Thirteen Hut Hamlet neighbors recently established a chicken co-op, endearingly referred to as Posse Poulet. From these 50 or so birds, we have been receiving almost all of our needed eggs, and we’re looking ahead to a possible moderate increase in number of birds, including some ducks. We’ll also be slaughtering some of the older hens this fall for stew.

Working together, we get an integrated rotational chicken system with a manageable workload and cost for each household, as well as the fun of collaborating. We purchased 45 laying hens from Imani Farm (who decided to reduce their flock this year) and received several hens and another two roosters (one is now digested soup) from Black Wolf. With the financial structure and roles within the co-op set up by last spring, we made the leap and purchased equipment (such as electric fencing, materials for a moveable coop and feed containers) and then the birds in June. Since then, they’ve been rotated through three overgrown agricultural areas in the neighborhood. One of the areas the chickens cleared was around the House of Oneness, which will be deconstructed this season and salvaged for reconstruction as the House of Diversity in the Village Center (see related article in this newsletter).

Kimchi, another co-operative in the coop co-op, writes: “The chicken co-op has been a great way to experience and expand our connections with the land, the source of our food, and learn how to share with each other. What a gift to create rich relationships at Earthaven!”

We’ve also been experimenting with “alternative feed systems” such as black soldier fly larvae and red wiggler worm production, and of course we feed all of our seedy weeds to the birds, thus reducing weed pressure in our compost piles and giving nutrients to the birds. We’ve also been experimenting with using charcoal in their pen, nesting boxes and roost to absorb manure nutrients and odor and create biochar.

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A few years ago, our interns at Imani Farm, NikiAnne and Drew, told us about a rumor that at the equinox, eggs would balance perfectly upright when put on end on a flat surface, because of the tilt of the earth at that time.

Well, Lee and the interns got down on the floor in the Village Terraces Common Kitchen and, after some effort, balanced the egg! The only thing is, we never tried it when it wasn’t equinox, so for all we know, we could balance an egg like this any day of the year.
🙂

Imani Farm chickens are pastured and receive soy-free, organic feed. A limited number of their eggs are available in Asheville. No GMOs! When you go to the farmer’s market, please check with your local egg farmer to see if they are using conventional feed (GMO) and, if so, tell them you want to pay more for GMO-free eggs. Let’s use our consumer buying power to support organic feed rather than Monsanto GMOs!

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Chicken and songbird eggs alike are safe wherever Martha may roam. Martha relocates the snakes without harming them.

Martha with a snake as tall as she is.

Look at the wing-span of that snake!

Rubber gloves in case she gets bit.

Introducing baby Oakley to a recently-caught black snake.

Lest potential visitors are scared away by visions of black snakes, never fear. Black snakes are non-venomous hunters of both rodents and poisonous snakes. We enjoy having them around….except when they eat our eggs.

Thanks to Tessa Hovan-Bartalos & Lee Warren for the photos.

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When we finished the first building at Village Terraces Cohousing Neighborhood in 2004, we had $50 in our collective checking account. As one of our intentions as a group was to grow food together, we began to think of it more as a long-term goal than a current one. Aside from the fact that clearing forest to make agriculture land was expensive, building homes, relationships, income-generating activities and contributing to Earthaven’s governance and development were ambitious undertakings, leaving little time for agricultural activities.

          Along the same time, two new members joined Earthaven and decided to build the second building in our neighborhood. What a dream come true. It meant more people to share resources and contribute to our “common pot” of funds that paid for shared systems such as heat, water, electricity, etc. These new folks also felt passionate about food growing. Being from the city, they didn’t have skills themselves, but were well versed in the looming economic crisis, peak oil, and the “long emergency” soon to be facing us. A distinct advantage of them “being from the city” was that they had life-long professional careers, unlike many of us who dropped out of the rat race early on, which meant they had some funds to make their dreams happen. Luckily their dreams coincided with ours and the Imani Ag Coop was born.

          The challenge facing our dream of food production was, as always at Earthaven, turning a fairly dense, immature, degraded forest into open agriculture land. This translates to $10,000 per acre in cost and weeks, if not months, of toiling on the part of many people. But we had a once-in-a-lifetime match born out of shared vision, skill, and passion. Mihaly and Lee, the farming couple, had the experience and desire to coordinate and offer labor to the clearing and Martha and Finch, the city couple, had the money to give to the project.

In January 2008, the three-acre clearing began. Two years and nearly $75,000 later (including clearing, fence, investment in lumber, firewood, amendments, etc.), we have an amazing example of cooperation and the best investment money can buy – the ability to feed ourselves. All with no debt!  Our neighborhood is beautiful in a different way than was the forest and our cleared land is fenced with a durable, handsome woven wire fence (to keep animals in and out of the area of homes and gardens as well as to keep predators out.) We’re focusing on a pasture rotation system for animals with resulting products such as eggs, duck and chicken meat, and small-scale dairy for family consumption.

          As most food growing enterprises go, the Ag Coop doesn’t make a profit, yet the value to our lives is immeasurable. We eat the best food in the world, gain skill and confidence as food producers, and provide nourishment for the people we love. What could be more rich and rewarding? Recently two new exploring members, who share our passion for food, are joining the Ag Coop to share in both the responsibilities and the bounty. As we take these risks to join forces, we create more opportunities for new folks to step in and find a place here. Blessed be, the community grows.

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Finally, an Earthaven office! And, in addition, an internet and coffee spot with goods from our neighbors, a warm place filled with information and other enticements. This comforting venue now exists and just the thought of it brings some kind of shift in our collective energy, much needed after a challenging year and cold winter. Our creative staffing includes 20 weekly hours of approved community service hours and 20 hours donated by the managers and another community member. Thanks to Jen, Cealleigh, redmoonsong, Jack, River Otter and Kai, and many others who helped with the details of getting set up.

Now, at the end of week four, the work goes on! The possibilities keep expanding for this small and lovely space. Right now, visitors stop at the Trading Post at the end of the tour to chat with members and pick up additional Earthaven literature. Here’s where about-to-become Provisional Member Mana McLeod connects with her courses from Gaia University, and where Suchi, one of the managers, plays Scrabble with a neighbor who stops to drop off her honey, dried shiitakes, and umeboshi plums. At the administrative level, we are also here to have an ongoing update of our database. Meanwhile, members come to pick up eggs from a local farmer, and our gifted craftspeople can showcase their wares. Upcoming events, committee and Council minutes, and other important announcements and information are posted inside and outside. The “News of the Neighborhoods” section is beginning. We hope to increase the amount of information posted to include jobs needed and labor available, housing needed and available, and so on. We post ways people can earn community service hours (LEAPS) and items for sale/barter/giveaway.

In the ideal future, we will double in size so that office and internet space are separate from socializing space. We are open to many other ways to serve the community in the future. As we plan to renew our lease, we have begun to think about bringing our mailroom nearby.  Can we centralize and coordinate rides to town? Post general messages, needs for assistance, interest groups forming, etc.?

Please stop by.  Our spring hours are Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 10-6; Saturday 11-4 and Sunday 11-2.  Meetings and small events can be scheduled for times we are not open. Come check us out.

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Lee gave us this information about the breed:

Dexters originated in Ireland’s rugged countryside near County Kerry. In England, their popularity grew both with commoners, who could keep this small cow on the commons for grazing, and with royalty for the novelty of its small size. Before refrigeration, the smaller size was valuable for raising an ongoing supply of beef without excess. As one of the world’s smallest bovines, the Dexter (sometimes still called the “Irish Dexter” because of its origins) is considered by many owners today to be the ideal homestead or or small holder’s breed. They are dual purpose, raised for milk and meat. A milking Dexter cow can produce 1.5 to 2.5 gallons per day, which is more Milk for its weight than any other breed. The milk’s butterfat content is 4 to 5 percent. It is possible to get yields of cream up to one quart per gallon. Animals raised for beef mature in 18 months and results in small cuts of high quality lean meat, graded choice, with little waste. The Dexters’ small size combined with the ability to produce well isn’t the only trait that makes them well suited for homesteaders and smallholders. Like many of the older breeds, they are extremely hardy. Thriving in both hot and cold weather, they can be outdoors year-round with simple shelter, and need less pasture and feed than other breeds.

The fence Lee and Mihaly worked so hard to provide may not be as aesthetically pleasing as the barn and rock work. However, it is essential for keeping in myriad animals. These animals will contribute to the productivity of the farm in the future. It already contains many new inhabitants, around 150 pullet hens have arrived and will soon be in full production. They may greatly reduce the number of eggs we need to bring in from off the land. Thank you Lee and Mihaly, for putting so much effort into furthering sustainability at Earthaven!

For more info about Breeds go to: The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy @http://www.albc-usa.org/

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