In the Waldo Hills area east of Salem, Geercrest Farm sits proudly displaying a gracious modesty about her beauty not to mention her heritage. Established in 1848 by pioneers Ralph and Mary Geer, the house they built in 1851, before Oregon was a state, still stands. Today it is home to their descendants, one of whom was born in the home’s kitchen, and the people who work the farm.

Although many family farms have given way to large corporate or “monocrop” farms, Geercrest Farm, “Where Agrarian Culture is Lived and Taught,” remains true to its founders with the help of its current owners, Erika and Jim Toler who have connections to the Geer Family, and business partner, Elizabeth Fox.

Erika and Elizabeth are the ones who work the farm - tending to the animals, milking goats, making cheese, collecting eggs, and all the other endless chores that go into maintaining a farm. Toler, who grew up on a farm in Switzerland, moved to the U.S. in 1971 and sees the potential for Geercrest to recreate what she experienced as a child in Switzerland. Fox has a background in architecture and holds a certificate in permaculture design, a system of design that imitates nature and involves a way of growing food that requires minimum input for the maximum output. “Permaculture appreciates that its not just man that works the land to reap it,” Fox explained.

Geercrest is dedicated to a mission of reviving agrarian culture. This mission has a four-part focus including education, community, growing “life-giving food,” and “sanctuary,” or the deep observation of nature, being in tune with its rhythm and energies.

“We are resurrecting the integrated farm by pulling together the different pieces of community that contribute to a farm,” Fox said. “Community is the biggest part of this type of farming. It takes diversity of animals, plants, and even people to make a farm truly sustainable.”

Geercrest provides education through field trip opportunities for area schools, overnight stays, camps, apprenticeships, tours, and serving as a farm site for Waldorf Schools' third grade curriculum.

Under Toler and Fox’s care, Geercrest produces food products for the farm’s use and for sale to the public. With this in mind, Geercrest has established a network of local small farmers, called “co-reliant farmers,” one of the pieces of community Elizabeth referred to, to offer these farms and local and urban communities with a greater variety of local, organically grown food. The farmers in the network agree on standards of operation and share expertise and experiences as much as possible, making their collective and individual efforts more sustainable in the process.

A community of helping hands is the component of Geercrest’s mission that is still evolving.

“It takes a lot of hands to work a diversified farm,” Fox explained.

Fox and Toler would like to see more families living on the farm but zoning laws for agriculture are an obstacle; they focus on agri-business rather than many families working a manageable size of land. Of course, involving the community not only benefits the farm but also gives people the opportunity to experience a way of life that we have forgotten.

“We need to get back to that age where everyone belongs to a farm,” said Fox.

Interested in “belonging to a farm?” Geercrest hosts volunteer training from April 17-28. For more information, visit www.geercrestfarm.com or call (503) 873-3406.