Living off the land: Meet the owners of Sylvatica Forest Farm

Mar. 4—Sierra Marling

Out in the woods, on a farm with a traditional, hand-built log cabin, a woman from Portugal and a man from Indiana have come together to live simply and to make land-based living available for others.

Joana Amorim and Michael Beck met while he hitchhiked through Europe. He said that they fell in love after he somehow ended up in her village.

"And we fell in love," Beck said, adding that it took a little while to find and settle into their Kentucky home. "The rest is history...We love it here."

When they moved to Kentucky, Beck said that they built their new home without power tools, instead opting for simpler equipment, like a two-person hand saw. Even the wood they used was ethically researched and sourced for overall improvement of the land.

"We selected trees that were growing too close together, had two leading trunks or were competing for nutrients with other large, slow growing or uncommon species. By thinning the rapid growing tulip poplars, we were able to open up canopy space for larger and slower growing trees like oaks, hickories and sugar maples," the couple stated on their website.

From their home — dubbed Sylvatica Forest Farm — Amorim runs a Community Supported Agriculture venture — a model commonly used by vegetable farms where the customer buys a year's share of products at the beginning of the season and receives regular boxes of the harvest throughout the year — and also creates her own herbal product line, including moisturizers and tinctures.

She says that their efforts "engage people with the plant world" and "really deepen their relationship with the plants" by educating others on the benefits and uses of the plants, how to identify them, and how to grow them.

"It's actually a collaboration that I have with another local farmer," she explained. "Her name is Sarah Barney from Among the Oaks. She's located in the Red River Gorge, and she's an urban farmer who produces teas. We decided to collaborate and create this model of seasonal boxes — wellness boxes — that can either ship once every season, or if you're local, you can pick them up at our farms. We usually offer free interactive, pick up dates so people can get come to our farm, and get to know the farm. and ask and we do...like a little free workshop, kind of like a hands on demonstration. We might just go into the gardens and harvest some fresh herbs and talk about them."

Beck focuses on edible fruit and nut trees in his small-scale tree nursery, and also adds native species for regenerating and reforesting land.

"I'm doing like really intentional research on different varieties [of trees]...deep dives into the native tree and shrub species around here to try to mostly see what I would want to plant on my land, honestly. I figure that if I want to plant it here, then other people will want to plant it on their land. But you know, it's a big world, the tree world. I'm sort of doing everything from growing trees from seed to pairing rootstock with, essentially, cuttings of cultivars to get the fruit that I would like. Then I'm also sort of remarketing trees, buying and reselling them sometimes just to get a head start, because, you know, if it's grown from seed you're at least three years out on a tree. So, it takes a lot of patience for sure," said Beck.

Amorim and Beck, also tend the land and grow gourmet mushrooms that go out to restaurants.

"We've got relationships with several chefs in Berea and Lexington, and we market most of these sold fresh to chefs. What we don't use — or what we can't sell to chefs — we add value by drying —dehydrating — and then those go into her products," Beck explained.

Amorim added, "There's a lot that goes into it. and if you're not there to do the work, then things won't happen."

Though there can be a lot of work to be done, Amorim expressed that there is great reward that comes from working with her partner.

"We're very small-scale, a small business. We're a really good team, and we work well together. So that's amazing. We kind of complement each other's work. Like I I'm more of the creative side of things, and Michael is more like the, you know, the concrete aspects, like the financial side of things. So, we make a team together. It's pretty dreamy, I have to say," Amorim said.

Beck added, "What it really comes down to is that it's what makes us happy and what makes us feel the best. Our happiest days are when we're spending a couple hours in the garden, spending a couple hours doing our crafts, you know, working with the trees, or for Joana, it's working with the plants in there. And, you know, harvesting a bunch of fresh food and then eating good food, that's where we're at peace. and I think that's really what it comes down to."

The pair explained that, while the farm is a business for them, it is also a way of life that they hope to share with others.

"Our vision is for the whole farm to serve as an educational hub for the community. So, through our products, we attract people to come out and learn more about the native plants, the plant medicine that exists all around the Earth, and how to just really connect to that side of life that is more land-based."

"This lifestyle of working with plants, and trees, and the land has been lost, largely. So, this — what we're doing here at this farm — for us, it goes beyond beyond the business. It's more of a philosophical statement, and we want to share that. We feel it's a duty upon ourselves to share that knowledge with other people."

As part of that vision, the couple also organize and facilitate workshops on their farm, including an upcoming fruit tree grafting workshop on March 18 and an additional mushroom inoculation workshop on

April 1.

At the tree grafting workshop, participants will learn about grafting, a technique used to propagate all types of fruit and nut trees and various other plants. Attendees will be grafting rootstocks of apple, pear and cherry with proven cultivars that produce quality fruit. Attendance is $80 per person and includes one grafted tree.

For $80 per person, plus $40 per log, participants will learn about the culinary uses and medicinal properties of mushrooms while inoculating shiitake, lion's mane, oyster and wine cap stropharia mushrooms in their desired species of wood/substrate at the mushroom inoculation workshop.