Why we love TLC Farm (so give it some money!)
TLC Farm is many things, to many people - at its root, it is a place that changes lives. The land itself, and the community that surrounds it, provide a tangible alternative for people looking to connect more with each other and the land. Your support now is crucial to keeping this land open, and the experiences alive.
We asked many people who have experienced TLC Farm to reflect on what this place means to them - as we read their responses, we noticed some main themes:
1. TLC Farm, as a place, is an amazing educational, spiritual, and practical resource.
2. The lessons and skills learned at TLC Farm are important and transformative in people's lives.
3. The focus on becoming more sustainable through building more community resonates deeply with people
As you read these reflections, please know that we are an amazingly resourceful organization, and run with very little overhead, but your donations to TLC Farm are key to making these experience possible. Please give now!
Heidi Smith, Permaculture Design participant and parent of two Mother Earth School children: A place of wonder, adventure, peace, and solace, TLC Farm has been all of these for me, in the past year and a half. From the expansive gardens, winding paths through nooks and crannies of changing vegetation, artsy stage and sauna, rustic outdoor kitchen, beehives, chickens, goats, and the beautiful forest surrounding the farm, visiting the Farm always puts a smile on my face. Both of my children have had the magical experience of attending the Mother Earth School on the farm and surrounding forest. I took a 6-month long working permaculture class and my husband attended a natural building workshop at the farm. We have participated in several TLC Farm festivals with our children, and sometimes we simply come to the Farm just to play. I had no idea TLC Farm would become such an important and regular part of our lives, and I hope to see its vision as a community education resource grow!Travis Bell, Assistant Professor in Sustainable Design, Portland State University:
As a professor of architecture, focused in sustainable design, I am always searching for models that I can offer my students as a framework from which to design beautiful, appropriate architecture. Tryon Life Community Farm is a unique attempt to provide just such a model. It is particularly notable in that it is situated at the boundaries of city, farm and nature and can thus explore the relationships between each within a modest scale.
My students have been able, through their study of the TLC, to begin to formulate alternative visions of architecture that serve human need and desire while accommodating natural patterns. This kind of academic work would not be possible without the existence of places like TLC Farm They are rare and important and deserve public attention and continued thoughtful stewardship.
David Bronstein, from Generation Waking Up:
It was a gift to host the GenUp Leadership training at TLC Farm - a place with such rich history. The TLC Farm community, rooted in the power of that place, helped our participants sink into this power as well. I know that a big part of the deep and lasting connections formed at this training happened because of the enduring relationship between the stewards and this special piece of land.
Rabbi Debra Kolodny, P'nai Or congregaion:
There are so many things I love about TLC Farm. It was a perfect venue for the P'nai Or congregation to hold its celebration of the Jewish New Year of the Trees, with its mix of intimate groves, eclectic structures and open spaces. P’nai Or shares the TLC Farm’s love and respect for all of Creation, so it was easy to design and lead a ritual lifting up the intraconnectivity of All That Is. Everyone present could feel the blessing, poignancy and majesty of the natural world as we prayed, sang, meditated and danced our way through the Four Worlds. TLC Farm is a treasure!
