Dugnad

Working Together

on June 2, 2018March 18, 2019 By Dugnad Farm

A love for nature, art, and design brought Hannah and Steven together in 2011 during their time attending the Maine College of Art in Portland. They share common interests in design, value in the handmade and similar vision of a more regenerative future.

Working together on the design and build of a tricycle powered, mobile farmstand called, the Grow Cart, for Portland non-profit, Cultivating Community in 2013. Shortly after the completion of the project, their son, Finn, was born a few months later.

They started to raise Finn in an apartment in the city, but knew they wanted Finn to live a life connected to food, the land, and his community and Hannah and Steven both desired to create something for him and for future generations.

They were soon given a few acres on Hannah’s family property to build a house and start a homestead. They bought a sawmill and have been building since.

Inspired by the Norwegian tradition of a dugnad where members of the community come together to gather, share and create for the good of the community. The creative team started Dugnad Farm to share their love of coming together to create and live in a more regenerative way.

Hannah and Steven are experienced in helping visually grow local businesses, interacting with community in an artful way, and designing a resilient way of living.

Hannah has worked on creative projects with local businesses including logo design, sign making, book compiling and design, illustration, and design/build projects.

Steven is a skilled craftsman with time managing a custom cabinet shop. He makes custom furniture and custom home projects for members of the Waldo County area.

Connecting to Our Food

on May 6, 2018March 19, 2019 By Dugnad Farm

Having a deep connection to the food we eat and to the land where we live is a goal for our project. Growing food while giving back and building the soil with leaves, seaweed, and compost is a principal component of reaching this goal. Over the past 5 years we’ve planted 25 varieties of fruit and nut bearing shrubs and trees, while raising chickens who love to help cultivate the land. We have 3 main crop gardens for annual vegetables, which usually consists of storage root vegetables and winter squashes. As we become more involved in the whole process of saving seeds, transplanting seedlings, weeding and watering, and observing the natural patterns, we have become closely connected to our food and where we live. The soil is our partner and we have to develop a loving relationship with it if we are going to have any chance at all of creating abundance and meaningful connection to the planet.

PHOTOGRAPHY: Jess Morales

Building a Regenerative Future

on November 21, 2017March 19, 2019 By Dugnad Farm

Self Sufficiency, Hands on all parts of the system, woodwork. Appreciation for all parts of the process.

Landscape design using permaculture ideology to set up earthworks to create a landscape that can flourish and thrive far beyond the time when we are here. Adding a plant community of perennial flowers, herbs, shrubs, and trees that work together and support each other.

Being resourceful is a major aspect of this project. Using materials that have been discarded to build buildings, build soil, and feed animals has been used across the property.

Seaweed, Woodchips, leaves, logs, compost, cardboard, have been used for building soil. Logs from other properties, driftwood (which includes round wood and pressure treated lumber) has been collected for building fences and structures. Discarded building materials such as windows, doors, insulation, bricks. Using what has been discarded or seen as waste while also living in a way that generates less waste. Local materials from the site like timbers and rocks are used in building.

See the possibilities in waste and materials that we are surrounded by. Be resourceful with what’s available. We are surrounded by an abundant amount of resources. Sometimes we just have to look outside of our normal mindset to see what’s available.

Artful Abundant Living

Creating a design that is beautiful and harmonious where the man made structures complement and support the life around them. Providing habitat for the other creatures and plants that live alongside us. Considering our interconnectedness as a crucial part of the design. Giving back to the soil.

Stay focused on your dream, trust that it will take form, and it will! These beautiful photos were taken by the talented, Dell Hambleton!

Together Growing a Regenerative Future

on April 21, 2017March 16, 2019 By Dugnad Farm

Imagine a landscape where plants, animals, and people can all thrive. In an abundant food forest where the man made structures are made from the local resources from the site and visually blend into the landscape. Where people can live more harmoniously alongside the natural world that provides for us, and we provide for it. A created place of abundance, where set up systems enhance the diversity, biodynamics, and fertility of the environment and create a place that will thrive for generations.

This is Dugnad Farm’s dream.

A Norweigan tradition, in preparation for the next season, a dugnad takes place. The community gathers to tidy, clean, and fix a space so that it will continue providing an optimal situation for the community as a whole. In preparation for the next epoch in history we suggest a dugnad. The spirit of will to work together is the mind set that will carry us forward. By combining the labor and ideas of many, we can produce something that will support the lives of many. The systems are made possible because of the combined efforts of many people’s desire to make them work; to create a landscape that will continue to grow and provide for us even after we have stopped working the land. Setting up for an increasing yield while decreasing work, we design a landscape and the plant community to be the volunteers in this ongoing dugnad that will support our natural community of people, animals, and plants.

Applying the help of the community, to support the health of the community in the long-term is the backbone of our project. The main aspects include designing a landscape that collects and stores water, increasing plant diversity, introducing animals into the landscape, managing a woodlot, and reviving traditional building techniques. The focus of the project is to build an abundant and resilient local community while inspiring new generations to connect with nature, the land, and their hands. This site is a place to explore these ideas and projects. What is a better way to spend community time than to create something that will last for many generations?