Bless the Lord my soul! You have ALL lightened the burden of this heavy time. Thank you and again, THANK YOU!
I wanted to give you a little update because things are always changing, being revealed and discerned. Yesterday, I went to Grand Junction for weekly monitoring with my Maternal Fetal Medicine doctor, who is also just a few weeks less pregnant than I. She is very compassionate and has sat on our side of the seats in a MFM office when her first was born with a Spina Bifida. She is a wonderful advocate and caregiver. She oversaw the appointment, which I am going to proclaim carried good news. Though nothing has changed with the baby's heart condition, baby performed 8/8 things well during its bio physical profile. Baby shows wonderful breathing and all other system to be healthy. There has been a decrease in the Poly Hydramnios or over abundance of amniotic fluid. This is great and I hope it continues to trend in the correct direction, thus limiting intervention or unnecessary early contractions. Last week we elected for a maternal blood draw and paternal cheek swab to see if we would also be facing a genetic disorder or micro deletion disease. We got the clean bill of health from that, so God willing, there's no additional special care to anticipate. Of course, that very complete sheet of blood work also revealed the gender, so I declined to take the handoff. We are assured of one incredible surprise when we meet this Baby Peace to learn if we have a son or daughter! I just want to praise Our Lord who keeps all my sufferings in check as I muddle through this experience! On Good Friday, I cannot but feel that my sufferings are only but a drop in the bucket. Today, I invite you to immerse yourself in contemplation of the greatest gift ever, the life of the Son of God, given for us. I will rest in Him...
0 Comments
Once again we wake to see the GoFundMe account more than double since yesterday morning! We can't believe it! Our extreme gratitude goes out to all of you for your generous donations, prayers and words of encouragement.
All of this comes into play. These funds are going to be put to use right away. Yesterday, we got a call from the leading pediatric heart surgeon at Children's hospital in Boston. He shared a little bit of good news. After reviewing the images from last weeks ultrasound, he believes Rebecca and baby Peace are very good candidates for a special intra uterine surgery. He wants Rebecca out there as soon as possible because time is against us. They will be going into the baby's heart and trying to open up the Aortic valve via catheter balloon. If it is successful, it will hopefully restore some function to the left side of the heart. This will not cure everything though and baby Peace will still have to undergo multiple surgeries after birth to complete the whole process. Because of your generosity we are able to book last minute flights to Boston for Rebecca and I without stressing out about the finances. Wow, can you believe what they can do these days? To think that very skilled doctors can go into the heart of a baby inside the womb, find the problem and hopefully fix it is almost unbelievable! They have only performed inly 200 of these surgeries in the past 15 years, but they've had a 90% success rate and there is little harm to the mother. Stay tuned as we will continue to update you as all this unfolds. Even though our situation seems dire, we can't imagine the pain and suffering of so many people around the world, so many babies born who have no hope of medical help. Together with all of you let's join in, as best we can, and lift them up in prayer and also show our support for those living in the worst conditions in the world. Blessings, Sharbel and Rebecca P.S. This is an article from NPR that sheds some light on the procedure that they will try to perform on baby Peace in Boston. The very doctor that is featured in this article is the one who called us yesterday. http://www.npr.org/2010/12/13/131968225/stitch-in-time-fixing-a-heart-defect-before-birth Another day is here and we find ourselves waking to see the amount of support that has poured in since yesterday when we broke the news and launched the GoFundMe page. Wow! We can't thank you enough. Both Rebecca and I were up in the middle of the night, unable to sleep, wrestling with what this all means. Sharing our fears, helping each other to stay positive, praying for strength to get through this in a spirit of love, patience and hope. Today we may find out if baby Peace is a candidate for a very specialized in utero heart surgery that would have to be performed at Children's hospital in Boston. This surgery could restore some function of the left side of the heart. There would still be more surgeries after birth, but maybe not as many and as involved. Today we pray for clarity regarding this decision if it is a possibility and that our insurance would cover it. Also, please pray for Rebecca and I as we discern whether moving the family to Denver to stay close together or if the kids and I stay put in Crested Butte. Thank you again for all your notes of encouragement, prayers and donations. You are carrying us through this moment of suffering.
www.gofundme.com/babypeace To all our friends, family and supporters,
We are expecting our 5th child due June 10th, 2015. Rebecca's belly continues to grow bigger and bigger and our anticipation grows to meet this newest member of the family. Rebecca has been carrying the child with great vigilance and care through our winter here in Crested Butte, CO. All of her prenatal check ups have been perfect and the life within her has been growing as usual or so we thought… This all changed last week when we went in for an ultrasound. What the doctors encountered shocked us and will forever change the course of the life of this baby. It will also force our family to make some big changes for the time being as we live 4.5 hours from Children's Hospital in Aurora, CO where the baby must be born. Our baby has been diagnosed with a rare heart defect called Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS). HLHS is one of the most complex cardiac defects seen in newborn babies and remains the most challenging to manage of all heart defects. It presents itself in about 1 in every 6,000 births. We were told our baby will not survive after birth unless a series of 3 major heart surgeries are performed at Children's. Open heart surgery on a tiny new born requires the most skilled of surgeons and specialized hospitals that can handle these rare cases. In Colorado, we are blessed with one of the top 10 hospitals in the country that have facilities and surgeons on staff to perform these amazing surgeries. The first surgery will be performed usually 3-4 days after birth. The baby will be in the NICU for many days and possibly months if complications arise. The second surgery will be around 3 months old and the fourth surgery around 3 years old. As you can imagine, our hearts sank when we heard the news. Tears welled up and a lot of emotions quickly overwhelmed us. Had Rebecca done something that brought this about? What kind of life will our baby have? Why? Why? Why? Upon a little research we found that the majority of congenital heart defects have no known cause, so that was a bit of relief. It at least lifts any burden of self blame. These things happen when you're dealing with life. Everything is so delicate and must happen at the right time. Once in a while something goes wrong. There is good reason to have hope for our baby. Although many die, most live. Developmental studies on those that live show they have normal or near-normal IQ's and lead a good quality of life. The chances of dying from the second two operations are much less than the first, so if our baby can make it through the first procedure it will have a very good chance of doing well. Upon hearing the bad news the temptation is to ask God to take this away. There is even some anger and frustration that come to the surface. Why us? What are we to learn through this experience? There's no doubt this will be a test of our love and commitment to our marriage and family life. It will take a lot of prayer and support to pull through this in a way that strengthens us and does not destroys us. It will be only with God's grace that we move forward and tackle each step of the way. Also, in the moment, things seem so big, so major and at times insurmountable. We have to remind ourselves that there are many others out there dealing with worse issues, terrible tragedies and the loss of loved ones. That helps keep things in their proper perspective. We have hope that our baby will get through this and life will go on and get back to some sort of normalcy. That is a great blessing! That's the news we're up against! This will surely put a stress on the family as we try to figure out the logistics of living 4.5 hrs from the hospital and the need for Rebecca to relocate close to the hospital for regular monitoring, the eventual birth, and subsequent surgeries. That leaves the rest of the family in limbo. We're discerning if we're all going to move close to the hospital or if we stay put here in Crested Butte. Not knowing how long baby will be in the hospital and the need to be closely followed leaves us in a bit of a quandary. Also, supporting the family finically becomes a greater challenge as Sharbel will be largely single parenting. As most of us have experienced some hardship or have been very close to someone who has, the most common phrase uttered upon hearing bad news is,"please let us know how we can help or let me know if there is anything that I can do." Most of the time that offering and willingness to help goes unused and sometimes those in need feel awkward asking for help. We also know how good it feels when we have been asked to help or we've done an act of kindness for someone in need. That said, here's a few ways you can help. A GoFundMe crowd funding account has been set-up to help with travel expenses back and forth, housing expenses for our time in Denver, miscellaneous medical expenses not covered by insurance and a little cushion to tap into to help us get through this challenging time and it's unforeseen expenses. http://www.gofundme.com/babypeace Other than financial help, there will be times for those living close by who can help with the kids or bring over a meal. These offerings are great relievers of stress. Also, if you think of any creative ways to help those will be welcomed. We'll be asking someone to be the point person to help organize meals and help arrange some kid shuffling when that time comes. In the meantime, please say many prayers for our baby and our family. If you feel so inclined to help to support us financially, we would be greatly blessed either way. May God bless you and be a comfort to you in your challenges as well. With all our Iove, Sharbel Rebecca Tabor Simeon Anselm Emiliana Baby Peace (baby's name while in utero) http://www.gofundme.com/babypeace There's a race hiding down in Prescott, Arizona in Spring which attracts the crowds, vendors and some of the best pro mountain bikers from across the country who line up to challenge Rebecca and family Rebecca Dussault and Pat O' Neill team up to conquer the Grand Traverse also deemed The Grand Reverse this year because an alternate course was used to keep the racers off potential avalanche terrain. The race was still very challenging and some are saying more challenging than the standard route to Aspen. Read Rebecca's account in her Facebook post below.
This past weekend the Ski Mountaineering National Championships were held in our back yard up at Mt. Crested Butte. For Rebecca, it was a chance to test her skills agains the best in the country, how could she not? Over the winter Rebecca had been getting out on her super lightweight randonee ski gear to train and race in preparation for this event. She came in fit and ready to ski uphill and downhill fast. The course was nothing but a cake walk with 5 climbing sections and 5 downhill sections as well as 2 boot backing sections. For the final boot pack Rebecca had to scale Guides Ridge tied into a rope for 1000' scrabble with her skis and poles tied to her backpack. The culmination of Guides Ridge brings you to the very top of Mt. Crested Butte where the racers strapped on their skis and pointed them all the way back to the base area. The conditions were a bit dicey in places with spring crust making the descents very fast and icy. Rebecca was happy that she had chosen to have her skis tuned and edges sharpened. At one point Rebecca fell and slid on her side narrowly missing a rock but for the most part Rebecca felt pretty good with her race. She struggled at times with transitions when she couldn't get her ski boots out of her bindings thus loosing valuable time. With a few equipment upgrades she feels that she can be in the mix for the win next go around. It was 2006 and Rebecca Dussault was living in one of the villages at the winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. Every day, she and her team—her husband and son—headed off to daily Mass. She was almost always the only athlete in attendance, but Rebecca was accustomed to deviating from the norm.
As Catholic athletes, we have to “be uniquely and firstly Catholic,” she told The Cardinal Newman Society in an interview on February 18. The culture wants us to “bow to sport as a god” but we need to “reclaim” the game for Christ. Never missing Sunday Mass was one of the many ways that Rebecca lived out her Catholic faith as an elite athlete, in an environment that she describes as “missionary” territory. She found that she needed to compete to the best of her ability to be a Catholic athlete, but she still needed to live a life of “balance.” As a teenager traveling with a team of skiers, Rebecca often had to compete on Sundays. So she would tell her coach that she was going to attend the Saturday night vigil Mass. As she went off to Mass alone, her team would sit down to a delicious, hot cooked meal to prepare for the final round of competition the next day. But, Rebecca knew that she was getting the “real team dinner.” When Rebecca returned after Mass, she would eat food that she had bought earlier at the grocery store in her room. Gunnison's Rebecca Dussault cross-country skis. The Olympian will speak at the next Theology on Tap in Denver Feb. 10.
BY NISSA LAPOINT FEBRUARY 05, 2014 If there was any doubt a world-class athlete could find fulfillment in the increasingly secular world of competitive sports and pursue a virtuous life, Olympian skier Rebecca Dussault could make a good case for it. Colorado-native Dussault has traversed the world claiming championships and competing in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. She finished sixth in the Triathlon World Championships in Germany, the best-ever finish for an American woman. She is an eight-time U.S. National Cross Country Ski champion and top-ranked U.S. Women’s Nordic skier. Through it all, she’s found sports nourish her faith and vocation. Rebecca Dussault mom of 4, still has it in her to put the hammer down and mix it up w/ the men in the 42k CB Alley Loop. 1st woman, 5th overall!
For the past three months we have been on a grand adventure. In early December we set out from Colorado with a goal to explore the Northwest. Along the way, we’ve spent time working on farms, camping in the mountains, the desert and on the beach. We’ve met wonderful families and friends. The kids have had great educational experiences as we have been homeschooling and creating life long memories. From the beginning we entrusted this journey to God’s providence under His guiding hand. We spent a month and half in Northern California where the weather was temperate enough to camp in our 5th wheel camper. Then we headed north through Oregon and spent a week in Bend visiting family. After that it was time to make our way up to Wenatchee, WA where our generous friends invited us to stay in their home while they were out of the country for all of February on a medical mission. It was our hope that the baby would be born during our time at their home. Last week we had the chance to go dog sledding with some friends who have sled dogs. We drove 45 minutes into the mountains to Taylor Park. The dogs were ready to go when we arrived. We jumped into the sleds and away we went. Enjoy the video!
By Rebecca Dussault Greetings blog readers, For today’s brief post we wanted to share with you some of our recent home makings as home schoolers. With the recent installation of our neighbors 30‘x40’ heated greenhouse we’ve been invited to start this year’s crop months in advance of our usual date. We took the opportunity to start about 300 seeds for our first planting. We’ve planted everything from Pink Banana Squash, Lavender, Peppers, Beets, Corn, Cilantro, Bush Beans, Broccoli, Turnips and Onions galore. We hope to put up a lot of food this year and plan to experiment with seed saving for future plantings. The headlining photo shows a portion of our plantings with their labels. I should also add the incredible surprise to us all when on day 3 in the greenhouse our Arugula had shot up and grown more than a centimeter! Our rough and rugged 9 year son Tabor didn’t have a knee left in any of his jeans after a long summer of holistic ranching with the family. This past weekend, with the weather warming nicely in Colorado, we decided it was time to make some shorts. He ended up with a lesson in the basics of machine sewing and three pairs of stylish jean shorts, while I ended up with a fashionable bag which I threw together from all the scraps. At one point I had our 4 year old sitting on my lap and running the various parts of the sewing machine like the light, reverse and replacing used pins. I think we all got something out of this quick and crafty project. As always, the foodies of the house are at it again. We invited a couple people over last night to partake of pizza, lemon asparagus, smoked alder potatoes and wood fired berry crumble! With the retained heat from last nights firing we put together a couple dishes to bake today in the oven. We made European Peasant loaves, an Olive Batard, Chicken ala Minty Fig, and a Mountain Bean and Ham Soup. Are you hungry yet? Quick and easy Ricotta.
1/2 gallon whole milk- we use raw cow’s milk 16 oz. Greek Gods Plain Yogurt 12 oz. whipping cream a bit of nutmeg a bit of salt Bring to a very slow simmer on the stove top. Stir gently and periodically just to ensure it isn’t burning. Simmer for 30sec to 1 minute, remove from heat and drain in cheese cloth. Hang up to dry for 24 hrs. over a bowl to catch the excess whey as it drains. Enjoy this easy treat! Black Bean Fudge Cakes These are a delicious, moist, gluten free, flour-less dessert. Use egg replacer to make non-dairy. 1x8’ square baking dish greased 1 oz. dark chocolate 70%+ 1 1/2 c. soft black beans cooked and drained 2 eggs 1 egg white 2 tbsp. olive oil 1/4 c. heaped unsweetened cocoa powder 1tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract 1/4 c. unsweetened applesauce 1/2 c. raw organic honey 1/4-1/2 c. unsalted walnuts, chopped Melt dark chocolate over low heat with 1tbsp of water mixed in. Set walnuts aside. Combine all other ingredients with the dark chocolate and process until smooth in a food processor. Pour mixture into baking dish and sprinkle with walnuts. Bake 20 minutes for ramekins or 30 minutes for baking dish. Garnish with a dollop of Greek-style yogurt, if desired. May be frozen and reheated. On March 3rd InnerFire Mobile pulled up to the Crested Butte Brewery in Gunnison, CO to begin it’s journey down the road of artisan wood fired cooking and authentic Naples inspired pizza. We hope InnerFire will be a great asset to the Gunnison / Crested Butte Valley community. Call us for a quote or to discuss your next event or special occasion. Look for us at the Farmers market in Gunnison and Crested Butte as well as other local events and festivals.
www.innerfiremobile.com Like Us on Facebook www.facebook.com/innerfiremobile Rebecca hasn’t wasted any time in getting back on the skis to train and race. She has been racing for the past 5 weekends along with Tabor who is getting to be a good little athlete. Rebecca’s body has recovered quicker than in the past so she has been motivated to get out there and push herself. Last weekend she raced in the 21k Owl Creek Chase over in Aspen. It was a SuperTour race with many colligate racers as well as juniors and veterans. She held her ground in the middle of the pack and finished 26th out of 41. She is out there for fun and for the challenge of racing even though she is far from her usual fitness level.
In the midst of the racing we are enjoying every bit of little Anselm as he continues to put on weight and develop his character. He is a good baby and the other boys are in love with him and can’t get enough of holding and cuddling him. We are staying busy with starting the mobile wood fired pizza business. Getting all the licenses and health department applications filled out. We should be ready to go in a couple more weeks. We decided on InnerFire Mobile Pizza for the name. Sharbel Announcing Anselm John Dussault
An early Christmas present has arrived at the Dussault household. Our little Anselm decided to come into the world 5 weeks early weighing in at 4 lbs. 10 oz. None of us was anticipating such a surprise. In fact Sharbel was in Boulder about 5 hours away on a business trip and didn't make it home for the birth. However Rebecca was in good hands with the midwife, hospital staff and both Grandma Carols. No reason could be found for the early delivery, I guess the little guy was ready and wanted to join us for Christmas. He is healthy and is at home with mom and family. You can click on the link for some more photos of Anselm. Photos of Anselm St. Anselm The name was chosen after St. Anselm whom was an Archbishop and Doctor of the Church. 1033 -1109 AD Anselm was one of the greatest philosophers and theologians of the Middle Ages. He argued eloquently for the existence of God. He had a charming personality and was very generous toward the poor. You can read his complete story at the link below. The middle name is after Sharbel's father John (1940-1998). Grandpa John was a wonderful father and loved his children with great devotion. He would be so excited to welcome little Anselm and honored to be chosen as the middle name. Also John refers back to St. John, the youngest and most beloved disciple of Christ who was present at the first Eucharist and at the foot of the cross. Life of Saint Anselm Our Journey to the Portable Wood Fired Oven
Sustainable Farming with Faith and Friends It's been over two years since Sharbel overcame the illness that put our life on hold. Even though we have been very busy it hasn't produced a strong income stream that can support us now and into the future. We really haven't gotten our feet back under us since the restructuring of our tent business and the illness that Sharbel succumbed to. Last year Rebecca trained and raced all summer and all winter. Her bid for the 2010 Olympics fell short but that didn't hold her back from winning the 2010 Winter Triathlon World Championships! This past summer we experienced life on a sustainable small scale farm and ranch. The whole family learned so much and became more in tune with the local food movement and raising healthy nutrient dense food. We came away with excitement to stay involved in some kind of farming enterprise. So this fall we took to the road searching for a place to lease and start our own operation. Unfortunately, we didn't find a spot to start the farming lifestyle we so longed for. However, In the midst of our search we came across The Fire Within, a company out of Boulder that makes these amazing wood fired ovens on a trailer. It happened that they needed a WeatherPORT for a temporary shop to build the trailers in so we traded them our labor to deliver and set-up the WeatherPORT for one of their workshops about starting a Portable Wood Fired Pizza business. The workshop was amazing and opened our eyes to the possibilities surrounding the artisan food movement using a wood fired oven. Another exciting point that hit home to us was that the The Fire Within ovens as well as the workshops are made and hosted on a farm at the edge of Boulder. The whole atmosphere really clicked with us and we knew pretty quick that this was what we were supposed to do. The last 2 years have been a rebuilding process and at the same time a period of searching, learning and asking questions. We are excited to announce that we have come to a decision to jump on board the local food movement with the purchase of a portable wood fired oven. We feel this business will fit our family very well with the ability to have our children involved, work when and where we want, be creative with food, use local and farm fresh ingredients and interact with people by serving fresh healthy pizzas and more. Our focus will start small by attending farmers markets, music and art festivals, sport and special events. We will also be doing private catering and networking with local restaurants. Even though we are excited about the future of our wood fired oven business, our enthusiasm doesn't stop there. We are even more excited about the opportunity to continue our search for a farm / ranch property. The summer spent interning on a sustainable farm left a lasting impression and desire to continue down the road of raising animals for delicious meats, providing fresh milk and cheese and harvesting fruits and vegetables from our own land. We look forward to combining our love for animals, healthy food and our Catholic faith to create a sustainable farm where we can share all of this with all of you and many others. Thanks for your support in this new endeavor and we look forward to firing our oven at an event near you! Blessings, Sharbel and Rebecca Dussault For the Dussault's life has taken on new life, challenges and adventures. It has been awhile since we've posted an update so here we go...read on for the details.
Farming in the Gunnison Valley at Parker Pastures Grass fed meat, dairy and eggs! The big change in our lives is that the Dussault-skis have become the Dussault-farmers. Around mid May we were blessed with an invitation to be summer interns at a local sustainable farm. This farm happens to be right on the edge of Gunnison which makes it easy for us to commute back and forth a couple times daily. The farm is managed by a Bill and Kelli Parker and their three children. We have known Bill and Kelli for many years as we all grew up together here in Gunnison. Our children have become best of friends with the Parker's three children who are very close in age to our boys. It is great to see the children flee to the fields, barns and different club houses they have created. As soon as their feet hit the ground we usually don't see them until it is time to go. However, they do help with some of the basic chores and pal around with us when we need an extra hand. They don't even know that they're doing chores because they just think they are playing with the animals. For us adults, we have been learning so much about raising animals and the art of holistic land management. Over the summer we've been around for the birth of everything from kittens, pigs, sheep, goats and cows. We daily experience the cycles of life and death. Farmer BIll as we call him said it best the other day when a cow got sick, "You know what they say. If you're gonna have livestock, you're gonna have dead stock." All in all, the farm is filled with healthy and happy animals. Our daily tasks have included bottling milk, separating cream, moving sheep, pigs, cows and chickens to fresh and vibrant pasture to forage around on. We move 6 chicken tractors daily. The chicken tractor is a 10x12 pen that house about 50 chickens each. They have no bottom to the pen so the chickens have access to fresh grass, dirt and all the other organisms for them to forage on. In addition to moving the chickens twice a day we also supplement their diets with some grain and make sure they have fresh water. There is also 8 dogs that help protect the livestock. In the evenings of each day we collect 10-12 dozen of fresh free range eggs. The end product is something we believe in and have come to appreciate much more than in the past. It's kind of like going back in time when it was common place to be eating your local food that you either raised yourself or visited your nearest farmer to buy your food. There's just nothing quite like carving into a 6lb. chicken that you had raised on pasture from just hatched to just cooked. Yummy! Not only is the food we're helping to raise delicious, it is far superior in health benefits than what you can buy at the large industrialized super markets. We call it nutrient dense food and consider it beyond organic. I would encourage everyone to do a little research and find out if you have any local farms around your area and see what they have to offer. Many of the small farms are excited to share what they are doing and provide a farm tour. Then if you want to take the next step start buying some of your food local and support your local farmers, bakers, orchards, etc... Dussault Turns Focus to Family and Farm
Posted on www.fasterskier.com By Maddy Wendt · June 29th, 2010 Following her Olympic debut in Turin, Italy in 2006, Rebecca Dussault planned to take a break, to include the birth of her second child, before returning to racing. The short break lasted a year and a half longer than planned when her husband Sharbel contracted a serious auto-immune disease. The long delay meant that her points coming into the 2010 season were far less than optimal and despite numerous fantastic results and a SuperTour championship, she didn’t gather quite enough points due to her limited presence at other SuperTour races. “What athlete doesn’t have Olympic dreams? That’s the pinnacle of our sport,” said Dussault in an interview with FasterSkier, addressing the timing of her full return to racing in 2010, just in time for the Vancouver Olympics. By points rankings, Dussault was the fastest American woman not to go to the Olympics this year, but her Olympic aspirations are certainly not at an end: “I hope to return. I love skiing. It’s something that I enjoy doing and it is a career that has benefited me and my family in many ways.” For the moment, however, Dussault’s skiing career is taking a backseat to her family and to another passion. The Dussaults (Rebecca, Sharbel, two sons ages eight and three, and a third child due in January) have taken an internship position at an organic farm in Colorado. Working on the farm takes the same hard work, motivation, and dedication that ski training does, but instead of biking, running, and rollerskiing, Dussault is currently spending her days running after pigs, milking cows and goats, collecting eggs, raising meat birds and building sheep fence. “I’m getting more strength training than ever,” she laughs, “and the animals never take an off-day like we do in skiing. You can’t tell a cow ‘I’ll milk you tomorrow.’ Getting involved in sustainable organic farming movement is something that the Dussaults have been interested in for several years. Speaking to me from the milking parlor and wearing overalls and muck boots, Dussault explained the new Beyond Organic movement which is really a return to the past, differentiated from the industrial organic movement which has essentially sold out for profit and big corporations. The Beyond Organic farmer is interested in sustaining local community, building the soil, producing healthy and naturally-raised animals, and ultimately providing their children and grandchildren with better soil and resources than they themselves have now. Dussault loves the organic farming lifestyle because in addition to being good for both body and earth, it keeps the family together, the father at home, and the children involved. The family hopes to someday have a farm of their own. As Dussault astutely put it, “It was like, why not get involved? It’s not rocket science. It just takes passion. We need more ‘new farmers’ on the land!” |
Archives
August 2016
Categories |