December 3, 2012
Dear Quiet Creek Friends,
One Family-Two Islands-Endless Relationships might describe the year 2012 in six words. Even Walker and Ashton’s incredible blogging on www.quietcreekherbfarm.org does not give the experience a fair shake. The seven month sabbatical, personally funded, impacted our lives teaching us many lessons about our family, our food, our community, and our world.
Four months we served the mountainous community of Harmons where we gleaned the wisdom of the elders, “New broom sweeps clean, but old broom knows every corner.” Local food was abundant, available to wildcraft, to grow, and to barter: mangoes, cassava, coconuts, pineapple, star fruit, papayas, pimento leaf (allspice) ackee, scotch bonnet peppers, jack fruit, and cashews. A single mother, Faith, and her eleven children
welcomed us into their family teaching us how to cut a chicken into thirteen servings and jerk it over an open fire; pull and carry water out of a 20’ cistern to scrub clothing; shred cassava into delicious, locally-grown pizza crusts; and singing out hearts out to glorify God. New materials in earthen building broadened our knowledge after building three ovens and gaining an appreciation for Pennsylvanian orange clay. Eight houses constructed from Christ’s foundation up to the rooftop solidified our love of the Jamaican people.
During a two week layover in May, we witnessed the excitement of Rob and Jessie Orth, as they stewarded Quiet Creek. This amazing couple made our sabbatical possible and pleasurable. Thanks to the Orth Family, the Jamaican “no problem, man” mantra carried us to Corsica, France.
This Mediterranean island offered endless hours of hiking and swimming, awesome coastal and mountainous scenery, a hearty supply of driftwood to carve, a fresh diet of vegetable and fruit free of any genetic modification, and Ashton’s reality of French beaches. We bicycled to an organic essential oil farm twice a week volunteering our skills while gaining an “intern” perspective to farm management, studied the Corsican history dating back to Greek domination, struggled with the French language, became known as the Americans who eat grass, and became a closer-knit family that only a sabbatical can create. We returned to Quiet Creek refreshed ready to serve our community, our interns, and one another.
Arriving mid-August permitted us to support Max, Quiet Creek’s theatre camp director, and a dozen campers raising the environmental consciousness associated with natural resource extraction. School groups largest (Punxsy’s 160 first graders) to smallest (Lenape’s 30 Culinary Arts students) embraced sustainability along with hundreds of visitors this fall and winter. Mother Earth News welcomed Quiet Creek to share four presentations and an educational booth full of tools to make soap, grow mushrooms, raise worm compost, and forage for wild edibles. Walker made his speaking and carving debut sharing native staples plus new delicacies from France and Jamaica, in addition to his hand crafted Pere Noels.
The year ahead promises to be exciting while we balance stewardship education with deep rooted, relationship building throughout the world. Goals include developing intensive sustainability workshops (3-14 days), encouraging others to take a farm sabbatical at PASA’s annual conference, attending the US Composting conference, mentoring food chemist Benjamin from Brittany, France, incorporating essential oil distillation classes, and jazzing youth about a healthy diet full of whole grains, veggies, fruits, and exercise.
We so appreciate your continued support helping us meet our mission at Quiet Creek. Thanks for partnering with us; many blessings to you and your family in the upcoming year.
With lots of love,
Rusty, Claire, Walker & Ashton
Yes! I can help cultivate Quiet Creek Herb Farm & School of Country Living, Inc.
Enclosed is my check for
__ $25 __ $50 __ $100 __ $250 __ $500 __ $1000 $_______________
___Donated materials for everyday use on the farm (please list and drop by at your convenience)
______________________________________________________________________________
__ I would like this donation to be used for any priority of Quiet Creek Herb Farm
__ I would like this donation to be used for this specific purpose: _______________________
_____ I would like more information on how the corporation I work for can use its tax dollars to educate school children through Quiet Creek’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program.
Please comment on what you find most meaningful regarding Quiet Creek’s mission:______
___________________________________________________________________________
Quiet Creek Herb Farm & School of Country Living Inc. is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization. Charitable contributions are tax deductible.
Name_________________________________________________________________
Address _______________________________________________________________
Phone _________________________________________________________________
E-mail _________________________________________________________________
Please send to:
Quiet Creek Herb Farm
93 Quiet Creek Lane, Brookville, PA 15825
(814) 849-9662
Dear Quiet Creek Friends,
One Family-Two Islands-Endless Relationships might describe the year 2012 in six words. Even Walker and Ashton’s incredible blogging on www.quietcreekherbfarm.org does not give the experience a fair shake. The seven month sabbatical, personally funded, impacted our lives teaching us many lessons about our family, our food, our community, and our world.
Four months we served the mountainous community of Harmons where we gleaned the wisdom of the elders, “New broom sweeps clean, but old broom knows every corner.” Local food was abundant, available to wildcraft, to grow, and to barter: mangoes, cassava, coconuts, pineapple, star fruit, papayas, pimento leaf (allspice) ackee, scotch bonnet peppers, jack fruit, and cashews. A single mother, Faith, and her eleven children
welcomed us into their family teaching us how to cut a chicken into thirteen servings and jerk it over an open fire; pull and carry water out of a 20’ cistern to scrub clothing; shred cassava into delicious, locally-grown pizza crusts; and singing out hearts out to glorify God. New materials in earthen building broadened our knowledge after building three ovens and gaining an appreciation for Pennsylvanian orange clay. Eight houses constructed from Christ’s foundation up to the rooftop solidified our love of the Jamaican people.
During a two week layover in May, we witnessed the excitement of Rob and Jessie Orth, as they stewarded Quiet Creek. This amazing couple made our sabbatical possible and pleasurable. Thanks to the Orth Family, the Jamaican “no problem, man” mantra carried us to Corsica, France.
This Mediterranean island offered endless hours of hiking and swimming, awesome coastal and mountainous scenery, a hearty supply of driftwood to carve, a fresh diet of vegetable and fruit free of any genetic modification, and Ashton’s reality of French beaches. We bicycled to an organic essential oil farm twice a week volunteering our skills while gaining an “intern” perspective to farm management, studied the Corsican history dating back to Greek domination, struggled with the French language, became known as the Americans who eat grass, and became a closer-knit family that only a sabbatical can create. We returned to Quiet Creek refreshed ready to serve our community, our interns, and one another.
Arriving mid-August permitted us to support Max, Quiet Creek’s theatre camp director, and a dozen campers raising the environmental consciousness associated with natural resource extraction. School groups largest (Punxsy’s 160 first graders) to smallest (Lenape’s 30 Culinary Arts students) embraced sustainability along with hundreds of visitors this fall and winter. Mother Earth News welcomed Quiet Creek to share four presentations and an educational booth full of tools to make soap, grow mushrooms, raise worm compost, and forage for wild edibles. Walker made his speaking and carving debut sharing native staples plus new delicacies from France and Jamaica, in addition to his hand crafted Pere Noels.
The year ahead promises to be exciting while we balance stewardship education with deep rooted, relationship building throughout the world. Goals include developing intensive sustainability workshops (3-14 days), encouraging others to take a farm sabbatical at PASA’s annual conference, attending the US Composting conference, mentoring food chemist Benjamin from Brittany, France, incorporating essential oil distillation classes, and jazzing youth about a healthy diet full of whole grains, veggies, fruits, and exercise.
We so appreciate your continued support helping us meet our mission at Quiet Creek. Thanks for partnering with us; many blessings to you and your family in the upcoming year.
With lots of love,
Rusty, Claire, Walker & Ashton
Yes! I can help cultivate Quiet Creek Herb Farm & School of Country Living, Inc.
Enclosed is my check for
__ $25 __ $50 __ $100 __ $250 __ $500 __ $1000 $_______________
___Donated materials for everyday use on the farm (please list and drop by at your convenience)
______________________________________________________________________________
__ I would like this donation to be used for any priority of Quiet Creek Herb Farm
__ I would like this donation to be used for this specific purpose: _______________________
_____ I would like more information on how the corporation I work for can use its tax dollars to educate school children through Quiet Creek’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program.
Please comment on what you find most meaningful regarding Quiet Creek’s mission:______
___________________________________________________________________________
Quiet Creek Herb Farm & School of Country Living Inc. is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization. Charitable contributions are tax deductible.
Name_________________________________________________________________
Address _______________________________________________________________
Phone _________________________________________________________________
E-mail _________________________________________________________________
Please send to:
Quiet Creek Herb Farm
93 Quiet Creek Lane, Brookville, PA 15825
(814) 849-9662
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