Sienna Viette of Open fArms Retreat

The 573rd recipient is Sienna Viette of Open fArms Retreat in Cumberland, RI. Sienna writes:

What self-care and well-being mean to me as a farmer: “As a farmer who works from home it can be hard to slow down enough to take the time for traditional "self-care" practices. Thankfully I love farming and being able to spend most of my days communing with the land helps melt away the stress associated with living in our society. For me, self-care means taking the time to check in with my body physically and mentally to ensure I am not stretching myself to far. From there I can adjust to make sure I do not get burn out or overstimulated. This could entail putting time aside to lay in bed all day reading a good fiction novel or just laying in the grass for 30 minutes in between plant maintenance to watch how they dance in the wind.”

How I might use this $250 self-care award: ”I would use the award to pay for a couple of months on my gym membership and get a facial. Staying active outside of farming is important to me to make sure my body is in a good place to do all of the physical labor associated with farming. Also, I love going to spa to get a facial. It doesn't happen often, but when it does I can feel my system reset.” 

Most important self-care needs that contribute to my well-being as a farmer: "I think as a farmer it can be hard to separate work and personal time when you live and work on the land you steward. A need that I am still learning how to accomplish is allowing myself to take time to see friends or go out for brunch on the weekends rather than staying at home tending to the plants. I've gotten better at knowing that they will survive and we have been building up our infrastructure to allow us to take more time for ourselves. ie drip irrigation on a timer. I think building up your infrastructure to solve simple tasks like watering is very important for having more time for self-care.”

#realfarmercare