Rural Farming and Urban Technology Come Together with FarmHack

Benjamin Brownell recently attended a FarmHack event in Vermont, where he saw engineers, artists, and farmers sharing experiences and insights into best practices for "modern ecological (and economical) farm operation." FarmHack, which has both physical and virtual information-sharing components, was created by the National Young Farmers' Coalition to allow farmers to circulate their innovations and improvements with others.

Brownell explained the importance of such events saying, "Rural areas--so many in stark economic decline today--are in fact a wealth of raw materials, practical skill, and entrained devotion towards creative repurposing and sustainable initiative. Some of the best comfort and satisfaction about life on and with a piece of land, is that there is always plenty to "do;" to explore, to evaluate and improve upon, to hack away at in a mechanical or strategic manner--with room for creativity and eclectic flair--leading directly to concrete (frequently delicious and/or nutritious) result."

"Sustainable food systems are the long-range engine and "money supply" of our civil society. Open sourcing the know-how and effective story lines of successful ventures within this realm will invite citizens back into the processes and rewards of collaborative solving for abundance, ecology, community, and culture."

Thanks to Akemi Leung