin

Good luck in your journey, and keep us updated. DM me if I can be of assistance.

[Cocolove]

Good book list.@ndm678

 

Heres the ones I'm reviewing right now:

Pastured poultry profits and pig and cow books by Joel salatin are also great

Edible Forest Gardens volumes 1 & 2

The living soil handbook, Frost

The market gardener, Fortier

The new organic grower, Eliot Coleman

 

[Cocolove]

Maybe I'll hire some of you to come help me farm in a couple of years.  

[JessicaKatherine]

@Leo Gura Good advice, thank you! 

Since I had posted last summer I ended up veering away from a group setting and learned more homesteading my friend and I. I learned I was looking for security in not feeling so dependent on a “system” I couldn’t control. 

I’m venturing into business and invested into my education for now and finding more balance in that direction this year. 

[Yimpa]

7 minutes ago, JessicaKatherine said:

I’m venturing into business and invested into my education for now and finding more balance in that direction this year. 

Good luck!

[JessicaKatherine]

@Yimpa Thank you! 🙌🏼

[JessicaKatherine]

@Cocolove Thank you for the resources! 

[JessicaKatherine]

@ndm678 I agree on that it’s difficult to establish a good mix of readily willing and available people. At least not quickly. 
I ended up venturing more into homesteading following finding connections in a like minded group (FFHAMS) and surprisingly a lot of people in my community felt the same way about practicing more self substantial living.

Thank you for the resources! 

[JessicaKatherine]

@Cocolove I’m doing it because

*If someone tells me to worry about something I won’t be able to. 

*It feels and seems biologically obvious. 

*It feels wise to plan ahead 

*The current system we all live off of has shown over time to be unsustainable so it’s unquestionable to return to something more biologically harmonious.
 

Also good luck with your community farming plans if any still! 
I hope your farm land has been thriving. 

Edited March 21, 2024 by JessicaKatherine

[JessicaKatherine]

@Zedman Thank you for the video resource!