Plan

Let's take a peak into the Willow Brook Farm crystal ball

There are lots of things that have been in the works here at Willow Brook Farm.

Phase I began with securing a farm property and making the housing habitable and land workable. Then we had to form the nonprofit and recruit a board of directors.

We’re in Phase II, (2-3 years), which initiated our first Beginning Farmer Fellowship program.  We’re laying the groundwork for a successful farming operation, working on our permaculture design and planting perennial trees, shrubs and plants.

  Organizational House & Barn Infrastructure Farm Art
         
Key completed in process future  
         
Phase I, 1-2 years Aquire property Rehabilitate farmhouse Rehabilitate fields  
  Establish 501(c)(3) status   Patch cut new growth forest  
  Recruit board of directors      
         
Phase II, 2-3 years Design & launch Beginning Farmer Fellowship Build an irrigation system Expand our workable fields Host artists for pilot residency
  Recruit first fellows Build an apprentice apartment Establish fencing  
  Recruit second cohort of fellows after first growing season so we always have experienced fellows and new fellows learning from and contributing to each other Build coops Plant permaculture, including, but not limited to pears, peaches, cherries, hardy kiwi, and blueberries  
  Provide affordable events to educate and engage the community about sustainable living Rehabilitate our barn Rehabilitate our apple trees  
  Begin our community outreach and connecting with like minded people and organizations Build greenhouse Plant Garlic beds as part of WBF income stream  
  Strategize and planting additional berries, trees for future income sources.  We plan to self-fund our programs, to become less reliant on donations Build compost system    
  Develop permaculture design      
         
Phase III, 3-6 years Host monthly community events Build an artist studio cabin and beginning our formal artist-in-residence program   Launch Artist Residency program
  Launch fundraising campaign to support building a commercial kitchen Convert the summer kitchen into a commercial kitchen for use by beginning farmer fellows   Build a public sculpture garden
  Purchase a neighboring 7-acre piece of land to expand our gardens Build hiking trails    
         
Phase IV, 7+ years What about a seasonal farm-to-table restaurant? Establish the complete range of planned perennial crops to provide a stable income stream to support our fellowship program