EARTH ABIDES LAND TRUST ASSOCIATION

The Catholic Worker Farm in Sheep Ranch, CA is one of the many cells of the Catholic Worker Movement. The Movement was begun in New York in 1933 by Peter Maurin and Dorothy Day. It is based on direct service to the poor, voluntary poverty, communal living and nonviolent resistance to war and injustice, with a focus on the connectedness of people with their environment. The Catholic Worker is one of the earliest back-to-the-land movements in the U.S. There are many Catholic Worker houses and a few farms in different places, but there are no organizational ties to the Roman Catholic hierarchy and Catholic Worker communities do not depend on it for support. Each CW community is run solely by the people who comprise it. In most cases, the people need not be Roman Catholic.

The farm is situated on 80 acres in the Ponderosa Pine belt of the western slope of the Sierra Nevada at about 3,300 feet elevation. The weather is generally mild but can be somewhat unpredictable. It usually, but not always, snows every winter. One winter we had 3 feet of snow in one fall, but it melted in 2 weeks. In winter, the roads are muddy and slick. In summer, they are dry and dusty. Temperatures vary from low teens at night in the winter to perhaps above 100 F. at day in the summer, but the ground never completely freezes in the winter and nights tend to be below 70F. in the summer. The weather is generally mild with a week or two of extremes when one least expects it.

This farm community grew out of the Catholic Worker community at Martin De Porres House of Hospitality in San Francisco, CA. The farm was originally settled by Chris and Joan Montesano, Chuck and Beth Dondlinger-Whatford, Ron and Rosemary Slatinsky and Pat Carroll, in 1976. Of the original settlers, Chris and Joan Montesano remain.

Members of the farm community through the years have been active in different areas of involvement with the larger community. Farm members have been active with women's crisis line, caring for foster children, development of liturgy in local parishes, resistance to nuclear power and weapons testing, drug counseling, hospitality to the homeless and the mentally ill as well as various successes and failures at farming.

In 1980, the farm initiated selling handmade beeswax candles in Bay Area churches. This evolved into a candle cottage industry. Over the years this helped support our ministries. In the summer of 2008 we discontinued making and shipping the candles. We thank all those who supported us by buying candles and incourage them to make donations to help support our ministries.

In order to promote proper stewardship of the land, the property known as the Catholic Worker Farm has been placed in a land trust known as Earth Abides Land Trust. Earth Abides is administered by trustees who are community members, and by former community members who wish to be members of the trust. All trust decisions are made by consensus. One becomes a community member by a gradual process of mutual discernment. The property in the trust may not be sold. The by-laws of Earth Abides also prohibit firearms on the property.

From 1987 to 2006 we ran a series of summer camps and occasional day outings for developmentally disabled adults, who sought an experience of an integrated rural life. The program was small and personal, with only five or six guests in each session. We offered animal care, cooking experiences, crafts, fishing, swimming, boating, and sing-alongs. (We also made clear the realities of seclusion, dirt roads, forests, brown summer meadows, the tranquillity of the pond, no TV, insects and poison oak.)

In March of 2001, after many years of construction,we opened Catherine's House. We have been offering retreats 2 times a month. The farm has since its beginning, given many people a sense of centering and respite and we wish with your and God's help to continue making such an environment available to others, especially the disenfranchised and disadvantaged. In the Catholic Worker tradition, we are committed to non-violence and simple living as radical symbols of justice. We attempt to cooperate with the portion of earth we live on to garner our food and fuel. We mostly burn wood for heat and pump our water with solar energy. Some of our buildings use passive solar energy for heating and cooling.

At present, there are four people living on the farm: Joan Montesano, Chris Montesano, Darrall Bradley (Brad), and Marilyn Richter who joined us in September of 2006. Brad and Marilyn were married January 13th, 2007!!!

While some members are involved with social action and service groups outside the community, we are 45 minutes from the nearest large town and trips out have to be limited due to low finances and vehicle maintenance. We are developing a house church and every birthday and feast day is an occasion for a big party. Some people have felt that our social life here is quite limited or even non-existent, at least compared to what we've become accustomed to in the U.S. Many potential community members have left solely because of this.

Most anyone coming here, even for a short visit will have to reassess her or his water needs-particularly in terms of hot water and perhaps laundry. Our fresh water supply is limited---here and the world over. Here we feel it immediately. We ask you, as brother or sister to all our relations on this fragile earth, to cherish and conserve our limited resources.

Sincerely,

The Farm Folks