Chattanooga Farm To Crag Gathering 2022
Climbers farming at Sequatchie Cove Farm in TN - Photo: Ken Etzel
Hosted by the Sequatchie Cove Farm
A spectacular fall weekend climbing, farming and feasting in SE Tennessee. Here is a link to some of the illuminating photos that we have received from Ken Etzel.
Our Farm To Crag Chattanooga Gathering took 50 climbers farming and took our Sequatchie Cove Farm hosts climbing. The joy was thick as climbers dug up sweet potatoes and ground beautiful, freshly harvested, dark red corn into grits, both of which we ate for breakfast the next morning. This direct link between the hard work of keeping soil healthy, so that it grows nutrient dense food and supports our climbing strength is a joyful way to learn about how local, regenerative, organic agriculture can be a solution to climate change. Both farmers and climbers left hopeful that there is a community passionate about taking action on behalf of the planet, healthy soil, biodiversity, individual wellbeing and community health! We left the weekend with confirmation that we are not in this important work alone.
We focused on bringing more BIPOC folks to the table this year as participants and were proud to have presentations from Atlanta based black, boulderer and community leader, Brandon Belcher as well as Japanese American, world cup champion, Ashima Siraishi. We also had Liz Carlisle, professor and author of Healing Grounds speak about how indigenous farming practices have built our current regenerative practices. We were lucky to have a local and national policy discussion with the DC lobbyists, SE Tennessee Young Farmers Coalition, AAC and Access Fund chapter leads, a farm tour, and celebratory meals highlighting the local organic flavors cooked by Chef Kenyatta Ashford. It was incredibly inspiring, and participants commented on feeling a sense of welcome and connection that they had been missing in their lives.
Huge thank you to Patagonia for the support! We were able to gift each participant, farmer and speaker a black hole tote bag to use at the boulders or farmers market, we had a shady gathering spot under the shade of the pop up tent, and had beautiful food from Patagonia Provisions. Primus stoves helped with the cooking, and gifted mugs and cutlery to all! We were able to grant 8 scholarships to young BIPOC folks as well as local farmers and climbers, And we had ambassador Brittany Griffith and Lisa Bediant’s expert help in the kitchen, Ken Etzel on photos, as well as local chef Kenyatta Ashford.
💚 We could not do it without you all! Thank you!
Attendee Quotes
“I don't want to have to wait a whole year for more of this.”
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“I never realized how good it is to eat so healthy and fresh. It opened my eyes to eating better quality food especially from farms. I don’t think I’ve ever eaten that many vegetables before! I never want to eat like garbage again.”
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“Learning and understanding where our food comes from has inspired me to be a better person for a better cause!”
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“Lastly [from our farmer] thanks for bringing us climbing, that was cool, and a good reminder for me that lives not all about work, it's good to have fun and interact with the world in other ways...and I’m stoked about my new local climbing friends and can't wait to get back out there!”
Kelsey on his first climb in TN. — Photo: Ken Etzel
Here is the heart melting thank you note from our host farm: Kelsey at Sequatchie Cove Farm, brings a tear to my eye every time I read it 😊
I don't know what it was with this group; maybe the shared sense of responsibility to respect each other and the environment, maybe the curiosity and eagerness to learn new things, maybe the patience and compassion it takes to actually listen to what others have to say, or maybe the strong feeling of community and shared purpose to do more and make the world a better place, of course the strong passion and drive to ignite change was part of it, or it could have been the humility and humbleness of so many amazingly talented people who would rather talk about anything than talk about themselves, or all the helping hands that seemed to never tire even when mountains of dishes loomed in the background...I honestly had no idea what to expect but this event blew my mind and made me realize there is so much we can do to build relationships and a truer sense of community than what we currently have here at the farm.
So thank you Kate and Juli for all the really hard work that went into this all the organizing and all the connections that you thoughtfully made and thanks Jake for getting some Chatt folks here.
What I want to know is how can we make this more regular? How can we engage more of the Chattanooga climbing/farming community in these discussions and experiences not just in one big event but more as a part of everyday life? I don't want to have to wait a whole year for more of this (haha, but seriously).
Lastly thanks for bringing us climbing, that was cool, and a good reminder for me that lifes not all about work, it's good to have fun and interact with the world in other ways too...and I'm stoked about my new local climbing friends and can't wait to get back out there!
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Kelsey Keener
Sequatchie Cove Farm
Ken’s Photos are so much better but here are a few sweet ones of the tables 😊 xo Kate Rutherford
