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New: More pictures. Be an intern at Red Earth Farms. Humankind is entering a difficult era, when fossil fuels—the basis of our opulent Western lifestyles—will become increasingly scarce. At Red Earth Farms we believe that the optimal solution lies not in scrabbling violently for the remainder, but in developing systems, technologies, and cultural practices that are sustainable*. Members of Red Earth Farms are dedicated to developing sustainable lifestyle choices that offer a high quality of life. We enjoy the close relationship we are fortunate to have with the planet that sustains us, and we do our best to honor the non-human beings around us and take good care of them. In order to gauge our progress toward ecological sustainability and highlight areas to work on, we intend to perform detailed ecological auditing (such as footprinting) of our activities on and off the land. This is our way of holding ourselves accountable and learning how we can do better. We believe in taking care of each other as well as the earth around us. Our guiding principle is "Love the land; love your neighbors." In our actions we endeavor to do to others as we would have them do to us. This translates into a deep support for cooperative projects, a growing gift culture, and a practice of sharing any surplus with each other. It also means we respect the diversity among us. By fostering this diversity we are encouraging a variety of approaches to sustainable living. We hope this freedom of implementation will result in a number of different models of sustainable systems, yielding many solutions to the problems with which humanity is faced. For this reason we each enjoy a high level of autonomy on the land we steward. The structural vision of Red Earth Farms incorporates these autonomous entities into one overarching land trust. Individuals, families, and income-sharing communities each have internal decision-making freedom regarding their own acreage, and everyone has the opportunity to participate in decisions affecting the wider Red Earth Farms community and the land trust. These decisions are made by consensus. We anticipate that the issues upon which we will seek full community agreement will be few. Although we encourage cooperation, it will rarely be obligatory. Many of us value self-sufficiency highly, especially in the area of food. We are aiming to generate a high percentage of our own food, as well as shelter, fuel, clothing, tools, and other essentials. We love the close connection this allows us to have with the source of our sustenance. Our community is located on 76 acres of rolling hills, with three ponds, several wooded areas, and a small creek. We are on a gravel road less than a mile from Dancing RabbitEcovillage and about three miles from Sandhill Farm. Our relationships with these communities are close and neighborly; we share potluck dinners, frisbee games, and gardening tips. The small town of Rutledge is three miles away, and the hardware stores and public schools are about 12 miles away in Memphis. Nonviolence, permaculture, feminism, and our personal spiritual paths are important to us. Among our interests are planting trees, caring for our livestock (ducks and chickens), playing with fermentation, dancing, meditating, doing yoga, sharing meals, and relaxing in the evening after a full day of gardening, building, and cooking. We are open to visitors, and we welcome children, families, and those of non-traditional lifestyles. Please contact us if you are interested in visiting. You may also be interested in our internship program. In 2007 we incorporated as a Community Land Trust, created a Board of Directors, and wrote our Bylaws. In early 2008, with our Bylaws officially completed, we purchased our land from our friend and benefactor Aron Heintz, who had done Red Earth Farms the great service of buying the land for the community in 2005. Here are some of our foundational documents:
*Sustainable - A sustainable society would, within the area occupied, consume resources no faster than the rate of replenishment and would not contribute to the non-sustainability of outside ecosystems. |