Dancing Crane Farm had not been a working farm in close to 20 years when we purchased it, so there was much to be done.  We have been working to improve the property and turn it into a working farm and educational center.  Currently we grow vegetables and flowers on 2 acres using no synthetic herbicides, pesticides, insecticides and fertilizers.  We are also developing a one acre orchard that we may or may not use for commercial sales.  We have been offering produce and flowers for sale to the public since 2005. 

Under David’s direction and with the help of friends and family, we have accomplished all of our construction projects ourselves.  Below you will find a chronology of Dancing Crane Farm’s transformation.

Chicken Coop Construction 8X14 (Summer 2003)
We milled all of the lumber for our coop on our homemade chainsaw mill.  The mill was built by John, a family friend from Newaygo, Michigan who happens to be a gifted mechanic and tinkerer, with David’s help.  The red pine siding came from trees on Natasha’s Aunt and Uncle’s property in Newaygo, MI.  The interior lumber came from
a combination of our downstate neighbor’s property and Natasha’s parents’ property in Fremont and Newaygo, MI respectively.  The oak foundation beams came from an old wooden barn in Fremont, MI.  We brought all of this lumber with us when we moved in as we anticipated having to make the coop in a hurry.  The coop features an exterior door through which one can gather the eggs without having to enter the coop.  Additionally, part of the west side of the coop swings outward to allow for easy litter removal.  Our coop houses approximately 20 laying hens.

“Garage” Demolition 10X20 (Summer 2003)
When we moved into our farm, the “garage” was in sad shape.  The 10X20 ft. structure was listing to the north so badly that the front doors would not shut properly.  It also leaked and was not tall enough to stand up in.  Curiously enough, the building was shaped like a giant cheese wedge, taller in front then tapering to almost the ground at the back.  Natasha demolished the building with her two hands, a crow bar and pick-up truck.

Heated Greenhouse Construction 12X15 (Fall 2003- Spring 2004)
The glass walls of our greenhouse are made from old sliding glass doors that we started collecting when we lived downstate.  Anytime someone did a remodel or wanted to get rid of such doors, we snagged them.  All of the sliders made the 400 mile trek to Dancing Crane Farm without breaking.  The walls and doors are made of Spruce lumber
that we milled ourselves from trees on the north side of our property that had been ravaged by the power company.  The workbenches inside are made of boards taken from tractor shipping crates discarded by a local dealer.  We broke the boards apart, planed them on one side, and cut them to length.

Asbestos Removal in Milk House 6X12 (Summer 2003)
At first we thought we would be able to save the quaint little milk house.  However, upon further inspection we realized that the foundation was crumbling, half of the roof had caved in and the entire interior was filled with asbestos.  After consulting both licensed professionals and many Internet sources, Natasha removed the interior asbestos and tar paper siding.  And, yes, she took the proper precautions.  

Hoop Houses (4) 14X24 (Spring 2004)
The hoop houses are constructed from locally-milled cedar and poplar from Dennis Takalo’s Mill in Skandia, MI.

Deer Fence (2 acres) (Spring 2004)
Our slant-style deer fence is based on a design from the Virginia Department of Agriculture.  Though only five feet tall at its highest point, deer do not attempt to jump it.  The slant confuses the deer’s depth perception and creates the illusion that clearing it is not possible.  All the posts (which needed to be peeled) are local cedar and came from Takalo’s Sawmill. Our neighbors, the Gygi Family, were kind enough to let us borrow their hydraulic post- hole digger.

Landscaping (Summer 2003- Present)
When we moved to the property, there was very little in the way of decorative vegetation.  Creating flower beds has been an ongoing project, and we now have a considerable amount of decorative perennials in several large and small flower beds throughout the yard.  These beds are mostly ringed with field stone from our own rock pile.  Thanks to our wonderful downstate friends, Sandy and Duane (the gardening gurus), we have been able to fill all of our flower beds with a variety of beautiful perennials from their amazing garden.  Natasha’s mom and youngest sister helped with the planting.  Additionally, for those of you who remember the ancient, regal lilac next to the milk house, don’t worry.  We had the excavators relocate a good deal of it to another location in the yard.

Yard Fencing (Summer 2004)
David quartered the leftover cedar fence posts on our mill and, with the help of his dad, put together the “quarter-rail”
fence that now defines the north and part of the east side of our yard.

Milk House Demolition (Summer 2004)
After sitting completely stripped and empty for almost a year, the milk house was demolished by the excavator’s backhoe.  The cement foundation was broken up, transported behind the barn and buried in a large hole.  

Woodshed Construction (16X18) (Fall 2004)
The woodshed sits on the very spot formerly occupied by the old lilac and the milk house.  The trusses are made from lumber salvaged from a local construction site.  The cedar support posts came from a combination of David’s Grandma who had them left over from a fence project of her own and some from our barn.  The lumber on the ends came from Takalo’s Sawmill.  After spending many sweaty weekends tunneling to and digging wood out of four feet of snow last winter, the woodshed is a welcome addition to the farm.  Ironically, we finished filling it one day before our first snow.

Sauna Construction (8.5X12.5) (Fall 2005)
David's dream of having his own sauna has finally come true.  He swears by its ability to prevent sickness for those who use it regularly.  Our traditional wood-fired Finnish-style sauna is built with hemlock logs from Takalo's Sawmill.  It features dovetail construction and solar lighting.  

Gathering Center (Summer 2004 - September 2006)
The log building would never have come about (at least not in this fashion) had it not been for Natasha getting all the logs and windows free by answering ads in the paper.  In both cases, all we had to do was haul them away.  The lumber for the siding came from Takalo’s Sawmill.   We completed the project in September of 2006.  This building is used for a variety of farm functions.

Packing Shed (Spring 2006 - August 2006)
After going through our first produce season with no real place to clean or pack produce we decided that a packing shed was a necessity.  We started the project in mid-May with the help of friends, family, apprentices and others. It provides us with an indoor work space and a place to sell veggies from.

Greenhouse (30 ft. X 40 ft.) (Summer 2007)
David traded a gun for this greenhouse frame.  The frame came from Heath's Hardware & Greenhouse, a popular Skandia store that is no longer around.  The spines were bent and they weren't all from the same greenhouse.  But, David worked his construction magic and put the thing together.  Natasha's Mom and Dad helped David put the covering on just as the season was winding down for the year.  

Bedrooms for Pot-Bellied Pigs (Fall 2007)
John & Brad Smith, friends from lower Michigan, helped David make insulated stalls in the back of the barn for our pot-bellied pigs.  The only things we had to purchase for the project was a couple of hinges for the doors.  Otherwise, everything was scrounged up from around the farm.

Door on Back of Barn (Fall 2007)
We have wanted a back door on the barn since the day we moved in.  David made this wish a reality in the fall of 2007.  We used lumber left over from other projects and purchased only the door hinges.  It really makes the back of the barn look sharp!

DCF Trailer to Haul Produce to Market (Summer 2008)
Joel & Mary (Natasha's parents) used an old trailer that was sitting behind the barn and built a new box on it for under $20.00 using wood scraps and parts from Habitat for Humanity.  Below are several farm helpers posing with Joel and the new creation.  Unfortunately, we found out that a hitch for the car would be about $500.00....completely out of our price range.  We hope to find a use for this beautiful trailer sometime soon.

Root Cellar (Summer 2008)
Since our property is essentially flat, we had to build a block root cellar that is sunk partially underground and cover it with a mound of fill dirt.  All of the block were salvaged from Natasha’s parents’ property.  The interior is 10X12. 

Summer Kitchen (Summer 2009)
Since 2004, we fed our farm crew in our tiny house.  We dreamed of having a separate kitchen facility for meals, cooking classes, food preservation, etc.  This dream became a reality in the summer of 2009.  The kitchen is complete with cutting board counter tops (hand-made from old hardwood flooring), triple basin sink (from old gas station in Skandia), wood and gas cook stoves (purchased second-hand, locally), hot water and much more.  The majority of the lumber came from Takalo's sawmill in Skandia.

Electricity & Water in Packing Shed (Summer 2009)
After three seasons, we no longer have to haul the hose to fill up the washing sinks or wear a headlamp to see the veggies in the early morning light.  We now have both water and electricity in produce packing area.

Lumber Storage Building (Fall 2009)
This summer, the lumber being stored in the top of the barn finally got the boot when we turned this area into a community gathering place.  So, we built a structure to organize and store our lumber stash until the time comes to use that lumber for other projects.

General Needs List

• Garden rakes
• Pitch forks
• Garden hoses (not leaky)
• Hoes of any kind
• Paper grocery bags
• Clean, plastic grocery bags
• Tarps (heavy duty)
• Old hand and bath towels (stained and/or tattered fine as long as they are clean)
• Laundry baskets (heavy duty)
• Bushel baskets
• Wheel barrows
• Garden carts
• Any tools that are in working order
• Table cloths (useable condition)
• Work gloves
• Raingear
• Rubber chore boots (adult sizes, no holes)
• Folding chairs
• Remay row cover for crops
• Irrigation equipment
• 5-gallon buckets (with or without lids, preferably with handles)

 Construction Materials Needs List

• Double-paned sliding glass doors
• Insulated windows (all sizes)
• Concrete blocks
• Rough lumber
• Stamped lumber
• Any other materials you might have lying round that would be useful for construction projects

Wish List

• Materials for our Lending Library (cookbooks, DVDs, books, etc. about plant-based lifestyles, farming, the environment, nutrition, health, etc.)
• Yurts for apprentice dwellings
• Greenhouses
• Electric golf cart

DCF vegetables are a treat for the palette and the eye.  Our flavorful produce proves that chemical-free and heirloom varieties really are the best.  Let’s just say that you haven’t really had an onion until you’ve tried our Candy variety straight from the field, or a purple carrot just popped out of the warm soil, or a Dragon Langerie Bean wet with morning dew.

2010 Offerings

• Snap Beans (green, purple, yellow, dragon)
• Beets
• Carrots
• Cucumbers
• Garlic
• Cabbage (red & green)
• Herbs (parsley, dill & basil)
• Kale
• Kohlrabi
• Lettuce (romaine)
• Onions
• Peas (snow & sugar snap)                                                                                   
• Potatoes                                                                                                           
• Peppers (sweet)
• Perpetual Beet Spinach
• Summer Squash (yellow crookneck & patty pan)
• Swiss Chard
• Tomatoes (cherry & slicing)
• Zuchinni

 Pictures Of Our Scrumptious Veggies 

Introduction

At this time the concept of vegan is not well understood—or pronounced—by the mainstream American public.  As if simple vegetarianism is not difficult enough to grasp (do you eat chicken?  How about fish?  Can you just eat around the meat?), the vegan has the added conviction of avoiding all animal-based products entirely.  (Your shoes aren’t made of leather?  You don’t drink any milk at all? And how do you pronounce that word, anyway?)  It is pronounced VEE-gan, and it is a lifestyle that reduces harm to the Earth, animals, and other people.  To those of us who practice it, it is simply a common sense way to attain a better life.

In a nation whose culture and economy have revolved around animal products since its inception, those of us who eschew them in favor of a plant-based diet are often seen as part of the lunatic fringe.  Never mind the mountains of scientific and anecdotal evidence that we vegans live longer, healthier lives, perform as well athletically (Carl Lewis has long been a vegan), use fewer resources, and cause less environmental harm in the span of our long, happy lives.  We are repeatedly asked to justify our dietary and life choices to those who simply do not understand.  

“Do you do it for your health or for the animals?” we are often asked.  Sometimes we would like to answer, “If you already know that it’s better for your health and better for the animals, why aren’t you a vegan already?”  But we usually try to come up with an answer that somehow summarizes the volumes of information we have learned about the benefits of veganism without sounding preachy.  We try to convey how the quality of our lives and health has improved since becoming vegan, how we eat better than ever, feel better than ever, and enjoy our meals more than ever.  But our truths are often met with disbelief by those entrenched in the lifelong habit of meat-eating.  We feel the need to bridge the gap between ourselves and the people who sometimes seem almost to mistrust us or be threatened by us because of our vegan choices.  This gap should not exist at all, since we all have the same core beliefs.  

Have you ever met anyone who really desires poor health rather than good health?  Do you know a single person who would choose a poisoned environment over a pristine one?  How many people do you know who truly have no place in their heart for animals who are suffering?  All of us have the foundation of basic goodness in us.  Many of you who are meat-eaters are just as concerned about avoiding harm as those of us who are now vegans.  And many of us vegans were once meat eaters who thought there was no way we could ever live a vegan lifestyle.  We all want to do good for ourselves and others and for the Earth.  That is the basis of the vegan philosophy. This writing will lay out in simple terms why being vegan is simply a common sense choice made in good conscience by those seeking to attain a better life.  It will also define what we at Dancing Crane Farm call a mindful vegan philosophy that modifies traditional veganism in certain respects.

What Mindful Veganism Means To Us

At Dancing Crane Farm, we are devoted to living our lives in harmony with, and not at the expense of, the Earth and other forms of life.  We do not use any outside animal products in any part of our diets or in our agricultural production, nor do we employ practices that kill or harm wildlife, including animals usually seen as pests.* This path is not always as convenient as the more conventional one, but it always feels better and results in superior quality produce and a healthier life.  Our philosophy, which we call mindful veganism, consists of actions that result in the least possible harm to the Earth and all of its species.  Some of these actions are not practiced by most vegans, but we see the need to look more deeply into certain issues to see that a standard vegan lifestyle can be made even less cruel and less harmful by some of the practices that we employ.  

Because we love animals, we do keep certain ones as pets and friends.  Our dogs, cats, chickens, and bees give us companionship, love, and other benefits as well.  We keep them also because we truly believe that humans and animals can and should live together in mutually beneficial ways.  We are a part of nature not apart from nature.  We can use our knowledge to improve the animal’s life by keeping it free of pests and parasites, out of the cold, and well-fed.  The animals in turn provide us with certain things that are useless to them, such as discarded feathers, unfertilized eggs, or surplus honey.  

Left to its own devices, a happy and healthy chicken will do certain things such as shedding feathers and laying eggs.  If we pick up a discarded feather and make use of it, are we in some way harming the chicken?  Likewise an egg.  Once laid, it is useless to the chicken and quickly passes out of its life.  Being unfertilized, it is not and never will be a living being.  It is up to us to remove the egg for the good of the chicken so it does not rot inside the chicken’s home, causing unhealthy and unpleasant conditions.  If we throw the egg in a landfill, we can call ourselves conventionally vegan because we did not eat the animal product.  Our brand of mindful veganism allows us to feed that egg to our dogs or cats and use the shell as a slug control or additional calcium in the garden and still call ourselves vegan because the egg did not cause any cruelty whatsoever in its production, and because using it actually benefits the dogs, cats and garden.  No good would have come from throwing the egg in a landfill.

It must be reiterated that we do not eat eggs and object strongly to commercial egg production, in which chickens are forced to endure crowding, unsanitary conditions, cruel practices such as debeaking, and force-fed hormones and antibiotics to keep them alive and laying eggs.  The cruelty and harm caused by factory egg production is multi-faceted and self-evident.  Anyone, vegan or meat-eater, would be disturbed by the conditions inside these egg factories.  These unfortunate birds are seen by the factory farmers as mere production units, without needs of their own.  Our chickens, however, have plenty of space, food, and water, company, sunlight, room to walk around, protection from predators, parasites, and the elements, and they prove to us daily in a variety of ways that they are as grateful to us as we are to them.  Like all our animals, our chickens live out their natural life spans and are never slaughtered, but provided with the best of care until they finally say a tearful farewell at the natural end of their lives.

All of our animals are treated this way, and our bees are no exception.  A healthy hive of bees will often produce more honey than it can use.  We do not kill queens or any other bees.  We do not use poisons or antibiotics in our hives.  We keep the hives healthy and disease-and parasite-free without using chemicals of any kind.  If left alone, a colony of honeybees would soon die due to weather, mites, and diseases.  With our protection and help, a colony can continue for many years.  Each year, we use only their surplus honey and provide them in turn with a clean and orderly home, acres of flowers, and chemical-free protection from diseases and parasites.  In winter, we keep them out of the elements.  In spring, we feed them until nectar starts flowing again.  We protect our bees from suffering rather than causing them to suffer, and we feel good about the life we provide them with.  The only energy used in processing the honey comes from our own muscles rather than fossil fuels.  We know most vegans do not use honey, but we feel that our honey is a completely cruelty-free product and we feel better using our own honey than using sugar. After all, sugar cane is grown thousands of miles away on chemically-intensive and exploitative farms, processed through bone char, and transported using fossil fuels that pollute the environment. Why should a vegan eat such a product?  As mindful vegans, we prefer our cruelty-free, local honey.  Being cruelty-free, then, goes beyond simply being vegan.  It is important to consider all of our life choices rather than to complacently feel that we are doing enough just because we do not directly eat or use animal products.  Even a person following a conventional vegan diet can be harming people, animals, and the Earth in ways not apparent at first glance.  For example, we need to consider whether eating conventionally-raised plant products is consistent with a true vegan lifestyle.  

This point can be illustrated by looking more deeply at bread, a large part of a typical vegan diet.  The wheat in a loaf of vegan bread, if grown conventionally, was raised at great expense to the Earth and other forms of life.  It requires space to grow, which destroys animal habitat.  The soil will be plowed and tilled, probably yearly, which can kill worms, insects, and other organisms.  It will then be spread with chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides, which kill insects and poison the birds, frogs, and toads that eat them.  It was likely grown in an area where the farmer obtained block permits to kill dozens or hundreds of deer.  The bread is transported to a processing plant and then to the store on a semi that arrives splattered with the corpses of bugs, butterflies, and birds.  The semi operates on fossil fuels, the mining and processing of which degrades sensitive ecosystems at the expense of marine life or other wildlife.  And yet some vegans will eat this bread with its legacy of harm, and shun our cruelty-free egg.  These types of common sense, cruelty-free choices are the basis of our mindful veganism philosophy.

We understand that the strictest of vegans may not agree with the use of any animal products whatsoever.  We feel confident in stating that our limited use of our own animal products is a sustainable and cruelty-free practice that furthers the cause of reducing harm to the Earth and all its species.  Although our philosophy has minor differences from a strict vegan philosophy, we hope that these differences do not distract us from our larger, shared goals of reducing cruelty and harm.  We view vegetarians, vegans, environmentalists, homesteaders, “greens,” and other like-minded individuals as allies in the journey toward a sustainable, cruelty-free planet.

What We Do On Our Farm

At Dancing Crane Farm, we approach veganism and farming with common sense and a true commitment to minimizing harm to the Earth and other organisms.  In our farming practices, we are not certified organic because what we do goes beyond current organic standards.  We want the customer to be his or her own inspector rather than trusting a stranger from 500 miles away who gives the organic stamp of approval.  We also feel that since the U.S.D.A. took over the organic standards, they have become diluted and less meaningful, allowing certain chemicals and practices that we feel are harmful and are therefore not acceptable to us.  Many large-scale corporate farmers have now jumped on the organic bandwagon solely to take advantage of the higher prices that organic products now command.  This is not fair to the small-scale, local organic grower whose original intent was to provide a more healthful product.  Not being certified organic does not mean that we look down on organic agriculture.  We feel that growers and purchasers of organic products are strong allies in the journey toward a more cruelty-free lifestyle. However, our farming practices are somewhat different from those of today’s typical organic farms.

We definitely do not use any chemical inputs, anything artificial, or any animal products other than the composted litter from our own animals (but not dogs or cats).  We employ practices that minimize or eliminate the use of resources from outside the borders of our farm and that cause the least possible harm to other forms of life.  We find that by using cruelty-free practices such as companion planting, bait crops, cover crops, row covers, and fences, the need for pesticides can be eliminated.  Time and again, we learn that the best protection from pests is to grow healthy, chemical-free plants that can resist pests on their own.  These organisms can then be left alone rather than poisoned, trapped, or shot.

Since we believe in the elegance of nature, we also believe in preserving nature in as close to its natural condition as possible.  The use of poisons and fertilizers always has effects beyond those intended and probably beyond our comprehension.  When people dump chemicals into the environment, they never disappear, but become part of the ecosystem and are later found in the worms, birds, deer, and other animals that live in the area.  The chemicals also end up in the water supply, the people who are applying the chemicals, and in their children.  The average American today has measurable levels of over 500 agricultural chemical poisons inside them.  And nearly half of us will get cancer in our lifetimes.  Is this acceptable?  Is it ok that our children will live on a less healthy Earth than we do, and that our grandchildren’s planet will be even worse?  More immediately, can we tolerate practices in our own lives that cause harm to ourselves, the Earth, and other life forms every day?  Our answer is an emphatic no!  Though it may seem more convenient in the short term to take care of problems with chemicals, it is harmful, unhealthy, and not even necessary.  A little work will lead us to sustainable and harmless ways to deal with the same problems.  An attitude of mindfulness will show us the way to live a life that doesn’t harm ourselves and others.  This is the essence of our mindful vegan philosophy.  It begins with the caring that is in all of us, guides us with common sense and leads us to a lifestyle that minimizes harm.  

*During the 2006 and 2007 growing seasons we had no choice but to use animal manure on our fields.We did our best to source local manure from family farms.  Our fields were so nutrient deficient from having been sodded twice in the last 25 years that even cover crops would not grow for us.  It would have taken us years to achieve the same level of soil nutrients using only plant materials.  We hope to use only compost and cover crops in the future.  

We do use diatomaceous earth (substance from the earth) on our plant leaves to ward off chewing insects.  If sprinkled directly on an insect, the insect will most likely die.  Additionally, there is no way natural way to get rid of Colorado Potato beetles other than squashing them by hand or purchasing beneficial nematodes to eat their larvae.

www.etsy.com/shop/RavensHavenWoodwork

Northern Vegans

www.northernvegans.com

Organic Consumers Association

www.organicconsumers.org

Cornucopia Institute

www.cornucopia.org

WWOOF-World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms

www.wwoof.org

The DCF Community Lending Library provides resources in the form of books, DVD’s, VHS, Audio CD’s, and magazines for individuals striving to live more conscientiously.  Topics include genetic engineering, animal exploitation, vegan children and families, factory farming, veg cookbooks, religion & veganism, vegan nutrition, animal intelligence, making the case for veganism, homesteading, and organic gardening. 

The volume of resources we have collected and the fact that we are regularly adding to our library has made it impossible to keep an up-to-date list of titles online.  Stop by the farm to browse the selection or call/email us your inquiries and requests.

We invite you to take full advantage of this wealth of information.  Don’t leave these resources to gather dust on the shelves! 

Interested in donating an item(s) to our Lending Library? We are not a non-profit so your donation will not be tax deductible, but we would put your donation to good use.  Contact us for a list of items that we are currently looking for.

Disclaimer:  The information contained in the Lending Library resources represent the opinions of David and Natasha Gill and should be seen as that...opinions.  Additionally, information gleaned from the content of the resources, is NOT a substitute for professional medical advice and should NOT be used to diagnose or treat any condition or illness.  

Tours at the farm are ongoing.  We host groups and individuals on a regular basis who want to see what a working farm and educational center looks like.  From school groups and play groups to hiking clubs and bingo clubs we invite you to come experience DCF.  Call or email to schedule your tour today!

Pictures Of Tours & Classes

Every season we welcome a group of individuals into our farm crew who demonstrate a passion for the projects underway at DCF. Some are seeking to gain in-depth knowledge in every aspect of chemical-free farming. Others are looking to spend their time outdoors doing rewarding physical labor.  Still others want to be part of a community committed to healthy lifestyles.  If any or all of the above describes you, read on.

An Apprenticeship at DCF can be life transforming if you are prepared to give it your all.  Opportunities to gain new skills and insights abound in every aspect of daily life on the farm.  While working in the field you can expect to become intimately familiar with the components of healthy soil, plant identification, veganics and permaculture techniques.  Interacting with customers allows you to develop a connection with the people who consume the food that you help to grow.  Assisting with workshops and tours provides an avenue for you to help others on their journey towards a sustainable lifestyle. To top it all off you will be living and working closely with a diverse group of like-minded individuals in the rich simplicity a farm lifestyle affords.  At the end of a hard day’s work you might relax by taking a walk in the woods, spending time with the animals and preparing a community dinner.

The Dancing Crane Farm Apprenticeship Experience is for the motivated, enthusiastic individual who is ready to be immersed in a new way of living and thinking.  We delight in sharing our knowledge with those who are willing to get their hands dirty as a contributing member of our crew. 

Apprenticeships range from 3 weeks to 6 months, April through October.  Sleeping quarters at the farm are rustic, cozy and clean.  A composting outhouse, solar shower, community space and kitchen are available.  All meals at the farm are plant-based and gluten-free.

Meet Apprentice Alumni

________________________________________________________________________________________________

To Apply:

Please e-mail a letter of introduction that includes the following:

1. A bit about you
2. The root of your interest
3. What made you apply to Dancing Crane Farm over other farms
4. Specify any particular skills you have and/or desire to learn in one or more of the following categories:

• Field Work (planting, tending, watering, monitoring, weeding and harvesting crops)
• Green Construction (building projects using sustainable methods)
• Plant-Based Meal Preparation (preparing vegan, gluten-free meals from scratch)
• Educational Programming (tours, workshops, cooking classes, etc.)
• Lifestyle Services (meditation, stretching, hiking, biking, kayaking, massage, yoga, etc.)

Send letter to info@dancingcranefarm.com or DCF 348 Lawson Road, Skandia, MI 49885.