Amyrose Foll
Virginia Free Farm
Virginia Farm Consultants, Va. Dept. of Agriculture Equitable Food Oriented Distribution Taskforce, Women's Earth Alliance
Amyrose Foll, the founder of Virginia Free Farm, is a fervent advocate for food sovereignty, earth care, people care, and resource sharing. She works to live out the values of collectivism and community to ensure those around her can eat. She is a US Army veteran and a former nurse who continues to protect and care for others through the farm.
Amyrose is speaking in Texas, Pennsylvania, Kansas and is a contributor to Mother Earth News Fair Online.Workshops
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Traditional Indigenous Medicine for a Modern Life
Explore easy ways to integrate plant-based health into your busy life. Amyrose Foll (Abenaki/Penobscot) will discuss with you common remedies traditional to the Native People's North America. Follow along and explore simple ways to easily identify, sustainably harvest, and accurately utilize mother nature's medicine cabinet.
Natural Health Hands On
Speaking At:
Sugar Bush Site Assessment: Which trees to tap
Come along through the woods of Virginia as Amyrose Foll describes the decisions necessary when choosing the right area to tap trees. Identify which trees are suitable, what to wear while moving through your woodlot, the ideal canopy for successful sap flow and more.
Hands On Sustainable Agriculture
Speaking At:
Stewarding Endangered Corn Cultivars
Before heading to your favorite local spot to pick up the useful, but not very inspiring, F1 hybrid sweet corn cultivars, consider making some space for something a little more unexpected in this year’s garden. Believe it or not, what most people commonly group together as “Indian corn” is actually a wonderfully diverse range of cultivars, and all are edible. We’ve just developed an amnesia of sorts here in the United States. To be completely honest, all corn is, in fact, Indian corn. The simple beauty of corn transformed meals around the globe with the Columbian exchange. Sister corn deserves time in the spotlight for all her contributions to our nourishment. Learn how to plant several different varieties while avoiding pesky cross-pollination.
Note: An extra pass is required for this workshop. Space is limited, get your passes today!
If you’re interested in attending multiple workshops, check out the all-access pass, which gives you the option to attend any of the 21 workshops being offered for one price. If you order the all-access ticket, we will send you an email around May 1 with instructions on how to select the specific workshops you would like to attend.
Hands On
Speaking At:
Kansas, Sunday 2:00-3:00 p.m.
Seeds for Preservation and Perseverance: Native American foodways
Food sovereignty is the right to choose what food to eat, where it comes from, and how it is grown. In the past five centuries, native foodways were used as control, a weapon to wage war on our population, and more recently as a blight on our health. By taking control of our seed, in some cases bringing varieties back from the brink of extinction, and growing our own fresh fruits and vegetables, we are not only preserving our cultural heritage and revitalizing our foodways, but becoming a testament to the resilience of our ancestor's legacy of farming. Native people have faced disassociation with their traditional foods by ways of environmental degradation, legislation preventing traditional harvesting, relocation to areas not familiar and different from traditional homelands, and climate change. Gardening can be a great way to connect back to your culture no matter where you come from or your walk of life.
Nature and Community Hands On
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Process Sap into Syrup
Introduction to Maple Syrup Production
Indigenous Medicine: Violets for food and health
Walk with Amyrose Foll as she introduces you to our plant sister: violet. She gives us both food and medicine. She is an extremely versatile plant, prolific producer, and hardy perennial in North America. Violet is easy to identify and is a great edible to start your journey in foraging and gathering.
Natural Health Hands On
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Indigenous Medicine: Turkey tail mushrooms
Walk with Amyrose Foll as she introduces you to an easy to identify fungus: the turkey tail. It is abundant in North America and widely available most of the year. It has been studied at length by modern medicine, and has proven effective for immune health. It's easy to identify and is a great medicinal to start your journey in foraging and gathering.
Natural Health Hands On
Speaking At:
How to Tap Trees for Sap
Let Amyrose Foll show you how easy it really is to collect sap for maple syrup production. With a few simple tools and pieces of equipment, get enough sap from your trees to make syrup for yourself or to sell. Make the process a family affair as Amyrose does when she teaches her pre-teen son how to tap trees himself.
Hands On Sustainable Agriculture
Speaking At: