Olympia, Washington Embraces Urban Farming and SelfSufficiency

"Our forbears worked hard this difficult land, and their reward was the freedom and independenceof self-sufficiency."

James H. Douglas

Olympia, Washington is the capital of the state of Washington, home to approximately 47,000residents. I mention those facts to point out that this is not some little village in remote Alaskawhere modern conveniences are few and far between. Believe it or not, we have electricity inOlympia. We have automobiles and microwaves and all that other new-fangled stuff that societybelieves to be necessary.

However, we also have a community that embraces the traditions of the past, and one such tradition,namely farming, is seeing a resurrection in this city by the bay.

Go for a drive or take a walk through the neighborhoods and you will see a resurgence of farming inour urban setting. No, I'm not talking about massive thousand acre farms, but rather small farmssqueezed onto city lots. It really is a remarkable thing to see in the year 2014.

I have lived in Olympia since 1990. I moved here when I was hired to teach at one of Olympia'sschools and here I have remained. There is a comfortable feeling about Olympia. Sure there areproblems in Olympia, as there are in all other cities, but there is also a feeling of community that Ibelieve is missing in many cities in the States today.

For whatever reason, Olympia has always been ahaven for those who believe in the environment andin protecting the earth. I'm not sure why that is. Didthe local government at one time make a consciousdecision to foster environmental innovation, or didlike-minded people follow some guiding light toOlympia and begin living a self-sufficient life wherethey were welcomed and supported by one and all?

Whatever the reason, this is a great destination foranyone wishing to try their hand at urban farming.