Paul Hunter celebrates the art of small-scale farming

Ask any farmer, and he’ll tell you farming is a lot of hard work. Paul Hunter, who grew up on a farm, will tell you it’s worth every bit of effort required.

His latest book, “One Seed to Another: The New Small Farming,” champions the holistic life that small-scale farming supports, where one’s identity is not defined in terms of cash but in the passion and presence one cultivates over time. A portion of proceeds from its sales goes to the Small Farms Conservancy.

Hunter, a free-range poet, musician, teacher, gardener, letterpress man and publisher, brings a cross-pollination of ideas to IslandWood as keynote speaker for Kitsap Community Agricultural Alliance’s July meeting. He will talk about the “The Practical Joy of Work,” at 5:30 p.m. July 13 in the Grand Hall at IslandWood.

“Our problems are huge,” he said on the phone while taking a break from working on his foot-powered letterpress. “But the solutions need to be human-sized.”

He said he’s alarmed enough about the state of soils and the unsustainability of the agri-business model that his “secret agenda” is to find people who have subsistence farming as a calling.

“We have to use our bodies. To hide from physical work is to get sick real early,” he said.

He promises to “unpack his wares,” sharing poems and information wrapped in storytelling.

Tickets are $10 at the door, and admission is free for new and returning KCAA members. Light food and drink will be served at 5:30 p.m. The event is a joint effort by PCC Farmland Trust, Friends of the Farm, Harbour Pub and Pegasus Coffee House, the Bainbridge Island Chamber of Commerce, Island Wine Weekend, IslandWood, and the Kitsap Peninsula Visitors and Convention Bureau.

For more information, visit www.kitsapag.org or www. smallfarmsconservancy.org.

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Worth the effort

Paul Hunter shares his thoughts on farming and work at 5:30 p.m. July 13 at IslandWood. $10 at the door includes light refreshments. Info: visit www.kitsapag.org.

Contact Bainbridge Island Review Staff Writer Connie Mears at cmears@bainbridgereview.com or (206) 842-6613.

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