Lisa McCrory and Carl Russell operate Earthwise Farm and Forest,
based in Randolph, Verrmont, which teaches a variety of skills for
sustainable living, including the use of draft animals in raising
organic crops. Their lifestyle and work model not only a broad
knowledge of survival essentials, but an intimate connection with the
earth and the non-human world. Mark your calendars now for the
September 26-28, 2008, Northeast Animal Power Field Days, Trade Fair
and Conference at Tunbridge Fairgrounds, where you can see Earthwise
Farm and Forest in action. The interview was conducted for Vermont
Commons by Carolyn Baker.

How long have the two of you lived in Vermont?

Carl Russell: I have been in Vermont my entire life. Our family
is living and working on property that my grandparents purchased in
1938.

Lisa McCrory: I moved to Vermont in 1974 with my parents and siblings (from Wisconsin) and have lived here ever since.

What motivated you to become farmers?

CR: I grew up in the 1960-‘70s, and in Vermont there were still many
people who had small farms, raised their own food, worked in the woods,
and lived self-employed, diversified lives. I was always drawn to
animals, soil, and the forest, but I was also affected by an admiration
for the sufficiency and independence that I saw in these farmers and
woodsmen. Even though I worked on farms and in the woods, there were
also trends toward playing sports, learning the ethic of commerce, and
“hanging out.” By the time I was out of college, the expectations were
toward professional careers, credit cards, and car loans. The
transition I made was mostly in the way of perspective. I remembered my
desire for independence, purposeful work, outdoors, with soil, plants,
and animals. So actually I interrupted the transition I might have made
into the cultural norm.

LM: I was not raised on a farm, but when we moved to Vermont in the
early ‘70s (I was 11 at the time) we did move to a place with a house,
barn, a few acres and my parents allowed us to dabble in raising a few
farm animals (riding horses, chickens, a goat and lamb) and have a
vegetable garden. This was the time of my transition from city life to
rural life. I have always been drawn to animals and the natural world
and know that my calling is to be a steward of the land; to participate
in a deeper understanding of the needs of the Earth and how to work
co-creatively with the land, my family, our farm, and our local
community. I pursued a degree in animal sciences and in the plant
sciences knowing that one day I would have a farm where I would be
growing most of my own food and living as closely to the land as
possible.

What inspired you to begin using draft animals for farming, and what are some of the advantages and liabilities of using them?

CR: There were people in my youth who worked horses or oxen, and I
loved to see them working. As a young adult I had it in my mind that I
would someday have a workhorse, but it seemed more like a hobby in a
more modern lifestyle. In 1986 as I was preparing for self-employment
as a forester/logger, I visited a man I had been buying logs from. He
was a horse logger, and as I watched him perform what seemed to be a
working dance with a living animal, I was awakened. I could see the
energy efficiency, the low impact, and the independence of low
overhead. Most of all, I could see the craft, the expression, and the
fulfillment. The drawbacks of draft animals are all related to
experience and expectation. Learning how to care for them, and what to
expect from them. It's all about time, time, and more time. It is
continuous, laborious, slow work, with low cash flow. But it is very
satisfying, and it puts into perspective what we are losing as a planet
and a species by developing technologies that turn life into quick,
easy projects. By using draft animals as our primary power, we lay
hands on so many aspects of our own lives.

LM: I started getting involved with draft animals when I met Carl in
2000, but this lifestyle has attracted me for quite some time and may
have something to do with what brought us together. I have worked with
horses and cows most of my youth and it has tied in nicely in my
professional career as an organic livestock and grazing consultant.
Can you say more about the principles of stewardship that you encourage others to follow?

CR: So much of what we promote is craft. Stewardship is the art of
managing land-based resources. Like any artist, the steward of land
must learn the nuances of his/her medium, and learn to use tools and
processes with finesse. The scientific process has helped us to see
many important relationships that stewardship protects and cultivates.
The drawback with scientific reasoning is a preconception that if we
can't measure something, it has no value. If we don't know about it, it
doesn't exist. We promote a highly intuitive process, where stewardship
is about emotional investment, and personal responsibility. Do what you
know is right, because you can feel it, and it makes you feel alive and
connected to your surroundings.

LM: I think Carl said this nicely. The principles that we follow on our
farm, on a practical level, are based upon organic farming principles:
building our soil organic matter and balancing the soil nutrients so
that the food we grow is nutritious for ourselves and our livestock. We
also use biodynamic practices and products for some of our planting
schedules and for composting our manure. Another part of our gardening
and land management is the use of dowsing to plan our gardens and
enhance the intuitive and spiritual connection we have with the land.

Can you speak about self-sufficiency’s trade-offs in your lives?

CR: The pluses include independence, personal fulfillment, and
emotional and physical intimacy with soil, plants, and animals. The
potential down sides: It is a lot of work, requiring time, knowledge,
and commitment, and it interferes with professional careers and cash
flow.

LM: I think that we are moving into a period where it is becoming
increasingly important to KNOW how to grow one's own food, process it,
store it, and ultimately appreciate the bounty and build a connection
with the land that we are farming. Building these skills is very
satisfying, and there is always more to learn. With all the other
things happening around us, sometimes we don't have the time or cash
flow to do everything that we would like to do, but this lifestyle
encourages us to slow down – while some of our “off-the-farm” work asks
us to turn things around quickly. It can be a “push-me-pull-you” kind
of feeling and we need to check in regularly to prioritize what needs
to get done on a daily basis.

Since 21st century young people are often strongly influenced by
technology and the peer pressure of having cars, cell phones, I-pods,
and other luxuries that they feel they can't live without, how have
your children reacted to self-sufficiency and your style of living off
the land in such a simple, basic
manner?

CR: It should be understood that we have cell phones, laptops, CD
players, DVD/VCR-TV, and Game-boys. What our off-grid sustainable
lifestyle does is put these things into a subclass of luxury and
leisure. We teach our kids the language of our modern culture because
it is necessary for them to function within their community. We
do not shun modern culture, or try to hide from it, but we strive to
teach our children the language of the Earth, about the spiritual and
physical truths of human life on planet Earth. We entertain
acquaintances as we process chickens, as many people seek our guidance
with the skills of slaughtering and butchering their own animals for
food. One day as I was removing entrails, our five-year old son
cheered, “Chicken Livers!” Our visitor turned to me with a look of
astonishment. "How many modern 5-year olds know enough about intestines
to know where the liver is, and how many of them would be excited about
eating it, especially after seeing where it comes from?"

LM: Although we do have all the things that Carl has listed above, we
DO NOT have access to public or cable television, so are not heavily
influenced by commercial advertising, the constant marketing targeted
toward children, and the media-driven “news” that to me is about 20
percent news and 80 percent questionable. We watch movies that we
choose when it meets our schedule. We also home school our children,
which we feel has been very rewarding for our children and for
ourselves (ages three, five, and 10). That said, our 10-year-old is
going to the public school for some electives (music, art, math,
soccer, band). I think that our kids are very in touch with where their
food comes from and what it takes to make that happen. We went to eat
at a friend's house not too long ago and our three-3-year-old started
asking questions about the food on the table – “Did you kill this
chicken?” and other questions like that. Our five-year-old was amazed
to find out that this family did not have any farm animals and said,
‘You mean you don't even have one cow?' Hilarious what comes out of the
mouths of babes!

What are some of the principles you teach in your workshops?

LM: Our workshops are mostly about skills for earth-based
livelihoods. The underlying principles come from within us, live
craft-full, purpose-full, and care-full lives. If the lifestyle speaks
to you, then follow your instincts. I encourage people to trust their
intuition, and to learn to feel the anxiety that comes from a good
choice un-made. If a particular path is avoided because of a lack of
skills, and we can help with teaching those skills, then maybe the path
can be followed.

How often do you offer the workshops? How should people contact you if they are interested?

CR: People come to us to learn about designing and building their own
homes, understanding off-grid power systems, composting toilets, and
grey-water systems, on-farm slaughtering, bio-dynamic practices,
spiritual gardening, dowsing, forest management, grazing systems, food
preparation, timber harvesting, and working draft animals. We recognize
that perhaps the most valuable product of our farm is our experience.
We do not promote ourselves as possessing the “Right Way.” We have
skills, and we are glad to share them with people who value the
learning. We entertain people on their own schedule, but from time to
time we try to hold group gatherings to concentrate our efforts and to
improve the experience through social engagement. People
should contact us by phone (802) 234-5524, or by mail 341 MacIntosh
Hill Rd., Randolph. VT 05060, or in person. We are not advertising, or
trying to convince anyone. If we are on their path, then we’ll be here
when they arrive.

What kind of alternative energy do you use on the farm?

LM: "Alternative Energy." I've been waiting for this question. If
you haven't felt the paradigm shift yet, then maybe this will help. The
only alternative energy that we use on our farm is gasoline. All the
other energy sources, sun, wind, plants, and animals are standard
energies of the Earth. “Alternative” is a term used by the people who
manage “status quo.” It is part of a program on the mainframe of the
Matrix. “Alternative” energy, medicine, agriculture, and lifestyles,
are all truths that our culture cannot embrace at this time. I
firmly believe that the success of a sustainable human culture depends
on our recognizing the artificiality of the systems that prop up our
modern lifestyles. Anyway, we use solar power from a small array of
panels to make electricity, and electricity from a wind turbine also
charges our battery bank. We are also dependent on a gasoline generator
to back up the system, because like everybody else, we can use more
electricity than we can make. This is where conservation can become a
very valuable source of energy. Draft animals are the only power we use
for farm and forestry work. Our lifestyle also depends on our personal
physical and emotional energy, which are at the same time used and
fueled by our intimate involvement in raising our own food. We believe
in sobriety and conscious presence, and we use homeopathy and avoid the
“Health Care System.” Our most abundant energy source comes from within
us, and we revere it, protect it, and cultivate it.

How has the local community responded to you and your work? How have the utility companies responded?

CR: In the 1980s when I started practicing and learning skills that so
many in my community had been convinced to discontinue, people
definitely looked askance. To some my ambition seemed to be an affront
to them, as if I knew better. My choices are not about improving on
those made by others, so as I demonstrated my commitment of purpose and
respect for those who knew more than I, I gained the respect that was
slim at first. Now, there are many people who are trying to make
those first steps, and they are looking to us for guidance. In the
broader community, as issues of culture, environment, and energy
increase in importance, there are more people who, at the very least,
have an appreciation for the work we have been doing. The utility
companies? They really don't even know we exist. Since we are not
grid-tied, we didn’t have to get permits from the Public Service Board.
For a while after we built, the meter reader drove up our drive looking
for a meter. After three or four attempts without success, he quit.

LM: We completed building our home in 2004 and since then have
been growing our outreach to the local community and beyond. So our
“enterprise” is relatively new, though Carl has been farming/managing
the woodlot here for many years prior to our partnership. People are
becoming more and more aware of us as Earthwise Farm and Forest.
I don’t think that most people really get what we are doing, but when
we make connections with people that are interested in our approach and
lifestyle there is tremendous enthusiasm. Both Carl and I are involved
in the community on many levels: as consultants doing our “off-farm”
work, on various boards, and volunteering for numerous events. I don't
think many people realize we even have a farm within some of these
circles.

What advice do you have for people who are considering preparing
themselves for the collapse of industrial society and who want to adopt
a simpler, more self-sufficient lifestyle?

CR: I am not in the advice business. We all have so many extenuating
circumstances that may make my choices seem ridiculous to a lot of
other people. However, I will encourage people to quiet themselves, and
to find a path that provides them with a sense of calm and security. I
feel that it is important to focus on the relationships that we must
make with the Earth and other life-forms in order to survive.
There is something called the “Lemming Effect,” where overpopulation
and depleted resources lead to illness and neurosis, which then lead to
wholesale chaos, where millions of these rodents run over cliffs and
drown in the artic sea. My only advice is believe it, and step aside;
those of us left will try another approach.

LM: I would encourage people to stay open to their “voice within” – to listen to their
calling and to find the people around them that they can learn from. If
someone is drawn to a certain geographical area, I am certain that
there will be individuals there who can be an example and a resource
and possibly a mentor. It is a valuable skill to be able to network and
learn from others and it is important to realize one's own worth,
ideas, and individuality. Find your own truth and listen to your inner
self for validation when you are walking your own path. The rest will
fall into place.