HOW WE BECAME FARMERS
Both my husband Danny and I (Sandy) lived in or very near large cities all our lives, but I had always dreamed of living on a farm. ALWAYS. As a little girl, I used to insist that God must have meant for me to grow up on a farm, but there was a mix-up in Heaven😁. My soul never stopped aching for a quieter life surrounded by nature.
In 2004 Will's arrival completed our family. As he grew, we noticed that he struggled in ways most other kids don't have to. He was diagnosed with autism at three years, and we slowly learned to release the son we'd expected to raise and joyfully embrace the son we were actually blessed with. His autism does present challenges and sometimes even heartbreaks, but it has also transformed us for the better and infused our lives with a joyful innocence that we wouldn't trade for the world.
In around 2014, we joined the CSA of a farm near here in Alabama (they delivered their products weekly to pick-up locations around metro Atlanta). I struck up a friendship with the wife, and when she asked if we'd ever consider farmsitting I leapt at the opportunity. The couple began going away on trips lasting from 3-8 days several times a year, and going to the farm was something Will always looked forward to. When they asked us to watch the farm for a full three weeks, we were able to witness the undeniable proof of something I'd long been suspecting: The longer we stayed at their farm, the more calm, engaged, and able to communicate verbally Will became. It was clear that our chaotic, noisy Metro Atlanta life was making Will's autism worse. Up until that time, farming was just a far-off dream I'd casually mention from time to time, to which Danny would always reply, "Maybe one day...if we can ever afford to retire". As much as he loved the great outdoors, Danny had been content to live in Metro Atlanta and simply escaping to a farm ever so often. But when he witnessed the transformation Will went through during those longer farm-sitting stays, he, too, began imagining a permanent move.
In 2015, after a series of life-changing events turned our world upside down, we both became convinced that God was urging us to pull a "Reverse Beverly Hillbillies": The time had come to load up the truck and move away from the city and into hill country! (Well, foothill country, anyway😜). After a year of strategizing, planning, and boosting our home's value by making all the improvements we'd always wished we could afford, we put our Tucker, GA home on the market and temporarily moved into a travel trailer on our friends' farm. The plan was to purchase about ten acres of their land, on which we'd build a real home. It was a naive plan, and deep down I knew it. But the thought of joining in on their existing, successful, endeavor was so much less scary than the thought of starting over from scratch! And by purchasing land from them, I had high hopes of finding a way to help with the farming venture, myself, while also keeping an eye on Will. Picking up and moving like that involved a HUGE leap of faith, and I don't think we ever would've found the courage if not for the "safety net" our friends were providing.
We sold our home in GA on Danny's birthday in July of 2016. Just a few days later, our friends called us in for an "urgent meeting". They then informed us that they were no longer comfortable with selling us the plot of land they'd offered, and that after much deliberation they'd also decided that our financial arrangement needed to change. See, we'd been guaranteed a part time salary for Danny which would barely cover our living expenses, plus the opportunity to grow food on our land and sell it through them for extra income. Then, if we were all in agreement after a few years of farming together, we'd discuss buying into their business in order to become true partners. (They had also shown us their financial records to prove it was something they could afford long before we made the move.) But in the meeting that day, they said they couldn't afford to pay Danny a salary, after all. Their new plan was to give him a small portion of the proceeds of any crop he grew for them (on their land), and still let us grow food on our own land and sell it through them. When we asked why on EARTH they didn't say anything before we moved down--or at the very least before our house had sold--they defensively replied that it just "all became real" once the house sold, and suddenly they realized that the deal they made wasn't fair to them at all.😒
We had actually witnessed a drastic change in the wife's behavior since moving there, and had frequently laid awake at night discussing the pros and cons of finding our own place rather than purchasing land from them. So their decision not to sell to us almost came as a relief. But we were utterly blindsided by the "no salary" thing. It's one thing to back out of the deal when we still had the option of going back home. But to wait until we were utterly dependent on them was shockingly awful. It's possible that they would've "seen the light" if we argued our case, pointing out that no one could live on what they were proposing (let alone a family of three). But we didn't even try. Instead, we informed them that we'd keep helping them out in exchange for continuing to live there until we found somewhere to go, but then we'd be done for good. And just like that, the safety net was gone and we were in a freefall.
Everyone likes to say "things happen for a reason", but we're living proof that it's true. If those people hadn't deceived us, we wouldn't have been brave enough to chase our dream. And even though it felt like all the air had been sucked out of our lungs at the time, in under two months we were standing on a 28+ acres of property that seemed to have been designed by our collective wish lists! It has the feel of mountains for me, a 2 acre pond big enough for a rowboat and full of fish for Danny, and trees and open spaces all around us for Will. We chose the name Will's Eden because it honors the reason we came here in the first place, and reflects exactly how all three of us feel about this special piece of land.
We ended up deciding to do exactly what we'd planned: Have a farm that delivers to families in GA. Only, this time we were on our own and starting from scratch. I took inspiration from their business model but changed the parts I never liked, adding my own spin on it and calling it an "online market". Our customer base grew over several years, and we were finally poised to start having a little bit of breathing room at the end of the month, when the combination of insanely high gas prices and a 40-60% increase on feed/supplies nearly broke us. We took a hard look at our budget and found that "gas for deliveries" was the only cost that we could feasibly cut out in order to keep our heads above water, but only if we found another way to sell what we produced! We tried a few different farmers markets before landing on one that felt like home: Dunwoody's DHA Farmers Market, which meets in Brook Run Park every Saturday. Once we had our feet under us there, we "closed the doors" on our online market.
Even though we're approaching our 9th year here (in 2025), we're still doing a lot of learning and growing. One thing we're certain of is that anything we do should be as close to nature's way as possible; so we plant using organic, sustainable, nature-friendly practices. We've also applied those same principles to how we raise our poultry. We want the food we sell to be healthier than anything you can find in a store, because what can be found in stores these days is frankly shameful!
Raising, growing, and making things is only part of our vision for Will's Eden. One day we hope to create a place of nature-immersion and spiritual/physical respite for others, likely in the form of a sort of “camping bed and breakfast” where we even provide meals made with the food we grow. I’ve also received training in foraging and folk herbalism at a school run by an expert in the field, and I’d like to take what I’ve learned and incorporate it into some sort of program for visitors here. But it’d be especially amazing if we could also give families affected by autism and other developmental differences a chance to come here, far away from the overstimulating city environment, and just be completely free to be themselves——a place where parents don't have to spend hours pre-planning in an attempt to avoid socially awkward situations. Because....hey, we get it. We've been there. A LOT. We also know that there is nothing more amazing than seeing our children be welcomed and embraced for who they are inside, rather than being judged for how their bodies happen to behave. It's hard for families affected by autism (and other developmental differences) to find a "safe place" to relax outside of the home. We'd just really love to be that place for others someday.
We welcome anyone who wants to visit and see for themselves that the feathered ladies who produce our eggs and meat are truly happy and healthy, and that our gardens are growing without the use of any chemicals. (Just give us a little notice, okay? Farm life is BUSY, and housework often falls to the bottom of the to-do list. 😬 Just keeping it real. 😂)
(Will presented this sign to us about six months after we moved here. Because autism creates communication barriers for him, the fact that he chose to send us this little message means everything!)