Once, a woman from San Antonio, Texas, vacationed in the quaint little town of Eureka Springs. She fell in love wth the city and the region. Eventually, she and her family moved there. That family included a seventeen-year-old daughter, Nicole. And for her, being transplanted to NWA was the beginning of a journey into organic food, sustainable farming, and the farm-to-table movement.
She had no prior farming experience before the CAFF Farm School. Her family had a small garden in the backyard. And her mother volunteered at the botanical garden, working on a vegetable plot. Nicole tagged along. There, she experienced some unusual vegetables the family didn’t eat at home. It was her first introduction to the world of possibilities for growing food.
The decision to apply for CAFF Farm School was a slow realization that she’d like to learn farming. Living in apartments as an adult, she never had the space for a garden. But she had acquired plenty of experience with the local food system by working as a server at restaurants like The Farmer’s Table and at Ozark Natural Foods. While there, the employees toured local farms. She visited the beautiful Dripping Springs Garden, and the lifestyle was very appealing. It’s a bucolic farm growing flowers, herbs, vegetables, and fruit. Nicole says, “It made me seriously consider farming as a career. And farmers are the nicest people I’ve ever met.“ She decided to pursue it, but wasn’t sure where to start. A co-worker was applying to the CAFF Farm School and invited her to the Farmers For Tomorrow fundraiser. There she learned more about the program and the need for farmers. She decided to go for it.
So far, it exceeds her expectations. “I was most surprised by the business and classroom curriculum, in a good way. I find it interesting to learn about running a business in general, especially a farm. I really love driving a tractor and using powered tools! The education is well-rounded. They teach students a thousand ways to do something and then let you choose what works best.” Nicole says she’s always loved tinkering with machines and fixing stuff. She likes tactile, physical work. That’s why she likes the tractor; it’s fun and loud, goes slowly, and is empowering. Before, she’d never even driven a manual shift car, but now she laughs, saying she would confidently tackle it.
Nicole is excited about growing the things she loves to eat. She is still exploring ideas and options for a business plan. “The CAFF instructors are invaluable with that. They offer guidance and expert advice as you think through what might be the best option for you to succeed at. It needs to be something you care about, can produce, and for which there is a viable market.” She also likes the idea of helping farmers connect with restaurants. Guest speakers invited to the farm school have opened Nicole’s eyes to options she hadn’t realized existed. One example is Cureate, a food-tech company dedicated to empowering local communities by creating a sustainable and inclusive supply chain. For now, Nicole is still exploring options. She may opt to delay having her own farm for a while. “If you aren’t ready to launch a farm of your own, that’s okay. You are learning the skills to work on a local farm. CAFF helps you find positions through their FarmWorks program.”
Nicole says that one of her biggest takeaways so far is the disparity between the value of farm work and what people think it’s worth. “Many people think the cost of food is high. But most farmers are not getting rich. Most are doing it for the love of it. We’ve lost our appreciation for what they provide because we are so far removed from it. Most people aren’t aware of what it takes to feed us all. I would love to see more education out there about farms so that people would be willing to pay more for locally grown food. I hope they realize it supports a local business and stays in their community. Local food systems are critical.”
Recent Comments