Hi Friends,

We have some exciting news. We are in the process of negotiating a lease on a 300+ acre turn-key vegetable and berry farm with 13 greenhouses, a couple sheds full of equipment, 90 tillable acres (8 in strawberries), pasture, woods, a farmstand, and a 5 bedroom farmhouse.

We will be open for a strawberry season occupation retreat in late June and July. The Occupy Farms retreat will begin on June 19th, with a farm orientation on the 20th. Transportation will be provided to events on June 20th-24th to join in the Village-building Convergence, a project of Transition Montpelier and Occupy Central Vermont. The VbC is a free celebration bringing community members together to share vital skills for a changing world: At its root, VbC is about actively building community connections and realizing the strength and beauty of our power when we work and play together. 

Learn more about events and workshops at 
http://vbc-vt.org and http://www.occupycentralvt.org/groups/village-building-convergence/.

Emily will be presenting a workshop titled Fair Food: Farmers Grow Food Justice in Vermont, detailing projects and partnerships that Fair Food Farm, Salvation Farms, NOFA-VT, the Vermont Foodbank and other organizations have undertaken to provide fresh food to low-income Vermonters.

We have room for 20 people–this is a camping trip kind of opportunity. Calais has about 10 clear lakes to swim in; there will be limited access to showers. Most food will be provided (veggies, fruits, and staples like pasta, rice, beans, flour, etc), but occupiers will be responsible for cooking for themselves, because I will be too busy to cook for everyone this time around. And of course, there will be plenty of STRAWBERRIES for everyone!