Furious Eating

Furious Eating in Paonia Colorado Vol 1: Summer

In Paonia, Colorado I spent my residence studying the unique food systems of this very small agrarian community on the western slope of the Rockies. This involved site visits and interviewing farmers focused on sustainability from the North Fork Valley Organic Growers Association including Desert Weyr Farm, Western Culture Goat Farm and Creamery and most intimately working on Small Potatoes Farm. I learned much from Small Potatoes Farm which has a unique model of two separate operations working symbiotically harvesting year round using DIY hoop houses run by Scott and the other being a wood fired bakery at the farmhouse run by Monica being able to sell baked goods directly out of her house using the Cottage Food Law which she helped write for Colorado. I got to work with Scott helping with transplanting and harvesting while getting to learn about his drought resistant farming techniques and well with Monica in the bakery, seeing first hand the benefits of knowledge sharing amongst farmers. 

In summer 2023 I returned to Elsewhere Studios to continue my research and field work, this time closely with the organization UpRoot Colorado, gleaning at wide breath of local farms and redistributing food that would go to waste to communities in need, learning more about the larger distribution, supply chain, and why farms often have surplus product that can to be sold on the traditional market. My work there culminated in a self-published guide, Furious Eating. The purpose of this is as a resource for future Elsewhere Studios artists in residence for sourcing local and sustainable food during their residency and getting involved in the agricultural farming community.