NW Michigan Food and Farming Network Report to the Community 2015 Report to the Community

2015 Report to the community ISLAND’s Programs Designed to Create the Communities We Crave Projects include workshops, residencies By Amanda Kik ISLAND The Institute for Sustainable Living and Natural Design (ISLAND) provides a breadth of services throughout northwest Michigan, all designed to “create the communities we crave.” Here is a sampling of some of their programs: • Hill House Artist Residency: The Hill House is a nationallevel artist residency, providing time and space to support musi- ISLAND hosts hands-on workshops for the community, such as this winter indoor cians, writers, and visual artists farming workshop in 2013. (Photo: ISLAND) from all over the world, and • The Long Memory Project: The for good conversation and tarnestled in the woods near the project connects community elgeted learning. Jordan River. ders with young songwriters and • Preservation Station: The sta• Food and Farming Workshops: poets to pass down the stories tion is a food preservation teachHands-on workshops help peoand songs that knit a commuing kitchen on wheels that can ple become more sufficient for nity together. The long memory be towed onto local small farms themselves and their communiproject is a local program with at the peak of produce ripeness. ties. The workshops provide skills national potential to re-awaken It’s used to process excess prowhile bringing people together the power of listening. duce while teaching the safest around issues that matter. • Members’ Lending Library: modern version of an essential • Guilds: Guilds go beyond Over 4,000 books are devoted to traditional skill. simple workshops to create art, farming and ecology, sup• Chicken Coupe: A licensed informal networks for learning, porting the programs above. poultry processing trailer procommunity building, and mu• Special Projects: ISLAND vides an important service for tual support. Current guilds expartners with smart people small farmers, allowing them to ist for small farmers, beekeepers, around our community for process chickens for direct sales. orchardists, mushroom growers, special projects like the Farm to The Chicken Coupe often serves fiber folks, grain growers, and Frame photo contest, or occaas a transition tool, helping green builders. sional fiduciary arrangements to farmers experiment with poultry • Northern Michigan Small Farm support art and farming projects production before committing Conference: The annual event throughout our region. the resources for a full-scale brings farmers, homesteaders www.artmeetsearth.org operation. and concerned eaters together 38

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