Why We Farm’s author Elvira DiBrigit featured on Urban Farm Podcast

Urban Farm U is a wealth of information for gardeners and farmers alike. The questions Greg asks are relevant, personal and unique.

In This Podcast Elvira shares how:

The community of farmers that she lived in was rich with interesting people and stories, so Elvira Di’Brigit took the time to interview them.  She shares her story of how she started farming as well as introducing a few interesting farms from her valley.  Their cooperative methods of working and providing for their community are great examples of thinking outside the box.

Listen in and learn about:

• Thinking she was going to be a Waldorf teacher and planning an intentional community
• Buying a property sight unseen and living off-grid
• Recognizing the difficulty of getting healthy food twenty-five years ago
• Writing a book about getting to know her farmer neighbors
• Manas Ranch, an inspiring farm in the valley
• Spreadwing Farm, a new farm run by an entomologist run without heavy equipment
• The risks that small farmers face which are similar to small businesses
• Viriditas Farm, an organic cotton plant breeder – growing multi shaded cottons
• The extended growing seasons in Capay Valley
• Growing olives on her own farm and so much more
• Experimenting with tropical plants in her husband’s greenhouse
• The Capay Valley Farm shop – a community project of online shopping from the valley’s farms

As well as:

• Her failure – Having too many projects going at once and seeing one project fall apart
• Her success – Creating a job in the field of teaching when naysayers were telling her no jobs available
• Her drive – Trying to be a more involved person and learn what she can in this life
• Her advice – We do need to support local farmers, and the locally owned grocery stores

288: Elvira Di’Brigit on a Valley of Farmers in California