Rainshadow Organics

THE LOVE OF SOIL IS FUNDAMENTAL TO ANY SUCCESSFUL FARMING OPERATION. TO BRING FORTH SUCCESSFUL CROPS, FARMERS MUST SPEND COUNTLESS HOURS TOILING IN THE DIRT, DIGGING DEEP TO COAX OUT ITS SECRETS. THEY REALIZE THAT THEIR SOIL IS A LIVING ORGANISM WORTHY OF THEIR LOVE AND RESPECT.

Every day, Sarahlee Lawrence and Ashanti Samuels, the owners of Rainshadow Organics, a 27-acre farm located just outside Bend, Oregon, bring their passion into their fields to raise a crop of over 250 varieties of vegetables and grains, along with a wide array of meat and poultry. To ensure the fertility of their land, they use sustainable organic farming methods, ones that were common before the advent of commercial farming. “We focus on creating healthy living soil that gets stronger every year, not weaker,” says Lawrence.

But while they are in their fields every day, toiling over their beloved crops, Lawrence and Samuels are not alone. Students from the Rouge Farm Corps labor besides them, committing up to three years to learning their techniques and tricks so that they will soon be able to operate their own small farms. “If everybody is focused on feeding their communities, then everyone gets fed, and hunger is a thing of the past,” says Lawrence. Part of their mission is to ensure that their knowledge is passed on, that another generation will take to the fields and pour their love back into the earth, and that community farms once again thrive.

1. Cultivate diversity in your soil and your life.

2. Enjoy your microbial community through a microscope.

3. Cereal grains are a wonderful rotation, cover, and feed for migratory birds on their way through.

4. The food you eat is your biggest impact on the planet. Choose wisely.