In April 2015, our family of six, with our newest child having just been born, purchased an 11-acre parcel of land in Henry County, KY, and began building our off-grid dream home. Prior to 2015, the land had been a heavily grazed cattle pasture. With soil health and sustainability in mind, we began the transformation to create a haven for pollinators.

Aysha developed a small vegetable garden, utilizing conservation agriculture techniques, such as no-till, cover cropping, companion planting, and interseeding to revitalize the heavily compacted clay soils. She also began baking breads to take to the local farmers market.

Chris continued his family’s beekeeping tradition with the addition of a single beehive in 2015, which now extends to over 70 hives on two properties. He is passionate about the survivability of not only livestock honeybees but of the native pollinators essential to the well-being of the environment.

We allowed the rest of the 11 acres to grow wild, encouraging native plant life to flourish. Within the first two years, we were harvesting native blackberries and mulberries. Before the end of the fifth year, we saw the first milkweed flowers returning. Native bird and insect species are flourishing in the tall grasses, and native flowers blooming throughout.

The goal for the next five years is to begin a controlled burn regiment, add a native food forest with the addition of native plums, apples, persimmons, and pawpaws, and add a small herd of goats for rotational grazing.

We welcome you to join us on this exciting journey!