Popcorn and Peer Mentorship

There is a bag of Blue Gate popcorn sitting in our kitchen.  I was thinking that maybe I should put it away, but I decided not to because it reminded me of some people who have been "game changers" for us and our farm for some time now.  It made me feel good to know that they care enough about our well-being to listen when we need someone to hear, be there when we need someone to be present, and provide skilled hands when our own are not sufficient to the task.

And the beauty of this arrangement is that we are always willing to do the same for them.

BGF, Scattergood & GFF

The Genuine Faux Farm (our farm) has participated in this group since the beginning, along with Blue Gate Farm and Scattergood Friends School Farm.  Our good friends at the former Grinnell Heritage Farm have since moved to Virginia to manage a farm there, but they are still very much an important part of our group.  And our friend that once ran Wabi Sabi Farm has also moved to another job, but is always welcome too!

Prior to formalizing this group, we periodically ran into each other at Practical Farmers of Iowa conferences or events.  During one of those conferences some of us discussed how isolated we felt most of the year - especially during those moments when our farms required so much of us.  A proposal was made that the entire group would visit each farm once during the growing season (one per month).  We would provide skilled hands for two to three hours and then we would all share a meal.

 

It ended up being the best farming decision we made for the Genuine Faux Farm.

GHF now in VA

 

This past Sunday, our group of friends came to the Genuine Faux Farm to help us try to get a foothold on our 2023 growing season.  Some of our group were there in spirit, but distances were too great to attend physically.  Life changes, but friendships endure.

In any event, the popcorn still sits out where we can see it because it reminds us that our friends were just here.  And that has value, as does the work they did during their brief, but appreciated visit.

While we are still far behind where we wanted to be at this time in our planting, we now  see hope that we can make progress.  We were both unsure that anything could get better at this point, but now we think we might be able to make some things happen.  We needed our friends to ground us a bit and give us a boost.

And they did.

 

A few years ago, I read that some folks call this a "peer mentorship" model.  We entered into the relationship with different strengths and weaknesses, but we all had some commonality in what we were trying to accomplish.  It's been a joy to watch ideas move from one farm to the next, getting manipulated to fit a slightly different operation.  Sometimes the idea takes root and becomes a mainstay.  Other times, it keeps getting altered as situations change.  But it is still evidence of respect and a shared desire to improve.

 

Whether you want to call this peer mentorship or not, it works for us and these farms.  We hope that you, too, can find your trusted peers.

 

Have a good remainder of your day and a fine week to come!