Big Love Homestead Interview- January 29th, 2022
Mackenzie Gelina
Brady Larkin
Peaches
We got to sit down for HOURs with Mackenzie and Brady with Big Love Homestead to a lovely brunch and conversation even before we got started with our interview. It was really nice to get to spend some quality time with our friends and neighbors. Yes, we live just a few doors down from this incredible couple doing incredible things to share their knowledge.
Growing a community that lives garden to plate. This little family educates us in organic gardening and creating delicious foods and using and teaching Permaculture Principles.
Big Love Homestead is a small (.9 acres) permaculture homestead in Upstate NY. Mackenzie, Brady and Peaches come together with the goal of growing, foraging or locally buying 85% of food and products that they consume by creating a food forest and annual vegetable garden.
Brady is also growing wild foraging mushrooms that are and will be available, hopefully at the markets this year!
We want to encourage all who are reading through this interview to go to YouTube and subscribe to their incredible YouTube channel to get to see the exciting things that they are doing and teaching!
So, let’s get started.
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How and why did you decide to go into this business?
Mackenzie – We both come from an Education and Wellness background. As a child, I was educated in permaculture and wanted to do something to help the earth – to make an impact. Using our education, we decided to come together to share the information we both have with others.
Brady- we wanted to take action – to make an impact. We wanted to share our knowledge and although we are starting small, we are doing something. We started our YouTube videos and have really enjoyed passing on what we are learning as we go.
Both- The last two years we have taken advantage of the isolation time to step back and observe and reflect. We took the time to begin to grow a food forest in our front yard. Although we may not immediately see the fruits of our labors, however our goal is providing future community food sharing. We are educating others that anyone can grow their own food and medicine no matter where you live, even in a small space. That you can create your own eco-system.
We are committed to educating others to grow different things to create food diversity, grow your own fresh food, or buy local to support your local small businesses.
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What is the most important thing that you would like people to know about your business?
Our information that we share with others is free. Anyone can get internet at their local library. Our YouTube videos are free to everyone and there are no barriers. We are constantly improving the way that we present our information and the content that we present so that we can be better teachers. We are learning to present information so that anyone can learn how to grow their own food and medicine no matter what their living situation is. We are consistently learning how the whole system works so that we can present what we learn by experimenting to anyone who is interested in what we are doing can access us. There is no gatekeeping with the information that we provide to anyone and everyone.
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How did you come up with the name of your business?
Big Love!!! It goes back to permaculture principles. Sharing – Earth-Care; People-Care; Fair-Share. It’s a triangle – all sides are equal. Love is the currency and what connects the total balance.
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What is unique about your business?
Us!!! What we are creating – a food forest in somewhat of a suburb. We have less than an acre here and if we can do this, anyone can no matter where you live or what your living circumstances are. We believe that if each one of us can create this kind of living it will create a different world. We are literally creating an ecosystem that is surrounding us. We are always thinking outside the box – creating new ways of sustainable living. In front of us, we have a food forest that is total permaculture ideals. Self-sustaining. In the rear and the sides of our home we will have grow boxes that we are building this coming season. We use grow bags as well. We have utilized our basement as a greenhouse and where we can house many plants over the winter months. We bring a sense of play to growing as well because it is so important in what we are creating.
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What makes you most excited about your business?
We are in the beginning process of our trajectory – and we have so many ideas. Right now, is a wonderful time for us as we are coming out of a restful slumber of sorts. With the Covid downtime, it gave us time to rest and reflect together. We are in our energy time and our momentum is here and we have great energy to take action on our ideas. This last while we have also taken the time to learn so much! We feel that we are in just the beginning stages of what we can do and in sharing our videos with others. It is very exciting!
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What is it that you most want people to know about your business?
That anyone can learn from our information that we share, and they can apply it anywhere. Any action that we take, whether it is growing our own food, foraging, utilizing the farmers markets, and buying local, makes a huge impact. Each small thing that we do can make a huge impact. We want anyone and everyone to know and believe – You Can Do This! We want to cultivate love.
You can reach us on Facebook & Instagram
Sign up and watch us on YouTube!
If you haven’t gotten a chance to support this amazing local business, we urge you to do so and feel free to let them know that the “Worm Ladies”, sent you 😊.
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