About Sangha Farm
Sangha: a place of harmony, mindful actions, compassion, insight and happiness
Derek first came across Sangha while reading Thich Nhat Hanh's Coming Home. We had just bought property in Maine, where we planned to farm. When we first walked onto that land we felt like we had just "come home. " We moved the location of our farm from Maine to Western MA, but we kept the name Sangha because farming really is home to us.
Derek began his farming career
in 1994 at Claudia's Herbs in Orleans, CA. He was hired as a field
worker and what he lovingly refers to as a "disease" began. During
his years of living in the Six Rivers National Forest of Northern
California, he had the opportunity to work with quite a few organic
farmers, learning many aspects of farming: orchard maintenance, working
with wine grapes, growing vegetables and herbs,
and of course how hard you
have to work as a farmer.
Maribeth moved to Orleans in
1997. She spent a little time working for Von
and Claudia, but her love
really was medicinal herbs. She attended Dandelion Herbal School,
where she perfected the art of making infused bath
and massage oils.
In 1999 we decided to start our own farm, and we also wanted to be closer to our families in New England. So we packed up our five dogs and two cats and headed for Charleston, Maine. We bought 40 acres, planted our first crop of garlic that fall, moved on the land that spring, and camped until we found suitable housing for those cold Maine winters we were told about. We certified our farm that first season with MOFGA (Maine Organic Farm and Garden Association), joined a few farmers markets, and we were off.
During our second year, we participated in the Senior
Farm Share program sponsored by the Maine Department of Agriculture,
delivering
produce to low-income seniors for 10 weeks during the growing season.
We also participated in the Farmers' Market at the Common Ground Fair.
We love animals and feel farms
just aren't complete without livestock,
so we bought a horse and
two goats and
started training a young Jersey Oxen team.
In 2002, Maribeth gave
birth to our first child, Maia. Our second child soon
presented himself, and we felt we needed to re-evaluate living in Maine.
In March of 2003 we found this farm on New England Land Link, a division of the New England Small Farm Institute. Land Link helps to connect people with land with farmers who are looking for land. Check out their Web site for more information.
We moved into
our house on April 23 and broke ground the first week of May. We
bought all our starts that first year, decided that the Greenfield
Farmers' Market was good place to start,
and Sangha Farm was once
again in operation.
