What could an urban co-working space and a rural farm possibly have in common?

Taking Cues from
The Biggest Little Farm
Documentary

Destructive winds. Fires. Drought. Sickness. Pests. Predators. Death. That’s what John and Molly were unwittingly in for when they purchased their 200-acre plot of land just outside of Los Angeles. But their dream for a sustainable, flourishing family farm was bigger than all of these foes. And they were relentless.

“Everyone told us this idea was crazy. That attempting to farm in harmony with nature would be reckless if not impossible.” And it kind of was. Until it wasn’t.

Chapter 1: Tillage

Tillage—the preparation of the soil for growth—was the first and essential step to building a thriving ecosystem, where every plant and animal has a role and fulfills its purpose.

The land John and Molly purchased, Apricot Lane Farms, had previously been used as a large-scale monocrop farm and then abandoned when the land failed to yield its required harvest and the money ran out.

By the time John and Molly got there, the soil was rock hard, bone dry, and lifeless.

“This is what we’re fighting,” Molly says as she holds an unyielding chunk of dirt in her hands. “The soil was dead, and we had no idea how to bring it back to life.” So they hired Alan, a world-renown expert in traditional farming practices and a bit eccentric.

He said they needed compost and lots of it. But how does one get the raw materials for nutrient-rich compost? Farm animals. So, entering stage right, came the sheep, ducks, chickens, and cows. And, a little bit later, a mama pig named Emma.

They used the compost to plant cover crops to rebuild the soil and, along with it, 75 varieties of stone fruit trees in what they called the “fruit basket.” Over time, a crucial ingredient returned to the soil—the microorganisms—and the soil was transformed from hard and lifeless to lush and nutrient rich.

The soil held the farm in place, literally. When heavy rain washed away the lifeless top soil on nearby farms, their soil sequestered 100 million gallons of water, soaking in all the rain like a sponge.

Chapter 2: The Ecosystem

Healthy soil provided the environment for life to flourish. But it wasn’t a simple upward trajectory.

Snails, which thrive in the cover crop, came from below, devouring the leaves of the newly established fruit trees.

Flocks of starlings appeared from above and took down 70% of the fruit in a single harvest.

Gophers showed up and ate the roots, killing the trees from within.

Coyotes hunted down the chickens, demolishing their egg harvest.

“As our farm flourishes, so do the pests. Every step we take to improve our land seems to create the perfect habitat for the next pest.”

The problem was that their ecosystem in these early days was incomplete, unbalanced. They were dismayed and perplexed. Until they learned to take a step back and start paying attention.

“Observation followed by creativity is becoming our greatest ally.”

— John

Alan advised them, “Always you’re looking for opportunities so that everything works in harmony.” With this mindset, every problem became an opportunity.

They noticed how much the ducks loved to eat snails, so they set them loose among the fruit trees. And as they feasted, they fertilized.

Once they secured the coop and established guard dogs, the coyotes resorted to hunting the gophers instead of the chickens.

They posted owl houses, encouraging the return of sky-born predators to regulate the bird (and gopher) population.

After a period of seven years, the farm began to find its equilibrium. And a self-perpetuating, self-regulating ecosystem emerged where everything had a purpose and a role to play.

Chapter 3: Harmony

Today their farm is flourishing. You can see what they're up to here.

John and Molly had to learn that encompassing their dreams was an inevitable cycle of life and death. Each painful failure, each unexpected setback laid the groundwork for the next step forward if they were willing to learn and adapt.

At the end, John states, “The beautiful complexity of our land is alive with infinite possibility." But they had to hold onto their dream well beyond any conceivable limit and against so many odds to realize this potential.

“I didn’t expect that the hardships we would face would make the actual dream itself feel so much more alive.”

— Molly

Chapter 4: The Metaphor

As I watched and re-watched the story of this farm come-to-life, I began to see more and more the connections between what John and Molly were doing at Apricot Lane Farms and what Jamin and I are doing through Tillage.

The preparation of the soil for growth. That’s what tillage is.
That’s what Tillage is.

Like John and Molly, we know it begins with tilling the soil so that it can bear fruit.

We have a vision to create a thriving ecosystem here in San Francisco, where all the pieces fit together and everyone finds their part to play. It is, in fact, much bigger than a co-working space when we dare to let ourselves dream.

So we’re “buying a farm” and casting a vision and we hope you’ll be a part of it!

It’s actually sobering to make the connection, and my mind and heart try to avoid it, but like John and Molly, we can’t see what the road ahead will look like—what ups and downs, twists and turns, mistakes and failures await us in this endeavor. But we’re staying alert and diving in because we believe that flourishing lies on the other side.

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