Douglas Stevenson, The Farm Community Spokesperson and Organic Gardener
Name: Douglas Stevenson
Occupation: Retreat and conference coordinator on sustainability and organic gardening; Writer/Author; Multimedia creator, including website design and video production
Place of Residence: The Farm Community, Summertown, Tennessee
Background and Personal History: Douglas is a founding member of The Farm, a 1,750-acre back-to-the-land intentional community located in southern middle Tennessee. Over the last 40+ years, The Farm Community has become world-renowned for its leadership promoting alternatives in green building, organic gardening, health and diet, energy and more.
Douglas functions as the community’s unofficial spokesperson and his interviews have appeared in countless newspaper and magazine articles, documentaries and TV news programs, such as CNN’s “Making It In America.” His two books, Out to Change the World and The Farm Then and Now, follow The Farm’s evolution into a contemporary Ecovillage and describe the systems which make it an ideal model for sustainable living.
Current Projects: Douglas is the owner and host of GreenLife Retreats, immersion programs and conferences focused on the many aspects of sustainability, living lightly on the earth and the advantages to be gained from a life in community.
For the last several years, Douglas has been demonstrating how a family can provide for all of its food needs on less than an acre. He grows beans and corn for protein, potatoes and squashes for carbohydrates, and cans, freezes and dehydrates a wide variety of vegetables and fruits. A small greenhouse produces fresh greens and lettuces through the winter.
Other Fun Facts: Douglas lived for 2 years in Guatemala and 7 months in Belize as a volunteer doing relief and development work. His technical skills have included installing satellite dishes in Nigeria and video projects in Belarus and in New Orleans, and a documentary about community rebuilding efforts after Hurricane Katrina.
More Places to Find Douglas on the Web:
