"I do not allow myself to be overcome by hopelessness, no matter how tough the situation. I believe that if you just do your little bit without thinking of the bigness of what you stand against, if you turn to the enlargement of your own capacities, just that itself creates new potential."
- Vandana Shiva
Unlearning and Recalibrating
At Forest of Life Farm, we believe healthy communities begin with healthy relationships to land, food, water, and one another. Our intention is to be a meaningful asset to our local community and bioregion by helping people reconnect with the ecological systems that sustain life in Vermont and across New England.
We encourage people to learn practical skills such as seed saving, propagation, soil stewardship, pollinator support, and local ecology. In a time of climate instability and growing disconnection from food systems, we believe these skills help strengthen resilience, community wellbeing, and a deeper sense of place.
We also recognize that many modern systems have contributed to environmental degradation and social inequity. Part of our work is creating space to unlearn extractive practices and support approaches rooted in regeneration, reciprocity, and long-term stewardship.
Forest of Life Farm exists on unceded Abenaki land. We are committed to learning more about the Indigenous peoples who stewarded this landscape long before us and to acknowledging the knowledge systems and relationships that shaped this region for generations.
We strive to partner with local farmers, educators, conservation groups, mutual aid networks, and community organizations working to create a more just, resilient, and accessible Vermont landscape. Through workshops, gatherings, and shared learning, we hope to cultivate a place where people can reconnect with the land, their food, and each other.
Regeneration and Agroecology
Farming and Food in Vermont
At Forest of Life Farm we are guided by the rhythms of the earth and practice agroecology, permaculture, and regenerative principles. We are cultivating food resilience for all generations. We integrate lessons from the ancestors and lessons from our children. We accept that climate change is real and that regeneration is necessary.
Agroecology and Regenerative Agriculture show how an ecological agriculture based on working with nature can regenerate the planet, the rural economy, and our health. As a part of the web of life we believe that learning is a responsibility. We listen to the local landscape and strive to protect and promote healthy soil ecology and traditional ecological wisdom that is good for the Earth and Vermont.
What is Agroecology?
Agroecology is holistic study of agro-ecosystems, including all environmental and human elements that focus on the form, dynamics and functions of their inter- and intra-relationships. It can also be defined as an ecological approach to agriculture that views agricultural areas as ecosystems and is concerned with the ecological impact of agricultural practices.
Agroecology applies ecological principles to systems of food production considering relationships between different components of the agroecosystem including the human community. It teaches us to be in tune with nature while producing a diversity of healthy, nutritive and delicious foods using sources of nature.
