• Farm History

Farm History

The Lorien Commune 1969

Taos attracted a flurry of hippies in the 1960’s due to its rich culture, adobe architecture, and easy living. 1969 was knows as the “Summer of Love” and many fled the cities to catch the vibe for a more simplistic life. The Lorien Commune started out of the desire to seek an alternative lifestyle that was more simplistic and got back to living off of the land. Members of The Family and Lorien communes launched a local paper in the Lorien Building named Fountain of Light.  
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Since the commune days many of the members still live here and have since created a spiritual retreat center, Earth Journey, based on the "path of love" teachings of Herman Rednick, Kagyu Tibetan Buddhist teachings and practices, revelation of the Divine Feminine, and study of the works of Alice Bailey.

 

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Roots ‘N Herbs Farm 1995

Roots ‘N Herbs was started by two friends who grew up together in Ohio and 3 other friends who we met after moving to Taos, New Mexico. We were all in our 20's and were trying to create a sustainable lifestyle at 8,000 feet in the high mountain desert. Farming was not our background but renting a piece of property for $50 per month with water rights and rich black soil, it was obvious that we were going to learn. 

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We formed the Roots 'N Herbs Farm where we explored permaculture techniques as well as organic bio-dynamic principles in our farming practices. We led classes, shared what we learned and created a Community Supported Agriculture program (CSA) to serve our community. We frequented the Taos Farmer’s Market weekly, sold our produce to the Amigos Food Coop and also to various local restaurants.

Hemp 2019

I moved to Colorado in 2016 for three years to explore hemp production and to grow exotic heirloom tomatoes and Colorado peaches. Fortunately hemp production was legalized in New Mexico and across the U.S. after The Farm Bill 2018 passed in December, 2018. So I decided to move back to my sliver of paradise and live out my dream of growing this spectacular plant and making healing products with it. I am excited to be able to legally grow high CBD hemp in our fields, something we only could dream of 24 years ago. I now focus my efforts on growing the highest quality flowers to be sold as hand trimmed flower, CBD oil, and edible products with the help of my amazing crew. We still grow our roots, herbs and flowers and eat very well.

 

 

Why Taos?

An excerpt I found on Wikipedia from a 1969 editorial in the ‘Fountain of Light’. It resembles how we felt when we found this property in the early 1990’s and had similar aspirations in a way of life.

 

While it may be said we are fleeing the deplorable conditions of contamination of the urban areas, both physical and spiritual, the real motivation seems to be a quest for a more natural way of life. Away from the plastic and putrefying conditions in the cities. We mean to establish for ourselves new life styles that are basically simple and agrarian. Our concern is with the real—real food grown by ourselves for the most part, real and useful products produced by heads and hands and hearts, expressions in art forms that manifest individual energies of human beings rather than the faceless and soulless work of mechanized existence. To plant and cultivate and to ultimately harvest worthwhile things from joyous labors, this is what we are about.
— Fountain of Light, 1969