The 260th recipient is Lilly Emendy of Broken Bones Farm @brokenbonesfarm in Stoneville, NC. Lilly writes:
What self-care and well-being mean to me as a farmer: “I believe self-care and well-being have more to do with others than with self in the context of farming. I have found that at the root of much of my struggle in this field is the reality of isolation, especially in the beginning farmer phase when our small business is not yet financially able to support full time labor. So being in community, working together to get big projects done is a healing, empowering, and frankly more efficient way of progressing. However, this life, being so beautifully interconnected to the land, is also an anchor at times and being able to gather in community more means being able to care for myself/ourselves more fully as human beings who need that connection and peer relationship.”
How I might use this $100 self-care award: “I would like to use this award to gather with other queer farmers in the area. We are all beginning farmers, who often feel isolated and overwhelmed. We are all deeply bought into the concept of community work and care but often feel financial barriers to making that gathering happen. Covering costs associated with travel and being off the farm feel like such easy ways to make a huge impact for collective self-care.”
Most important self-care needs that contribute to my well-being as a farmer: “As my therapist says... keep growing the team! I think we farmers have a really tough time breaking free of the do it all yourself model. And doing it all yourself is unnecessary, grueling, often impossible, and likely leads to burnout. So I think the most important self-care need as a farmer is to be in community with peers who are aligned with you and your life in myriad ways. I need friends who are farmers at my scale, business mentors who can guide us to a better place financially, community members who maybe don't farm themselves but understand the importance of a healthy farming community around them, and so many more folx. It can be such an isolating experience, especially in the beginning farmer stage we are in right now, where we can't afford to hire full time help, so we are the only people we see day in and out. Being engaged with community that understands what you're facing in this field, is monumentally important.”
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