Letters from Mariposa: What We've Learned So Far. Episode 2: Words Matter, Choose Wisely

00:00:09:09 - 00:00:23:01
Mike Collignon: The letters are thoughts about life as we live it today. And they're sent from high in the Colorado Rockies by Ron Jones, designer, builder, author, and storyteller. And now here's today's letter.

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Ron Jones: So good morning Daniel.

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Daniel Wallach: Good morning Ron.

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Ron Jones: It's good to hear your voice. Always. Yeah. Yeah. So for those who might not be familiar, Daniel Wallach and I go back a few years. We met shortly after the disastrous tornado wiped out Greensburg, Kansas. And Daniel was in the area and quite rapidly geared up a nonprofit to help with the recovery and and try to make a sustainability movement take place there.

00:01:01:28 - 00:01:15:03
Ron Jones: But before that. Daniel, I know you were in the nonprofit arena for quite a while, and I wonder if you'd give us a little thumbnail sketch of what your activities were prior to Greensburg?

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Daniel Wallach: Sure. I actually started the Colorado Association of Nonprofit Organizations in 1987, and I was 27, and just coming off of a kind of disastrous restaurant ownership experience where I had my intention was to become an independently wealthy philanthropist by succeeding in business. And after my first business experience in restaurant, I realized that I could spend my life chasing that dream and never achieving it.

00:01:57:21 - 00:02:03:20
Daniel Wallach: So I just stopped what I was doing and.

00:02:03:22 - 00:02:39:00
Daniel Wallach: I wanted to do something good in the world, and I wanted to show up at work every day knowing that I was making an impact in the world. And so started this entity, which kind of blew up to be what it is today, which is almost like a trade association for nonprofit organizations in the state. And we also developed a network of state associations of nonprofits around the country, and did that for about six years.

00:02:39:02 - 00:03:11:18
Daniel Wallach: Again, a very successful but quite stressful. And I became quite ill, as did my co-founding wife, Kate Katherine Hart, and she and I both got quite ill and couldn't work. And that lasted about a decade for both of us, and did a whole lot of soul searching and pursuing a healing journey. And that was for both of us, are full time jobs.

00:03:11:23 - 00:03:45:02
Daniel Wallach: So that was pretty unique. I really did not expect to live long and ended up filing medical bankruptcy, because we were way in over our heads without income coming in. And long story short, our bankruptcy attorney said that you need to look at the states that allow you to retain your your homestead after a bankruptcy. And only three states do that in the country Florida, Texas and Kansas.

00:03:45:05 - 00:04:32:26
Daniel Wallach: Kansas, obviously right next to Colorado, appealed to us, and we ended up moving to rural Kansas in 2003. And much to our surprise, that helped us both heal significantly. And in 2007, there was this massive tornado in Greensburg, Kansas, which is just a better way from where we live. And as you mentioned, we took our concept paper to the people of Greensburg to propose them becoming a model of rebuilding sustainably.

00:04:32:29 - 00:05:09:19
Daniel Wallach: And that idea was embraced. And we set up this nonprofit, and we did that for about eight years. And we also did that in Joplin, Missouri, after a major tornado there. And that was our vocational experience with what we call Greensburg Greentown and Greentown Joplin. And that was very successful in a number of ways, but financially, not so much.

00:05:09:25 - 00:05:50:13
Daniel Wallach: And we just couldn't sustain it ourselves. And so we moved on from that. And today I'm involved in another endeavor and closer to where I live in rural Kansas, and it's called birdhouse Dot farm. And that's an initiative where again, we're just promoting sustainability any way we can, but especially in the rural communities where unfortunately, environmental sustainability has become even more politicized than it was when we started in Greensburg.

00:05:50:14 - 00:06:13:27
Daniel Wallach: So we're working with young people in the area to mobilize other young people to help their parents and grandparents see the value and necessity of of living sustainably, especially when you're living off the land. So that's a project we're involved with today.

00:06:13:29 - 00:06:53:15
Ron Jones: Well, I've followed you, of course, through the years, and we've maintained a friendship from across state lines and gotten together a few times for events and so forth. The I'm really intrigued by your current endeavor there at at the farm. And it's it's something that I think is extremely important, especially now I was I was reading just this morning about predictions in food production that are pretty alarming.

00:06:53:15 - 00:07:20:29
Ron Jones: And, you know, they're relative to climate change for the most part, and not only storm events, but the long term drought that we're experiencing in the West and how everything from rice to oranges to beef to cotton, you could go down the whole list. And and the prediction is that the the production is going to be even more challenging in years to come than it, than it is already.

00:07:20:29 - 00:08:03:25
Ron Jones: So this, this whole issue of sustainability is one that I don't think we can skirt around. The interesting thing is that there are probably no more self-reliant people in the country or in the world than those who make their living off the land and who are involved in agriculture. And but I think you said it right when you said it's politicized to the point where sustainability has some sort of green connotation, perhaps that you get some pushback from from the folks that are in a pretty conservative frame of mind, to be honest.

00:08:03:26 - 00:08:33:01
Ron Jones: So it's one of those things that it makes it difficult to to overcome. We've experienced that, of course, through our careers in the building industry, and I'm not sure how much progress we've made, although I think that there's certainly a tremendous growth in awareness and in, in response. And people are beginning to wake up. So are you are you seeing that in the in the arena that you find yourself in?

00:08:33:03 - 00:09:10:02
Daniel Wallach: I was thinking the word self-sufficiency is a term people out here really understand and embrace. And to me, it's really no different than sustainability. And language is really important, but especially in a culture as well defined as the red states, rural areas in in the US. I see it both ways. One is it's getting much better as it becomes more economically viable.

00:09:10:05 - 00:09:42:02
Daniel Wallach: We built homes in Greensburg after the tornado. There was no mandate to build any particular way, but we did provide access to expertise. You and Green Builder were a big part of that. The Department of Energy really wanted a model in the country for resilient, energy efficient building and so ended up building 300 new homes total after the tornado.

00:09:42:02 - 00:10:30:05
Daniel Wallach: And half of those were built according to the more sustainable standards laid out by the Department of Energy at the time, and ended up after two years. The 150 homes that built Sustainably Resilient performed 50% better on heating and cooling efficiency, which translated obviously into tremendous cost savings in that speaks to people very well out here. They are frugal as a culture, recycling, repurposing those things all really had their roots in rural America here anyway.

00:10:30:07 - 00:11:05:22
Daniel Wallach: And so common sense is resonates with people and always does. But of late, political groups have really made sustainability a political issue, which is nonsense because it's not. And it really speaks to the resistance to change in moving out of the status quo. And so people in rural areas understand that, you know, small towns are shriveling up and dying because there's no economic development.

00:11:05:25 - 00:11:37:23
Daniel Wallach: And this was a while ago, but the average farm used to be a farm on every corner of a quarter acre, which made it 160 acres. And people lived on their farms and very different time than, than now and again. Last time I saw this stat, it was that the average farmer owns 10,000 acres of land, manages 10,000 acres, and that's an average.

00:11:37:25 - 00:12:13:23
Daniel Wallach: So you're really industrialized. Agriculture is not sustainable because, well, for a variety of reasons. But people are understanding here how many farmers and families have been displaced by industrialization and efficiency, monoculture farming. So kids that grow up here haven't had places to work. And so they have to leave, and oftentimes they leave for other reasons, including the culture.

00:12:13:23 - 00:12:51:15
Daniel Wallach: And so these towns are all stressed and the number of them have died and become ghost towns. And many more of them are, are endangered species, if you will. So that gets people's attention. But again, at the same time, when a political ideology is expressed through a belief that wind and solar energy, for example, are bad, then it makes it very difficult to reason with people and say, no, wind and solar energy are not about politics, they're tools.

00:12:51:15 - 00:13:28:00
Daniel Wallach: And it's no different than introducing a, you know, an electric table saw where before you were only using a handsaw. It's just it's it's nonsensical to make clean water and clean air and what makes up sustainability political issues. And that's the, the hard part. And so language is everything. And we learned that in Greensburg that you just need to stay away from language that that people have politicized.

00:13:28:08 - 00:13:55:14
Daniel Wallach: And so that's a big part of our work. Now, the difference in the work we're doing now with Birdhouse Farm is working with young people in there really steering the ship, if you will, and they have a lot of ownership. Two of the primary partners that working with, who are 24 year old young men, are multi-generational in this county.

00:13:55:15 - 00:14:28:20
Daniel Wallach: So they have roots that run deep and they're really excited about staying in the area. But they're also really frustrated with with the farming practices. Water is obviously a huge issue, but there are a number of other issues, and it all loops back to that self-sufficiency and that if you're counting on your farmed goods coming from other states in a state like Kansas that is so rural, again, it's just nonsensical.

00:14:28:20 - 00:15:07:26
Daniel Wallach: It doesn't make any economic sense. 90% of Kansas is farmland, and 80% of what Kansas consumes comes from outside the state. So again, in terms of self-sufficiency and doing things on a scale that promotes healthy communities has just been lost. And so that's where we're at. Just trying to re awaken that desire to do farming, agriculture on a local level where local people are involved.

00:15:07:29 - 00:15:24:20
Ron Jones: Well, do you and do you see a bright spot in the future as, as it relates to this issue, or are we in a in a stagnant position where something drastic has to happen?

00:15:24:22 - 00:16:11:23
Daniel Wallach: You know, the the water issue, farmers here count on the groundwater and that is dropping in the aquifer dropping. And that's a concern. We don't get nearly enough rain, especially now, to raise crops without that water. So efficiency, water efficiency and farming efficiency, keeping materials on the land after harvest instead of scrubbing the land bare where you lose top soil and water, can't absorb it to the ground, practices that that reverse that trend are becoming popularized.

00:16:11:26 - 00:16:48:28
Daniel Wallach: So that's encouraging. And again, if we can move the discussion out of the fears that politicians have put into these people about the evils of sustainability, we can transcend that. And and the best way to do that is with these people's children and grandchildren. And that's that's the tack we're taking at this point. And I see a lot of hope because people are very family focused out here, and they do listen to their kids and they want their kids to live here.

00:16:48:28 - 00:16:53:00
Daniel Wallach: So if anybody can bring about this change, it's going to be them.

00:16:53:05 - 00:17:33:16
Ron Jones: Yeah. We've experienced in our sector, in the the shelter world, the fact that it's very difficult to. Influence the decision making of people that are already committed to a certain ideology or a certain way of doing things. And you can you can shame them, you can educate them, you can do all sorts of things. But it's very difficult to get them to, to respond to something if if they have that fear of change that you describe, you know, I'm reminded of a saying, don't be mad at somebody because they're smarter than you.

00:17:33:17 - 00:18:06:22
Ron Jones: It ain't their fault. And and what we've found in our sector is that there's just a resistance to, to change and to things that threaten the status quo. So much of the human resource in our society is expended in trying to maintain the status quo. And it makes it makes no sense whatsoever when the future is out ahead of us, and as it should be.

00:18:06:24 - 00:18:30:14
Ron Jones: So I guess, you know, I would I would explore for a minute, you know, the tagline for letters from Mariposa is what we've learned so far. So in this particular set of discussion points, what have you learned so far? That is the biggest takeaway?

00:18:30:17 - 00:19:04:11
Daniel Wallach: Well, I alluded to it earlier and that's communication. And just being very careful with the words you choose in communicating to people. One of my favorite lessons learned is observing these young people and how skillful they are at communication with people in the community. They know the language and they just intuitively use verbiage that doesn't offend or scare people.

00:19:04:17 - 00:19:38:17
Daniel Wallach: So they can say the same thing that, you know, city folk would say, and, and, but in a way that is not where people don't recoil at it and fight it. It's like, oh, that makes sense. Okay. We can support that. And that's that's been really interesting to watch. All is a big industry out here. And so there's a lot of people that feel threatened by anything that is displacing oil.

00:19:38:17 - 00:19:54:24
Daniel Wallach: And it is and has supported a way of life for a lot of people out here. So there's got to be sensitivity in talking about it in ways, again, that that people don't feel so threatened by.

00:19:54:26 - 00:20:28:17
Ron Jones: Yeah, I think people have to have to see both sides of it and know that there's actually a compelling reason to embrace change and embrace new technology and embrace new opportunities, because without those rewards, it's very difficult to justify taking big chances on abandoning, you know what? What you already know. Yeah. Let's shift a little bit into some of the things that you're actually doing at the birdhouse farm there.

00:20:28:19 - 00:20:41:29
Ron Jones: You recently shared with me that you guys are taking a serious look at getting into another form of protein as it relates to food. I want to talk about that.

00:20:42:02 - 00:21:14:04
Daniel Wallach: Yeah. So insect farming is a brave new frontier, especially in this country. It's much better developed in Europe and Asia. The people in those countries are accustomed to eating insects, much in the way that we in this country are comfortable eating shrimp, which for all intents and purposes, is just a sea insect. But we, you know, we don't think of that in this country.

00:21:14:07 - 00:21:59:20
Daniel Wallach: There's still a too big of an obstacle. People just assume bugs are dirty, and it's a primal instinct. And it's it's one that's kind of hard to reprogram. But there's tremendous benefits in insect protein in terms of water savings, in raising them, in cost, of raising them risks. There's just immense value in raising bugs for protein. And in one of the areas where this is I mean, the insect market in this country has been for feeding reptiles, and that's a rather robust market that would surprise a lot of people.

00:21:59:22 - 00:22:31:25
Daniel Wallach: And most people are familiar with mealworms and using crickets as feed. But the the protein that's gotten from crickets or soldier flies, or there are a number of insects that can be powdered and made into a flour. And that's catching on. And there's some leading chefs in this country that are integrating that into into their foodstuffs and very successfully.

00:22:31:25 - 00:23:14:06
Daniel Wallach: And so that's happening in this country. We think it's going to take some time. The really robust market is pet food, and a lot of people feel really comfortable feeding their pets bugs. And the fact of the matter is, the oil in that protein are much healthier than many meats ways meats are raised in this country. So instead of feeding byproducts and things that people don't really know what they're feeding their pets and don't feel comfortable with it, they're open to insect protein.

00:23:14:06 - 00:23:49:20
Daniel Wallach: It's just it's very straightforward. You know exactly what you're getting. And again, it's clean and it's a much healthier series of fats in that protein. So that's one area we're looking at we think is going to take off pretty soon. Raising insects for bio control for large farms to small gardens. Demand for that is really building. And that's very sustainable.

00:23:49:23 - 00:24:10:20
Daniel Wallach: And then raising insects for cleanup is cutting edge industry. So cleanup of landfills or feedlots very efficient way of transforming waste into something useful.

00:24:10:21 - 00:24:29:18
Ron Jones: Yeah. With all the diverse species in the insect world and, and their ability to, you know, to to reproduce at such rapid rates and so forth. It looks like they were, you know, fill a lot of gaps in many areas.

00:24:29:20 - 00:25:03:07
Daniel Wallach: Exactly. And when you're talking about self-sufficiency, one of the things we're most excited about is being able to raise these products locally for use locally. And again, one of the biggest problems we've seen in relation to sustainability is centralization of food production. And we saw it during Covid, the shortages that occurred, because when you're counting on a centralized system and that centralized system breaks down, you're in trouble.

00:25:03:07 - 00:25:33:05
Daniel Wallach: And so with insects, we think that can be done on a hyper local level and really excited about that, because both in terms of security and availability of these foods, it's going to give economic development. It's going to spread that out. So, you know, you look at me production and a company like ConAgra or Tyson, they dominate the market and control it and control pricing and availability.

00:25:33:08 - 00:25:57:08
Daniel Wallach: If we can make these food protein suppliers abundant and accessible, we think that's that's going to appeal to people in this part of the country. And for economic development sake, it's going to be diversified and spread out in a way where a lot of people are benefiting from it.

00:25:57:10 - 00:26:25:04
Ron Jones: Well, you know, we've seen the lexicon lexicon shift and and we're it's now dominated by things that we sort of took for granted before. And, and we, we hear things like supply chain issues and it doesn't matter what part of the world or what part of the country or what part of industry or commerce you're in, all of a sudden, supply chain issues are part of what you have to think about every day.

00:26:25:04 - 00:26:53:09
Ron Jones: So if we can localize or decentralize to whatever degree that has to help, you know, on the on the the notion of, oh, you know, humans being a little reluctant to ingest insect protein, I have to sort of chuckle at that because I pay a premium price for free range pastor raised chickens that that are available to me here in Colorado.

00:26:53:09 - 00:27:24:15
Ron Jones: And part of their sales pitch is that those birds are out there eating insects in the in the pasture, and they're having a big time. And then I also think about the beautiful trout that I can go right down to the stream here and bring in and put on the grill, and they make their living on insects. So in a way, when I eat a trout or roast one of those beautiful chickens, it just happens that they are the intermediate host for a bunch of insect protein.

00:27:24:17 - 00:27:30:28
Daniel Wallach: That's exactly right. That's exactly right. And it's all illustration.

00:27:31:00 - 00:28:10:21
Ron Jones: Yeah, it just depends on your point of view I guess. Yeah. You know it's it's it's something that'll take some, some getting used to I suppose. But it's very exciting and interesting to, to consider. What about from the standpoint of your sort of mission there at the, at the birdhouse farm as it relates to getting people back into nature and embracing nature in ways that support their mental and emotional health in addition to their physical well-being.

00:28:10:23 - 00:28:40:28
Daniel Wallach: Yeah. Excellent question. I'm glad you asked, because that really is kind of the core mission for what we're doing is reconnecting or connecting people more deeply to nature. If you look at the mental health spiritual health crisis in this country, I think it can all be traced back to the roots of people being disconnected from nature or eco phobia.

00:28:41:01 - 00:29:11:11
Daniel Wallach: I mean, it's it's really quite extreme. And you see it especially in young people. I just heard a figure and I think it's probably understated, but that 20% of people under 18 years of age have severe anxiety. And I think that can be traced to a number of things. One is the instability of the climate, the instability of our culture and our disconnected from the soil, from the land.

00:29:11:11 - 00:29:35:13
Daniel Wallach: And that's why my wife and I live where we do, which is what many people would call the middle of nowhere on ten acres surrounded by pasture and farmland. But it greatly enhanced our mental health to relocate here from urban area in Denver.

00:29:35:13 - 00:29:46:04
Ron Jones: And Daniel, what kind of activities are you offering there at at the farm that bring people in or that you would like to use to bring people in?

00:29:46:05 - 00:30:24:20
Daniel Wallach: Yeah. So at a local level, we're doing a number of demonstration projects. We've got the farm itself is on six acres, and we are reawakening that land to a more natural state, taking out a number of invasive species and shoring up the natives. We are very close to Quivira National Wildlife Refuge, which is a large wetlands area. And we're just wanting to do kind of a microcosm of that area and make it very appealing to.

00:30:24:22 - 00:30:58:06
Daniel Wallach: We have 340 different species of birds that live or migrate through the state. So making land here more conducive to those, those species coming through and the natives and just re-energizing the land, if you will, and people's connection to it. So demonstrating on our farm things that people locally can be doing, we are taking an acre and making that a food forest.

00:30:58:06 - 00:31:55:01
Daniel Wallach: And again, we're kind of looking at ourselves almost as a botanic gardens, but an experiential one where people can come in and learn what they can do and how they can make their land more wildlife friendly, food friendly for people, water smart and all these things. So. So that's what we're doing on the farm. We're looking at building a variety of small structures that we can use for like Airbnb, but will demonstrate the different building materials, both natural and produced, and where people can stay and and experience these little models, like tiny houses that will have on the land and then just conducting programs.

00:31:55:03 - 00:32:19:19
Daniel Wallach: Mental health. We talk about nature at the micro level, meaning our own health and wellbeing. So teaching everything from how to take care of your gut biome to mental health practices and and just the full spectrum of being connected to nature in a positive way.

00:32:19:22 - 00:32:39:25
Ron Jones: Well, you recently alluded to, I think the fact that you're exploring opportunities to network, if you will, with other facilities or locations that that have similar or alignment with your mission. How's that going?

00:32:39:27 - 00:33:32:10
Daniel Wallach: Yeah, I'm really excited about that piece of it. It's a so my early experience with the association nonprofits and bringing together groups with common missions and visions creates a lot of resources for everybody involved. So the networking is is one of my favorite things because it really is creating something out of nothing. When you bring what we're calling healing nature centers from around the country, anybody who's really working to improve the environment and and teach people about their own environments and, and how they can be better stewards of the land all across the country, and they're not really linked together, by and large.

00:33:32:10 - 00:33:53:20
Daniel Wallach: So we're looking at facilitating that national network at the same time. And so Birdhouse Farm and what we're doing is a model of a healing nature center. And, and we want to link with those around the country and work together for common goals.

00:33:53:21 - 00:34:21:19
Ron Jones: Well, Daniel, you know, I'm a huge advocate for self-reliance and for one, pulling oneself up by the bootstrap and so forth. And I know that that you feel that way as well. But I wonder, are there organizations or folks out in the, in the wider world who would support, you know, organizations like you are small entities that are that are trying to break through on this.

00:34:21:19 - 00:34:30:17
Ron Jones: Do you know of national or international resources that people might be able to look to?

00:34:30:19 - 00:34:55:00
Daniel Wallach: Excellent question. We're just starting to assemble those. There are grants available depending on if you're a for profit or a nonprofit. And we're trying to sort all that out and have a good registry of of those resources available to people doing this sort of thing, and we're really going to.

00:34:55:03 - 00:35:22:07
Daniel Wallach: Assertively try to bring in other funders to support this kind of activity on a local level, because, as I said earlier, it's economic development in the small towns is most small towns are kind of desperate for it. So if we can get these local nature centers in these small towns, we think they can make a really significant impact.

00:35:22:09 - 00:35:28:22
Daniel Wallach: So that is something we're we're looking to increase funding availability for.

00:35:28:24 - 00:35:55:26
Ron Jones: And I think that's really important. I, I expect to that, you know, there's strength in numbers. And if you can demonstrate that there's a movement afoot to to make this sort of thing happen that gets the attention of those that might have the resources and cause them to have inclination to pay more attention and, and perhaps be more supportive in that way.

00:35:55:28 - 00:35:57:25
Daniel Wallach: Yes. Thank you.

00:35:57:27 - 00:36:07:09
Ron Jones: Yeah. So I suppose you don't want to talk with me about starting up a restaurant, then?

00:36:07:11 - 00:36:10:11
Daniel Wallach: No, you go ahead and I will counsel you.

00:36:10:14 - 00:36:34:12
Ron Jones: You'll be glad to come and and take a meal, I guess. Yeah. Yeah. That's a that's that's interesting. What do you see as the biggest hurdle that you've got to overcome in realizing the dream that you're pursuing?

00:36:34:14 - 00:37:16:27
Daniel Wallach: Figuring out how in this culture to monetize doing good works. That's the big challenge. And I think it's a big challenge for everybody doing good works. Are economies developed in such a way where we forgot to integrate the the good of the greater good into the bottom line, and Ron and Sarah and Green Builder have done an amazing job with your venture and what you've brought to this country in the world to help builders who are interested in sustainability.

00:37:17:00 - 00:37:52:00
Daniel Wallach: You've given them a voice in a path and the materials to do it, as well as encouraging companies that produce products, to produce products that that are good for the environment and will enhance their bottom lines. Well, this is you're welcome. And it's an ongoing challenge to, to bring to this capitalist system. And I love capitalism. I think it's the perfect system, but not if it's not well balanced.

00:37:52:01 - 00:38:24:10
Daniel Wallach: And there are a number of businesses like yours that are attempting to do that. And anybody who can succeed in doing that, I respect greatly, and that's what I want to work with people to do and and profit in doing that. That's kind of our strategy that we can fund our activities by helping others learn how to do this better and creating products.

00:38:24:11 - 00:39:11:03
Daniel Wallach: You know, we're looking at a line of food products that will sell ourselves and hopefully develop a template so that other local nature centers around the country can do similar things. You know, we've got a shop on our website where people can purchase books, and we're looking forward to filling out kind of a portal or a hub or a mall, if you will, online that offers people alternatives to purchase products and services from those companies, businesses that are more values aligned than for like Amazon or Walmart, which dominate the online marketplace at this point.

00:39:11:05 - 00:39:41:01
Daniel Wallach: So that's the kind of thing we can develop that shop, that portal. That's something we would share with the local nature centers around the country that they could sell online through this portal. So that's another way we're looking at generating revenue. We're setting up a membership system. We will be selling memberships. And right now filling out the benefits for members.

00:39:41:04 - 00:40:23:18
Daniel Wallach: One of those that I'm most excited about is a land registry. And that's folks have registered land around here with us where people can come and do birdwatching, foraging, some hunting, nature bathing, just getting out into the country. We know that national parks are feeling the strain of of too much demand, and we're excited about the prospect again of being able to develop land sites locally that people can use and appreciate and and get connected to nature.

00:40:23:20 - 00:40:47:16
Daniel Wallach: So that's one of the benefits we're going to be offering in our membership is access to land that has been registered with us. We're excited about that. We'll be offering discounts through that portal of stores that we talked about. So I guess the bottom line is, Ron, we're really diversifying and looking at ways to generate revenue to support our activities.

00:40:47:23 - 00:41:23:13
Ron Jones: You know, everything that you're talking about, each thing that you describe really comes back to the same thing for me. And that is the the truth in the fact that information is power. And when people have information, they can make decisions that benefit them without having to harm anybody else. So I really applaud your effort in aggregating and then distributing that information, because there's a huge hunger for it.

00:41:23:13 - 00:41:53:06
Ron Jones: There's tremendous appetite for wanting to get back to a healthier life. You know, I, I was browsing some, some literature the other day and I ran across a line from the great Wendell Berry, my probably favorite poet, and he said, the earth is the thing that we all have in common. And what a what a powerful statement. And, and and who does that threaten?

00:41:53:08 - 00:42:19:10
Ron Jones: You know, I'm sorry. I don't care if you're in a red state, purple state or a polka dot state. The fact of the matter is, that doesn't threaten anybody. And I think we need to get over our our fears and hopefully efforts like yours and the, the, the mission that you're pursuing will help us to do that. So I wish you the very best in your endeavors.

00:42:19:10 - 00:42:36:25
Ron Jones: And I want to stay in touch. And maybe we'll develop an exchange program with the Birdhouse Farm and Mariposa and the bigger network and and see what we can do to give people that sanctuary that, that they so desperately need.

00:42:36:27 - 00:43:05:19
Daniel Wallach: Thank you. And I love that idea. And and you've been a great inspiration and support. You've been one of those people that has never wavered in seeing the value of what we're doing, regardless of of it generating money or not. And it's taken elders like you, and it takes elders like you to be in place to support people that are that are bucking the status quo for the greater, greater good.

00:43:05:19 - 00:43:14:15
Daniel Wallach: And you guys modeling that and your availability, Ron, to for counsel and perspective has been invaluable.

00:43:14:16 - 00:43:33:11
Ron Jones: To me. Thank you. That's very kind. Well, let's plan on getting together again soon. And I hope that our little discussion here will fall on some appreciative listeners down the road, and that we can all help each other to make good things happen.

00:43:33:13 - 00:43:57:10
Daniel Wallach: Yes, indeed. And can I just say that the our website is birdhouse Dot farm and you just go ww w Birdhouse Farm and you're there and again it's a website that's a work in progress. But you can see a number of things that we're doing there. And if you want to be on the email list you can see what we're doing.

00:43:57:12 - 00:44:16:16
Ron Jones: Yeah I drop in there frequently and it just makes me feel good. You know, just the imagery, the quiet messaging, the softness of it and the underlying purpose is all very evident. So I do recommend that people visit you there. So.

00:44:16:18 - 00:44:22:07
Ron Jones: If you're not familiar with Birdhouse Farm, you should be.

00:44:22:10 - 00:44:24:22
Daniel Wallach: Thank you. Thank you.

00:44:24:24 - 00:44:36:19
Ron Jones: Daniel. I wish you the very best for the rest of the of the year. I hope that you have wonderful holiday season and most prosperous and peaceful 2023.

00:44:36:21 - 00:44:42:08
Daniel Wallach: Thanks so much, Ron. Best to you and Sarah. And the group will be in touch.

00:44:42:15 - 00:44:46:04
Ron Jones: All right. Goodbye my friend.

00:44:46:07 - 00:44:58:21
Mike Collignon: Be on the lookout for the delivery of more letters from the high country. For now, we leave you with the acoustical sounds of the great Eddie Cleveland and his track. A mood to friends. Far away.