About Our Community Farm
Our Community Farm (OCF) is a Christian Work Recovery Community:
Christian: OCF sees Christ as both the force and guiding principle by which we operate. As we seek healing and restoration for those whose lives have become unmanageable, we do so by the spirit and guiding principles of Christ and his teaching; seeking restitution for not only body and mind but also spirit. All are welcome in the program regardless of religious convictions.
Work: We seek as far as possible to be a community which works to supply our own needs on the farm. We do this not simply for financial reasons but also for reasons of fellowship, skills & sustainability training, personal growth, character development, and camaraderie.
Recovery: OCF is a place where those dealing with addictions of many kinds can be challenged and encouraged within a safe, drug and alcohol free environment. We work toward this end through morning worship, regular 12 step meetings, and networking with others in recovery.
Community: All who participate in the program live in one large house and everyone shares daily work and common meals and meets regularly for honesty meetings and family business meetings. The household is a community and each person is expected to fully participate in the community’s daily life.
Specifically, life at Our Community Farm is structured through a 9-month program, “New Creation through Cultivation”. This program partners three seasons (Spring: Rebirth, Summer: Growth, Fall: Fruitfulness) with the Twelve Steps (from Alcoholics Anonymous) and the Beatitudes (from Jesus) for a curriculum of growth and recovery.
Our Community Farm is led by Ken Wettig (Director) and his wife Emily, and Tripp & Karen Ennis, who serve as house leaders. In March 2012, when the first seasonally-based curriculum begins, eight adults (minimum age 18) will join the Wettigs and Ennises in living in the shared household at the farm. These eight adults will include four individuals of a solid Christian commitment who are seeking personal recovery and four individuals struggling with alcohol and drug addictions who are seeking substance abuse recovery. These individuals will be partnered on their recovery journey, providing mutual support and accountability. The four adults seeking personal recovery will be paying their own living costs or fundraising for them ($500/month each), and the four adults seeking substance abuse recovery will have their living costs covered through this grant and additional partnerships. The individuals who are most in need of substance abuse recovery often have no recourse to funds and are unable to fin
ance a full recovery program otherwise. Our Community Farm seeks to offer a unique alternative in the Shenandoah Valley which is able to welcome people into recovery regardless of financial position.
Funding for the program, in addition to four individuals paying their expenses (and four additional individuals receiving sponsorships), comes through selling farm produce and products at the Harrisonburg Farmers Market and through Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) shares, income from the works program, and donations and partnerships.
Our Community Farm is located in New Market, Virginia on a 15-acre property with estate, once home to the Crossing Creeks residential program–purchased in 2009 through the extraordinary generosity of local businessmen. This lush and verdant site is ideal for developing sustainable agriculture projects.