Bordertown

Jaquelyn Fernandez Rieke has been the owner of Nutty Steph's for the past 14 years. Born and raised in Suburban Chicago, Jaquelyn made her way east after college. Spending a bit of time in Baltimore, she ultimately landed in central Vermont where she's been every since

On the Nutty Steph's website you can find their mission - "Nutty Steph's is a small-but-mighty organization comprised of dedicated and creative people unified to insire a more delicious world. Since 2003, Nutty Steph's has hand-crafted it's products with the highest quality, GMO-Free ingredeients to ensure that our treats are always the tastiest they can be. We employ individuals with exacting standards and highly sensitive palates, working in harmony to produce execptional granola, chocolate and confections".

In addition to owning Nutty Steph's, Jaquelyn and her husband own the Onion River Campground, where visitors can simply camp for a lovely evening by the river or host fantastic parties for friends and family. For the past three years the Onion River Campground has hosted Weirdofest, which is quickly becoming a Vermont tradition.

Jaquelyn is currently transitioning Nutty Steph's to a worker owned coop. Her dedication to people and community can be found in the pledge at the bottom of her emails, "I pledge my commitment to personal reflection and assessment of my conduct as I strive to do my part to build a more civil society - one in which each person is respected and public and political discourse are aimed at the betterment of our communities, our state, and our nation. I will respect others' rights who hold different opinions, strive to understand differing perspectives, avoid rhetoric that humiliates and belittles others, speak out against incivility, and act to promote respect for all people".

Thanks to Railroad Earth for providing the theme music "Lordy Lordy"

Download mp.3 -- Listen on ITunes

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

Alex Chernomazov and his wife Ella are the co-founders of Greenspark, an Interactive Sustainability Park in development on Route 100 in Waterbury Center, Vermont. Their mission: to inspire local and global communities to adapt current green technologies through interactive hands-on experiences. Alex and Ella’s goal at Greenspark is to make it easy for guests to experience all aspects of sustainable living – renewable energy, green building and pollution-free transportation – in one place.

Click HERE to help Kickstart this project

Alex was born in the Ukraine, in the former Soviet Union. Both his parents are teachers and his family travelled every summer, so Alex says that he has the travel itch in his blood. And his dad was a shop teacher, so he grew up around tools, and enjoyed tinkering and fixing stuff

In the mid-90s , when Alex was 16 years-old, he and his father moved to Brooklyn NY, with a big wave of Russian speaking immigrants from all over the former USSR. He lived in America yet all his friends were Russian speaking. He had a series of IT jobs, and over 20 or so years, he grew from pc support to server support to network design and network security.

Alex traveled a lot, with his wife Ella and soon discovered their shared passion for a sustainable life-style. Eventually they left their big city jobs and apartment behind, moved into the car, and spent a year zigzagging across USA and Canada, up to Alaska and back down to Florida. On that trip they were seeking out anything related to renewable energy, green building, and sustainability.

After the trip they settled in Vermont, bought a house, and had their daughter Maya. Meanwhile an idea of building a place to showcase everything they had learned over the past several years was brewing in their heads, and they kept looking for the right place to realize that vision.

Alex and Ella purchased a piece of land on Route 100, just north of Waterbury Center, and Greenspark was born. They hope to open in the summer of 2017, and are seeking support and partners in this inspired vision.

Thanks to Railroad Earth for providing the theme music "Lordy Lordy"

Download mp.3 -- Listen on ITunes

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

John Liu stopped by Vermont on his US tour describing the Ecorestoraion Camps. We organized a conversation about solutions at the University of Vermont, and screened his film Hope in a Changing Climate which focuses on China's Loess Plateau

Thanks to Railroad Earth for providing the theme music "Lordy Lordy"

The panel discussion also featured Amy Seidl and Jon Erickson.

Download mp.3 -- Listen on ITunes

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

During the summer of 2016, Vic Guadagno was the guest host for Carl Etneir’s radio program, Relocalize Vermont, that broadcasts on the Goddard Collage Community Radio Station. For many of these broadcasts, Vic condensed previous Bordertown podcasts. This episode features Andrew Faust (Episode 16) and Mark Krawczyk. (Episode 11).

Andrew Faust is one of the premier Permaculture teachers and designers in North America with nearly two decades of experience. Andrew has extensive experience in a wide range of climates and habitats including desert, forest and mountain – and has been focusing much of his attention over the past decade on urban landscapes. He is the founder of the Center for BioRegional Living, a design, education and consulting center located in Brooklyn New York. With a campus located in Ellenville, NY, that he is developing with his partner Adriana Magana and their daughter Juniper.
 

Mark is the owner of Keyline Vermont, a permaculture design, consulting and education business. As a student of permaculture design since 2000, Mark Krawczyk has explored tree crop and agroforestry systems, coppice forestry, natural building, traditional woodcrafts, community organizing and both small and broad acre site design.

Thanks to Railroad Earth for providing the theme music "Lordy Lordy"

Download mp.3 -- Listen on ITunes

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

Joseph Keifer grew up on a small-diversified family farm in the Hudson Valley of New York State. As the oldest son of six kids his farm chores with cows, pigs, sheep, chickens and a mean old rooster, taught him much about caring for the land and being a farmer. He received his M.A. in Social Ecology from the Institute for Social Ecology in Plainfield Vermont in 1980. In 1982 he was asked to be part of a Community Task Force on Hunger with the Central Vermont Community Action Council in Barre, Vermont. As a result of this quiet crisis he started a Garden Science / Hunger Education Program with local schools. At the Main Street Middle school a Garden Lab of raised bed gardens, small fruits, fruit trees and a compost was set up with a bed dedicated for the Emergency Food Pantry. This Task Force quickly learned that this dramatic increase in demand for emergency food was being experienced around the state and decided to investigate starting a Food bank for the state. In 1986 Joseph Co-founded the Vermont Food bank

In 1985-86 he served on the Governor’s Task Force on Hunger attending six regional hearings around the state. Upon completion of these projects he cofounded Food Works with a mission to address the root causes of childhood hunger by starting school gardens and food education programs.

In 1997 Food Works teamed up with Shelburne Farms and NOFA (Northeast Organic Farming Association) to start VT FEED (food education every day). In 2006 Food Works helped launch the first Food Bank farm in Vermont growing exclusively for emergency feeding sites in the state.

At Food Works Joseph was the Director of Education and offered professional development courses and workshops to teachers, food service staff and community organizers on how to grow, process, cook and store locally grown foods. He has taught at California Polytechnic University at Pomona, California, Trinity College, Goddard College, The Union Institute, The College of St. Joseph and Johnson State College and Castelton University all in Vermont. He is a co-author of “Digging Deeper” A comprehensive Guide to School and Community Gardening and “Living Traditions” Teaching Local History Using State and National Learning Standards.
 

Joseph now works as a Food Justice Consultant working with the Good Food Good Medicine Program at Highgate Housing and Green Acres Housing, the Vermont Community Garden Network as well as the Vermont Rural Partnership. He serves on the Boards of Just Basics Inc. in Montpelier and Highgate Housing in Barre Vermont, as well as on the cross cutting Food Access Team of the Vermont Farm to Plate Group.
 

He lives with his wife Amy and their two dogs Chester and Molly on the White Dove Herbal Sanctuary in East Montpelier.

Thanks to Railroad Earth for providing the theme music "Lordy Lordy"

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

Soil4Climate, a nonprofit organization, advocates for soil restoration as a climate solution.

They promote regenerative land management practices to capture atmospheric carbon and encourage collaboration with the larger body of climate activism. Uniting “drawdown” strategies with emissions reduction, divestment from fossil fuels, a price on carbon, and climate justice advocacy, together creates a powerful alliance

Soil4Climate is inspired by the work of Allan Savory which is summarized nicely in his TedTalk as "if we do what I am showing you here, we can take enough carbon out of the atmosphere and safely store it in the grassland soils for thousands of years, and if we just do that on about half the world's grasslands that I've shown you, we can take us back to pre-industrial levels, while feeding people. I can think of almost nothing that offers more hope for our planet, for your children, and their children, and all of humanity."

Seth Itzkan is co-founder of Soil4Climate and President of Planet-TECH Associates .Jesse McDougall owns and operates Studio Hill, LLC on Pullman Farm with his wife Caroline - their family’s fourth-generation farm in Shaftsbury, Eric Becker Is Chief Investment Officer at Clean Yield Asset Management, and Karl Thidemann is a co-founder of Soil4Climate and a Strategic Planner for Planet-TECH Associates.

Thanks to Railroad Earth for providing the theme music "Lordy Lordy"

Download mp.3 -- Listen on ITunes

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

Sarah Waring is the Executive Director of The Center for an Agricultural Economy, in Hardwick Vermont. Their mission is to engage the public in building a regenerative, locally based, healthy food system through collaboration opportunities, food access and hunger relief, educational outreach and providing infrastructure.

It was a pleasure speaking with Sarah and asking direct questions relevant to our Designing Abundance project here in Central Vermont. Sarah has helped us over the past year and we look forward to continued callaboraiton in the years ahead.

It was fun learning about her off-grid days growing up in Glover – the hope of Bread and Puppet, our shared love for the Rockies, and her joyful return to the Green Mountain State.

I was drawn to the Center for an Agricultural Economy when I first arrived in Vermont and continue to look to them for inspiration and guidance. It was a pleasure learning more about Sarah and it’s clear that her enthusiasm and vision lends itsels well to their mission of a regenerative Vermont.

Thanks to Railroad Earth for providing the theme music "Lordy Lordy"

Download mp.3 -- Listen on ITunes

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

Bo Muller-Moore is the founder and owner of Eat More Kale,. He prints T-shirts, bumper stickers and other items and is most famous for his Eat More Kale T-shirt.

Bo is the inspiration for this year's EAT MORE KALE Festival. This first annual event is sure to be a good one. Their goal is to strengthen the arts and agricultural communities here in Vermont, which is at the core of the Designing Abundance mission, as we continue to understand and encourage our "PERMAnent CULTURE" here in Vermont.

Several years ago, Bo’s wife gave him a Home-T-shirt screen-printing kit. It consisted of a silk screen, a squeegee, a pint of black ink and a short instructional book. The book suggested that simple prints could be produced using hand-cut stencils. Sounded simple and off he went. “CHEESE” was his first print. It was a hit among his friends and co-workers. Having heard that he was printing t-shirts from home a couple of friends of his, Paul and Kate of High-Ledge Farm, penned the phrase “EAT MORE KALE” and special ordered two shirts for themselves. In less than 20 minutes. Bo printed their shirts and delivered them at the next farmer’s market. The idea became “viral” before people knew what “viral” was, then quickly spread to all corners of the world.

Bo was born in the city of Blues, Rock n’ Roll, BBQ and Elvis…..Memphis, TN. He’s lived in Tennessee, Michigan, Missouri, Alabama, Georgia and Vermont. He received a History Degree from Samford University (B’ham, Al) in 1998. Before that he failed out of Auburn Univ and before that Rhodes College in Memphis. Bo liked college but was not very good at it. He now live in the state capital of Vermont, Montpelier, where he’s been living since 1998.
 
Thanks to Railroad Earth for providing the theme music "Lordy Lordy"

Download mp.3 -- Listen on ITunes

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

Keith Morris, his partner Kori Gelinas and their two daughters own and operate Willing Crossing Farm in Johnson Vermont, where they maintain one of the most diverse collections of fruit and nut trees in the northeast. They also keep bees and run an apothecary, with an increasing stock of herbs and essential oils. Keith is a former competitive snowboarder and works developing snowboarding gear and riding the backcountry in his spare time.

Keith is the founder of Prospect Rock Permaculture, Vermont’s longest running Permaculture Institute and a co-founding board member of the Permaculture Institute of the Northeast (P.I.N.E.). He has been instrumental in bringing Permaculture to the northeast and teaching at the university level - including the University of Vermont, Sterling College, Saint Michaels College, Paul Smiths College and the Yestermororw Design Build School in the Waitsfield, Vermont. He also teaches courses and workshops, and hosts gatherings and festivals at their Willow Crossing Farm in Johnson.

Outside of teaching, Keith consults with forward-thinking landowners, community organizations, schools, towns, farmers, homesteaders, watershed organizations, land trusts, and others to interpret ecological context and make human-managed ecosystems more connected, beautiful, and productive - assisting people to better grow food, build soil, secure fresh water, harvest the sun, and harmonize with natural communities.

Thanks to Railroad Earth for providing the theme music "Lordy Lordy"
 

Download mp.3 -- Listen on ITunes

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email

Andrew Faust is one of the premier Permaculture teachers and designers in North America with nearly two decades of experience. Andrew has extensive experience in a wide range of climates and habitats including desert, forest and mountain – and has been focusing much of his attention over the past decade on urban landscapes. He is the founder of the Center for BioRegional Living, a design, education and consulting center located in Brooklyn New York. With a campus located in Ellenville, NY, that he is developing with his partner Adriana Magana and their daughter Juniper.

Thanks to Railroad Earth for providing the theme music "Lordy Lordy"
 

Download mp.3 -- Listen on ITunes

Stay Informed

Subscribe to Bordertown Email