The Orbis

Issue date: 11/7/07 Section: News/Features

Many of The Farm's central buildings use solar power.

The Farm is not really a farm, nor has it been for some time. The 3-square-mile community, located 60 miles south of Nashville in Summertown, Tenn., is home to a small community of progressive idealists and free thinkers who seek "a better life" for themselves and their children. While it boasted over 1,500 residents in its heyday, the settlement's population has now dwindled to just around 170, and for the most part, the land looks empty. The fields around the periphery of the land remain fallow, and the apple orchards are diseased. While this description could be read as a metaphor for decay, it would be more accurate to note that the placid looking landscape conceals some radical intellectual and political ferment.

I had an opportunity to visit this intriguing site on an American Studies field trip along with about 50 Vanderbilt students and faculty members. Our tour group was treated to an account of the community's history along with a vegan lunch and a tour of the site. Many from the group visited the soy dairy to see exactly how soy beans become ice cream. I elected to take a workshop on mushroom growing techniques and witnessed an entertaining presentation that turned into a diatribe about the Peak Oil crisis - but more about that later.

The Farm was originally a commune settled in 1971 on the ideals of peace, equality, and respect for the Earth. Residents say they sought a "life of sanity" for their children in the wake of the tumultuous 1960s. Founder Stephen Gaskins taught the infamous Sunday Night Classes in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco before he took the helm of a school bus caravan, traveling the country on a lecture tour. He and his followers ultimately settled on the cheap land in Summertwon for an "intentional living" experiment. It was famous for the radical new-age religion and influx of West-Coast hippies it brought to the rural South.

Ina Mae Gaskin was another founding member who helped popularize a return to more natural birth with her book "Spiritual Midwifery." She continues to hold seminars and teach lectures on the subject, and her book, printed by The Farm's Village Press, remains their No. 1 seller. The Farm is also home to a birthing cabin for visitors, who sometimes stay for months at a time prior to giving birth in what is considered to be a natural and stress-free environment.

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