274: Deb Kolaras on Small Farming and Local Economies.
Working together with other small farms to provide farm goods to a local economy.
Trading her digital marketing agency in Boulder, Colorado, for a small farm in rural Virginia, Deb and her husband set out to expand their backyard hobby farming into a slightly larger and more sustainable homestead. While restoring a 1907 farmhouse, they’re raising chickens & goats, and selling the food products at their roadside honor farm-stand.
Other local micro farms also sell produce and goods in Deb’s farm stand as she is working to help improve her local microeconomy by networking and supporting small farmers and producers in her county.
Her background is in business, but she’s always had a passion for making, building, re-purposing, and then harvesting the goods from those labors.Don’t miss an episode! Click here to sign up for weekly podcast updates
In This Podcast:
Not having enough eggs to keep her farm stand stocked, Deb Kolaras reached out to a couple neighboring small farms to add their products to hers. What has developed is a successful honor based farm stand that neighbors shop to find their fresh produce, eggs and cheeses. Using her marketing background she is focusing a local economy to support small farmers.
Listen in and learn about:
- Seeking out the small town lifestyle
- Wanting to make soaps and other stuff at home
- Getting active helping small vendors get seen
- Wanting to find solutions to help small farming businesses be seen
- Taking advantage of being on a high traffic roadway
- Starting up an honor farm stand
- Expanding their farm stand to allow for more farmers to participate
- Their 100 year old small farm property
- How they make their farm manageable
- Raising her goats and planning around their needs
- Using systems to keep the farm running
- Moving from Colorado to Virginia and taking chickens with them
- The first inclination to start her farm stand to keep up with the egg demand
As well as:
- Her failure – Continuously failing at growing garlic
- Her success – Other peoples’ successes – watching those she’s mentored succeed
- Her drive – Being thirsty for knowledge
- Her advice – Be passionate – live passionately
Deb’s Book recommendations:
Todd Henry – Die Empty
How to reach Deb:
Website: HopAndHen.com
UrbanFarm.org/HopandHen
