It's early morning in the mountains of Western North Carolina. Dew still sparkles on the grass. Wild rose bushes are scattered, and hoses snake through sprinkling water. Decorative garden lanterns catch the light and clover pokes through.
A few pick-ups start pulling down the drive not far from Asheville. Coolers of meat, potato salad, soft drinks, and coleslaw are unloaded and placed in the shade of an old oak. Everything else calls out to the sunrise and breeze carrying the music that belongs to summer. The notes strike a chord with inner rhythms and help people heal.
Half-dozen men, some with grey hair, form a loose circle as the morning fog lifts.
Checking their watches, they head to the field. There's always work to be done. Weeds to be pulled. Tomato plants threaded through metal cages, and chicken wire spread around wooden posts. The growing corn stalks shudder in the rare breeze, as bright lettuce greens dot the last rows.
Someone said a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. They were wrong. A trip starts with a dream.
The farm started as a dream. John Mahshie shared his vision with Nicole on their first date. Now, the hope is a reality, Nicole is his wife, and Veterans Healing Farm continues to bend the arc of lives in people drawn to solitude and healing.
At VHF veterans invest time and energy forming a new community as they find ways to serve others. "We focus on building relationships and exposing vets to new missions.," Mahshie told The Laurel of Asheville, a local magazine. "They learn new skills such as permaculture and animal care. They participate in potluck dinners, camping retreats and activities that grow the community and build relationships."
Veterans Healing farm exists to serve the country's veterans. An admirable goal reached by growing — and donating — high-quality fruits and vegetables to veterans and their caregivers. Besides growing the produce, VHF also offers workshops on gardening techniques as they foster a micro-community for veterans and civilians.
The farm, located in Western North Carolina, provides space for veterans to gather, share and sustain the military mission — "service before self."
Each year over 8000 pounds of fresh produce is donated directly to local veterans as a result of the farm's belief that farming provides therapeutic benefits from growing, harvesting and consuming produce grown on privately owned land which has been provided to the group at no charge.
Mahshie's idea rose from a deep desire for community in a country environment which calls back visitors — both kids and adults.
Military Community
The armed forces foster a strong sense of community. Forced to trust — and rely on — total strangers, the relationships foster close relationships in a crucible of pressure. Different from civilian life, the military beat doesn't include time for isolating or forming slowly evolving relationships.
Moving from the military back to the civilian world is challenging. All veterans face the new life, some do it without the tools and resources to meet the challenge. Depression, substance abuse, and suicide are too-frequent results.
Veterans Healing Farm bridges the transition. Through connectedness and community, veterans participate as they extend friendships while taking part in a meaningful activity.
Mahshie barefoots it through the mounded rows of cabbage, kale, pumpkins and other produce. Pointing with pride to the 380-foot Donation Garden, Mahshie says, "We're taking free produce to the Veterans Administration hospital each Tuesday morning."
At the hospital, veterans and their families help themselves, and any excess is donated to regional food pantries. "Donating fresh produce to veterans is not about the vegetables," says Mahshie. "It's more about a message of love and respect."
Permatribe
About 100 members are active in the ‘Permatribe' program at VHF. Veterans and their families work the farm as their grow their onsite community support agriculture and participate in training programs and community events.
"Boot Camp" training videos and lessons teaching permaculture are available for download at no cost from the group's website. Mahshie is hoping veterans nationally will scale the program and find a renewed sense of purpose and healing.
As people start to move to camp tables in chairs, Mahshie greets. He's known some for years. Others, just a few week. But all feel the camaraderie and enjoy country solitude surrounded by friends.
Later the same evening, the coolers are brought out as veterans and their families gather to relax and visit around the fire pit while the kids fly kites and toss Frisbees.
Across the field is a creek where some members meet to pray and rest after another day.
Sunsets at the farm taste like cotton candy when you were ten-years-old and ran barefoot through the sawdust at the county fair. What was corndogs and snacks from a popcorn machine have turned into a good days’ work. The smell of grass. The feeling that somehow, someway, sometime all will be made right with the world again.
Veterans deserve nothing less.
Veterans Healing Farm: 828-606-8212
EMAIL: VeteransHealingFarm@Gmail.com
MAILING ADDRESS:
Veterans Healing Farm, 19 Mahshie Lane, Hendersonville, NC 28739
Jerry Nelson is an American freelance writer now living the expat life in South America. His work has appeared in some of the planet's largest -- and most respected -- media outlets, both under his own name and others' as he frequently ghost writes.Never far from his coffee and Marlboros, Jerry is always interested in discussing future work opportunities. Email him at jandrewnelson2@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter.
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