getting this ball a-rollin'

So - I'm your webmaster (and currently pulling my hair out over that dumb advertisement below the navigation bar - arrgghh!) and I'm quickly putting the pieces together for the blog, but I wanted to introduce myself a little since I got to the meeting late on Friday and didn't have the chance to talk to everyone before the mass exodus.

I moved to Washington in April to serve as an apprentice at Jubilee Biodynamic Farm, which is located between Falls City and Carnation right on the Snoqualmie river. I lived in a little trailer that the farmers provided for me on a cold, dark hill opposite the farm, and on occasion I'd wake to a front yard full of bellowing cows and rowdy calves side-stepping hotlines and pooping on my driveway, haha. I was without a car for the first few months and quickly realized that there was no way for me to get organic, local produce or eco-friendly stuff without begging rides to the Redmond PCC.. sadly, Tuesday was the day when I'd bring home the farm CSA box and the Carnation farmer's market would be forgotten in the hair-pulling necessitated by playing produce Tetris with my fridge. And, y'know, PCC is pretty great (I hope my membership card doesn't read this) but it's just another shade of gray between the big-box grocery nightmare and a locally-owned business that can respond to a small community's needs and desires.

Since I left the farm in October for Seattle, I've been studying permaculture and trying to get involved in my new environment. For me, that has meant subscribing to the neighborhood gym, patronizing the organic salon down the street, and checking in at the the corner bar - there's even a PCC 20 minutes' walk away, joy! - and these are the benefits of having a densely urban lifestyle (the downside is having to ride the light rail two hours a day to get to and from a pretty lame job, but whatever).

In rural communities, it is a struggle to support small businesses because the population is limited and, thus, the consumer base is small. Snoqualmie, WA boasts a pop of 10,670 as of 2010 - it'll take a very strong response from not only Snoqualmie but also all of the neighboring communities in order to prop up a profitable business model. Luckily, since I moved to WA from Nebraska, I've been awed by the generous, progressive, and community-conscious people I've met in the valley. I'm blessed to have been given the opportunity to call it a home for seven months, and I look forward to working with this project despite having followed the city lights westward since.

Love and light,
Katie

Katie!!
Do you remember me? I was doing a work share at Jubilee this summer until the Garlic harvest blew my back out. So happy to know you are still around. Alex ( I think) ended up at my pottery studio in Georgetown for our winter art attack and told me about the food coop. Excellent idea! Hope we can catch up at one of the meetings Soon. ( I cAnt make the first one sadly, please keep me in the loop ok?
Pamela

Pamela! That's so funny that you posted here, I was just thinking about you the other day - since I'm in Seattle now I'd love to come see your space in Georgetown sometime. I've been crazy busy lately, so I've fallen out of the Co-op loop - but there is a new group on Facebook that you should check out for updates and news. :]