I felt uniquely suited to take on this year’s Pepper Festival theme, as striving for Utopia is part of my daily life as a member of an intentional community. My life at Blue Heron Farm is one big experiment in the creation and development of co-operative and sustainable ways of living together. So, when the…
Stories: Everything else
Stories that can't be fit into a box.
Winter Solstice: Standing Still in the Abundant Pause
It is the Winter Solstice, the day when the Northern Hemisphere begins its slow shift back towards the sun, and we take time to reattune our senses to the subtle changes and cycles of the seasons. The Latin roots of the word ‘solstice’ mean ‘sun stands still’. When I watch the sun today cross…
Chef Jay Pierce, the real deal
Jay Pierce is the real deal. He is not kidding around when it comes to local food, running restaurants, being uber sustainable and making delectable food. His practicality along with his brilliant vision and creativity means that he is a master at his craft. I’ve known Jay for over a decade and I’ve seen the…
Angels of Abundance
An angel of a’plenty got me to my first Abundance event. She came to me from the other side at a time when I needed a nudge to get out of bed. I’d been in bed metaphorically for a few years, from the profundity of my discouragement in human behavior. I felt the holes…
At the Table, An Inside look at Abundance
My Abundance bio was your typical bio: brief self-description, pets, and family. Well… now they are all either dead or gone. I tried a couple of times, but it was too painful to write a new bio. To remedy this, Hannah created a staff retreat under the guise of needing new headshots. While each individual…
Thinking Again, Eden
Most of us however, refer to Eden in metaphor only; we don’t actually expect it to become our zip code. Two years ago, I moved from the Triangle area to Eden. Not Eden NC, but Celo NC, named in honor of the ‘Eve’ of the Cherokee people, Selu. A connection between Selu and the Black…
Out of the Box
First came shock. Deer in the headlights. Fish out of water. No comprehension whatsoever. Next came skepticism. One of those look left, look right moments that end with a timid “are you talking to me?” “Yes – I’m talking to you! Wanna come over here and lay down in this coffin?” Silence. “It’s a photo…
Inside Abundance: an Intern’s Story
Each day there was something different happening at Abundance. Each day it was something special that made my summer meaningful. It was meeting the people. I looked forward to the weekly Monday meetings where attendees shared personal and professional life updates. These meetings allowed me to not only learn how much needed to be accomplished…
