Harmon Builders helped the Miller-Varley Family with a kitchen renovation in a house they relocated to after their previous home was lost to fire. Since then, they have moved on from their loss in an inspiring way. Starting small and moving several times into increasingly expansive farmlands, they recently became the first family to benefit from Iroquois Valley Farms’ program to invest in organic farmers who value the relationship between soil, people, and the planet at their Vermont farm where they raise both animals and vegetables.
Shannon Varley has long had a passion for this type of work, but she envisioned improving human and environmental health through advocacy and public policy work with her career in environmental law. While she and her husband still work full time off the farm, she for Chesapeake Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture, she fell in love with farming through an internship at an organic farm that she discovered through her law school program. Shannon’s passion for solving community health problems and growing relationships grew into a more literal “dig in and get your hands dirty” approach, and her plans are to soon shift entirely to working on the farm and connecting to the local community in Vermont. A delightful chronicle of her start in farming, including fighting the perception that a young lady raised in the suburbs of Pittsburgh and having no family background connected to farming might just be looking for a place to grow “wacky-tabacky,” is written up at the Grounded Women blog. The post has some stunning photography to enjoy as well. You can also listen to Shannon explain her mission in her own voice at the podcast on Ever Better.
This stunning picture of Shannon Varley is one in a series from the Grounded Women blog, written by Lise Metgler (linked to above).
At Strafford Village Farm the Miller-Varleys raise grass-fed livestock, including a small breed of beef cattle, meat chickens, sheep, and heritage pigs. They operate a CSA for their organically grown vegetables and flowers, as well as grow hay, and soon will open a farm store. They not only seek to improve environmental health, but to enhance the natural support between the community that both sustains and is sustained by this farm. To that end, they have done community fundraising to benefit the Strafford Valley preschool, and eventually hope to provide training to adults with developmental disabilities and food to the community’s senior citizens in need. The soil, people, and planet relationship is a natural fit for their small Vermont community.
Harmon Builders’ team has found a special joy and kindred spirit in our relationship with the Miller-Varleys, as we try to help our clients and our community by adopting building practices that are conscientious toward the local and global environment. Although we miss connecting to them in Maryland, we are excited and proud to see what they are able to accomplish, and look forward to hearing of their future successes in Vermont. One of the best aspects of our work is to connect with people on such a meaningful level. We look forward to celebrating the future successes of all of our clients. All the best!
By Melanie Smith-Bell