The Appalachian Voice
Skip the Lawn Mower This Season, Eco-Goats is On The Way
If you are looking for a new twist on farm life, here is one: using goats to clear brush, mow lawns and remove invasive species. Brian Knox, founder of Eco-Goats, one of the East Coast’s leading goat clearing companies, became interested in goats when he bumped into a friend who had gotten to know his…
Read MoreBison: The Healthier, More Sustainable Meat
By Jillian Randel With large agriculture squeezing the market on more traditional farming methods, small agriculturalists are finding newer and more creative ways to make a living from the barnyard. Pink is the new black, tempeh is the new tofu and bison meat is the new cow beef. While modern farming techniques pose many environmental…
Read MoreBathroom Suds With a Touch of Sass
When a long-time customer sent an email from Afghanistan asking about a remedy for raw and bleeding feet—the result of wearing combat boots for 14 hours a day—Sassy Goat Milk Soap owner Jill Wyse set to work on a batch of lotion to help. Wyse created Sassy Goats in 2005 after she added three goats…
Read MorePiggies in the Forest
By Jillian Randel The pigs at Buffalo Creek Farm give a whole new meaning to the term hog heaven. Located in central Virginia, this family-run farm operates on one concept: because pigs are descendants of wild boar, they are healthier and happier when they roam freely through the woods. Owner Bill Jones never has more…
Read MoreRabbits, Sheep, Alpacas, oh my! What to do with all that fur…
By Jillian Randel Situated alongside the Blue Ridge Parkway, in the mountain community of Meadows of Dan, Va., is a quaint building called Greenberry House. A fiber studio representing 26 artisan spinners, Greenberry House was started by local spinner Leslie Shelor. Shelor bred and raised German angora rabbits, a specialty breed, and spent years traveling…
Read MoreEducation: Appalachian Colleges Plant Seeds of Sustainability
By Meg Holden Many colleges and universities incorporate sustainability lessons into the classroom, but some exceed expectations. Take a look at three Appalachian schools that teach conscientious food habits through student-centered gardens. Warren Wilson College One of the greenest small colleges in the South, Warren Wilson College in Asheville, N.C., is known for its “above…
Read MoreTurtle Island: Living off the land With Intention and Integrity
By Jillian Randel Eustace Conway has cooked exclusively over a fire for the past 35 years—one of many skills that attract people to his home at Turtle Island Preserve to learn about living off the land. Conway lives on a 1,000-acre preserve near Boone, N.C. The preserve first opened in 1987 and serves as a…
Read MoreDraftwood Horse Logging
By Jillian Randel Somewhere on the line between clear-cutting a forest and leaving it untouched lies a practice referred to as modern horse logging. This sustainable form of forestry is simultaneously a kick back to the past and the standard of the future. Horse logging is an evolving industry driven by a close-knit community of…
Read MoreNo Longer A Rural Thing
By Jamie Goodman During the two days that my friend’s first batch of chickens were hatching, she barely left the incubator’s side, even to attend her own housewarming party. Katie Boyette, a fiber artist and kitchen manager at a local company that produces food bars, recently moved with her family to an old farmhouse in…
Read MoreCommunity Kitchens: Taking Food From Farm to Table
By Julie Johnson Jack Fischer had a great idea for a product, but no space in which to make it. “At home, I’d make nut butters out of raw, sprouted almonds and walnuts for my family,” he said. Fischer knew his nut butters were a marketable product, but because of health department regulations and the…
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