Dabbler Farm: Hoop Dreams

My name is John Larsen. For several years I have been podcaster, researcher, speaker, and friend for individuals finding their way out of high demand religions, particularly Mormonism. I have had a fantastic run and had the privilege of hearing many stories. I have laughed and I have cried as we have journeyed together to find peace after conflict.

The time has come for me to hang up my spurs. My soul has been telling me that I need to let go of the conflict. Although my work will remain available on line, personally I am turning away from religious criticism and community development post religion.

2 years ago my family and I purchased a small farm in Benton County, Oregon. On the farm we are working towards food independence from corporate and industrial food products. We are also looking for ways to share gardening and farm space with the community and get in touch with the slow food culture that was common not that many years ago. This endeavor is also colored by our desire to develop climate change resilience and creating a world that is not dependent on fossil fuels.

During the first two years we have established our chicken flock and built an organic and natural fertilizer system using bunny manure. We built a heated greenhouse to start and incubate plants. We have also created two fenced gardens that provide us nearly 1400 square feet of plant growing space. One of those gardens is dedicated to experimenting with small space, low water usage gardening methods that can be reproduced in an urban setting.

Our next area of expansion is to build 3 hoop houses, each 20 ft by 40 ft. This will allow us to create a continually supply of plant starts, herbs, and vegetables to both use, share and sell in our farm stand. We hope to expand that to the farmer's market in the next two years. This will allow us to finally convert to the farm from being an overall money loss to being able to break even and possibly contribute a small income to the farm.

The fundraiser goal is set for $5000. Each additional greenhouse would be the same price. Our minimum goal is to build one, but to get all three will cost $15,000.

For those who are grateful for the content I have supplied and have the means and wherewithal to do so, I am asking for contributions to my final going away present by helping us build these hoop houses that will allow us to continue into my next mission.

I believe strong that many have given to us along our way and it is important to give a life of service. I spent nearly 20 years in the service of recovering from religion. For the latter half of my life, I want to devote my time and energy into helping, in a small way, to build resilience against climate change and find healthier ways to engage with food and our community.

A more detailed project plan and cost breakdown can be found at our website here: https://dabblerfarm.org/go-fund-me-hoop-dreams/

Thanks!