The Common Sense Farm is a multi-faceted community. We would love for you to come and visit, or even stay for a while. We have had guests, and sometimes our guests have even stayed and chose to become disciples. We'll describe some of the different aspects:
Farming
The Farm is an organic farming community located forty five minutes north of Albany in the fertile Battenkill Valley. We are situated on over one hundred acres of gently rolling hills and lush river bottom land. Growing a wide assortment of vegetables and herbs, grass-fed beef, milking a small herd of dairy goats, maintaining the beautiful grounds of the estate, operating a cottage industry, and running a small cafe in town provides year round opportunities for WWOOFers. For the past ten years on the farm we have focused mainly on animals and grain production, with a very small focus on vegetables.
In 2009 we decided to take a leap of faith forward and cultivated 4 acres of vegetables. We had a surprisingly successful year despite the worst weather in forty years. In 2010 we added two more acres and a farm stand, as well as a permanent green house. We geared up for the season ahead with much vision and more experience, as well as being part of a world wide network of other farms that we learn from.
The weather was amazing and we had a very productive season. We had the pleasure of hosting four WWOOFers and many other quests that joined in the work and fellowship. We finished the season and prepared for winter production in the greenhouse. The winter is coming to a close and the greenhouse did great, adding much experience and fresh greens to our house. As the spring approaches, the planning unfolds and the seeds start arriving. We are already starting a few early things to go outside in hoops in March. We look forward to hosting more WOOFers wishing to learn with us and enjoy the reward of "growing" organically, physically and spiritually. By saying we are a "community", we do not mean a loose association of individuals in a common geographical location, but rather a large extended family of married couples, single people, and children sharing a common social, spiritual, and economical goal.
That goal is to create a life of care and growth for the common good. We love working together to make this life increase and we ask that WWOOFers would share the same passion for hard work. In exchange for your hard work, we provide room, board, and an enriching environment to learn and grow in. Work opportunities include, but are not limited to; greenhouse care, planting, cultivating, harvesting and processing, as well as opportunities with care and increase of the animal herds and maintenance of the farm. We live a life dedicated to sustainable practices, primarily of our relationships with one another. To make this a daily reality, we eat all our meals together, gather morning and evening, with weekend celebrations, sing, dance, and offer a community prayer to the One who makes this life possible.
Soap Shop
In our large converted barn, we manufacture organic body care products. We started doing this years ago, and have progressed greatly over the years. In our beginnings, we mixed and poured up the soap in humble ways to meet the needs of our brothers and sisters in the community. We made healthy, high-quality products for our people, and then we realized that we could also sell these products to the public. So we have a line of lotions, body washes, healing herbal salves, and baby products. Cottage industry, as we call it, is important to us, as it makes a way that our people can work on the property without having to leave families at home. We have seend this as an excellent way to strengthen families, as we turn our hearts to our children. We can also have guests join us to help put caps on the bottles and many other things. We hope you will join us!
Cafe
The town of Cambridge is small and rural, possessing one traffic signal. If you go west on Main Street from our stoplight, you will come to the Common Sense Cafe and Bakery. We love to take care of people, and serving our customers is a very real way that we can express the love of God to others. We serve hot steamed sandwiches, soups, fresh-baked bread right on-site, pies, muffins, and salads. Please join us for lunch or dinner.
Please come and visit us, or WWOOF with us
We ask that our guests, be they WWOOFers, friends, or visiting relatives would attend all gatherings and meals with a desire to respect and learn from our way of life together. No drugs, alcohol, or pets permitted. Living arrangements will be according to space and needs. Diets with special needs can be accommodated within reason. Guests are frequent all year round and we would love to have you join us. Whether a short stay or a life long experience, our hearts and our farm will always have room for more.
