One of our first stops on the inaugural USG trip will be at the Shine and Rise farm, on the stunning Eastern Shore of Virginia. When I was staying at the nearby Cape Charles House a few years back I had the pleasure of meeting Jay Ford, who operates Shine and Rise with his wife Tatum. Jay is also the Virginia Eastern Shorekeeper, which is part of one of my all time favorite environmental groups, the Waterkeeper Alliance.
If you want the flavor of this place these words on the Eastern Shore of Virginia Tourism portal by Tatum and Jay will wet your appetite:
"If you’d like to come for a visit or join us as a volunteer or intern at Shine and Rise just drop us a line so we can get to know you and how we can work together to build something great! Our people are the dreamers, the champions of happiness, and the stewards of our planet. Naysayers need not apply unless you are looking to become an unflappable optimist:)
Folks that come to Shine and Rise should have a innate belief that a tree-house village is a great idea, screaming goats are funny, and that happy animals and plants is how the universe should be."
All the the pictures in this post are from the Shine and Rise Facebook page. If anything screams out "the art of living" it is these images and this farm. They demonstrate you can have fun while working hard, and that by opening your heart to the world, anything is possible.
Pictured above is a United Nations Delegation from West Africa, sharing farming techniques at Shine and Rise. If you till it they will come!
See you soon Shine and Rise. Hope you've got a spare room. We might want to stay awhile.