11 - Back Roads Farm
[00:00:00] Hey there. Welcome to the Farm Educators Roadmap. I'm Christa Hein, former nonprofit girl turned farm education entrepreneur. I've spent the last 30 years creating hands-on programs that connect people to the land animals, and the traditions that nourish our daily lives. If you're listening, you probably believe what I do - that farm education is needed now more than ever - not just on rural farms, but in suburbs, cities, and everywhere in-between. In this podcast, you'll hear real stories and practical advice from farm educators all across the country, people who are creating change through their programs in creative and inspiring ways.
Whether you're dreaming about starting your first program, are already knee deep in your own farm education work, or are just curious about how others are impacting their communities through farm education. You're in the right place. Let's [00:01:00] dig in.
Christa Hein : Welcome to the Farm Educators Roadmap. In today's episode, get ready to be inspired because I'm talking to Sandy Pond of Back Roads Farm in Cabot, Vermont. Sandy became a farmer at 65 and now cultivates a unique farm experience that blends organic agriculture, holistic wellness, and artistic expression.
A certified massage therapist, yoga instructor, sound healer, teacher and ordained minister, Sandy has created a farm that nurtures both the body and the spirit. We'll explore how she integrates her gardens, handcrafted herbal remedies, immersive farm stays, and community supported agriculture to create a truly healing space.
Whether you're a farm educator, a wellness practitioner, or simply curious about alternative farm models, Sandy's journey will [00:02:00] leave you inspired. Sandy, welcome!
Sandy Pond: Thank you. It's a blessing to be here.
Christa Hein: Well, so I want to start by asking - you started farming at age 65. What inspired you to take the leap into farming at that point in your life?
Sandy Pond: Rescuing my son, you know it's kind of like you end up where you end up and you do the best you can. And my son owned a farm here and decided it was not good for him and he needed to move. And I had just finished supporting my mom in Florida and had spent 15 years there after a divorce and had the opportunity to come back to Vermont, so I ended up here.
Christa Hein: Does your son still work with you there on the farm or did you take over completely?
Sandy Pond: I have taken over completely and he's out in California building hive cabins, hive design cabins.
Christa Hein: Wow. Are those the ones that you have on your farm?
Sandy Pond: Right.
Christa Hein: Nice. Awesome. So your website is called Sacred [00:03:00] Connections at Back Roads Farm and oh my gosh, it is so beautiful. I just lost myself in your website. Can you tell us your vision for the farm and how it's evolved over the last years?
Sandy Pond: I really didn't have a vision. I just came and really was open to listening to what the earth and my website is sacredconnections.earth and to connect with the Earth, what that meant was my intention.
And so looking around and seeing this barn space, that barn space and how the property is, and there already was a hoop house here, so I knew I would be at least growing vegetables. And so the land has really showed me what it wanted. And so I have different sacred geometry gardens here and there and what have you, you know.
So I think really listening to what the earth wants, and [00:04:00] not coming in with a preconceived idea that this is what I'm gonna do.
Christa Hein: Yeah, that's beautiful. I mean, it's really hard to start on a piece of land that you haven't spent time with and know where things just feel right, where the movement will happen.
Exactly. So I also saw on your website that you have traveled extensively throughout your life to Nepal, Bhutan, India, over 20 trips to Israel and the Middle East. How have those experiences influenced your approach to farming and wellness?
Sandy Pond: Well, I grew up actually in a tent on the end of Plum Island. My first 14 years of life, you know, was like every summer we camped, and every winter we went to Florida, 'cause that's where my grandparents were. So I've always kind of had this nomadic essence about me.
Christa Hein: Mm-hmm.
Sandy Pond: And my 30 year marriage, we moved over 70 times.
Christa Hein: Wow.
Sandy Pond: So I have [00:05:00] never planted anything and actually seen it grow, and so it just evolved in my intentions again. I didn't expect to do that. I just followed what was offered to me and took advantage of those opportunities.
You know, like the trip to India, I jumped on a Jeep and went across the whole of the top of India into Bhutan and did I think I was gonna do that? No, but, why not me? When I got asked, it was like, okay, I'll go with my tambourine, you know? And that's what happened. So I think, moving so much has given me the opportunity to let go of a lot, because it's hard to carry that baggage. And it's also made me realize that every opportunity that's in front of you is gonna be gone. Mm, because I might move. And so if I didn't take advantage of every [00:06:00] opportunity, then I would have regret. And so all of my moving caused me to become very present, very open and really expecting - having an energy of expectation of like - what's here? You know, like what's gonna happen? Who am I gonna meet? What's showing its face - and I think that's the energy that I came to this farm with. What's here? What's under this tree? Or you know, like there was - I heard in the woods -I wanna be in the garden. I wanna be in the garden!
And so I'm like looking around in the woods and here is this big huge three foot tall piece of quartz underneath some leaves and some sticks and you know, so I got my little fork lift thingy and I dragged it out and put it in the spiral circle and it was like, yeah, we have to follow. We have to listen. So I think the deep listening and the spirit of expectation [00:07:00] is really what I've learned in all of my travels. Oh, that's so, and that's what I brought here.
Christa Hein: Yeah. That's so beautiful. And especially when it comes to nature to farming to animals. We don't get to make those rules a lot of the time -we are responding. And so that flexibility that you've learned, that spontaneity, I'm sure has just been an amazing skill that you've been able to apply then to the farm. Oh, awesome.
So I saw that you, on your farm, you grow organic produce herbs, medicinal plants. What does that farming process look like and also how does organic certification play a role in those goals and mission?
Sandy Pond: I am certified organic through NOFA Vermont, which is a national organic certification program. And one, I'm learning a lot through them because of the expectations and the boundaries that they are giving. So, and they give a lot of classes [00:08:00] and teaching and grants. So it's a very supportive, wonderful organization. The organic part is really difficult and it's like a lot of people farm organically, but they're not certified.
Christa Hein: Mm. Mm-hmm.
Sandy Pond: I think just having an consciousness of doing it in a healthy, cohesive, natural way.
Christa Hein: Mm-hmm.
Sandy Pond: Instead of just throwing on fertilizers and Miracle Grow and, oh, look at my garden. It's beautiful. Well, why?
Christa Hein: Yeah. And with all the healing modalities that you practice, I'm sure that just that healing of the land, it just comes naturally out of you because you're that type of a healer.
Sandy Pond: Right. Right. I spent 20 years creating sacred space as an artist for a group of people that had a week-long or two-week long convention.
My [00:09:00] last job was at Colorado State University, created the evening program, the music stand covers, every room, you know, the dinner, the whole thing. And I spent tremendous amounts of energy creating sacred space so that this group felt contained and that no matter where they went on campus, it was the same energy, the same container.
And when I came to the farm, I realized that this is sacred space, that this Earth is sacred space and that now I get to create the sacred space here and I get to see what happens, you know, instead of putting it in a suitcase and carrying it home and leaving it in the suitcase until the next job, I get to look at it every day and its expansion and recognize primarily that the [00:10:00] minuteness of what I do is compounded by nature and you just do one little thing of love and compassion and connection and the earth meets you and so it's been really amazing to create all of these different sacred spaces here on the property and allow people to come to me, instead of me going to them.
And, and bringing a place where people can come and breathe. There's no sound, there's no, everyone gets out of their car and goes, where's the traffic? It's like there isn't, you know, and um, to sit under the Milky Way and, you know, so it's just amazing to bring life skills no matter who you are, no matter what your life skills are, to bring those gifts that you have within you to whatever situation that you're in.
And if you've never farmed before. It [00:11:00] doesn't matter, just showing up is what the earth wants. That's all we need to do is just show up and listen.
Christa Hein: Awesome. So your way of showing up on your farm, um we'll talk about your health and wellness offerings in just a minute. So with the things that you grow and offer on your farm.
You have a farm stand and a CSA offering a wide variety of things. I saw quiche, homemade crackers, how incredible - vinegars, herb butters, tinctures, scrubs, all kinds of fruits and veggies. How have you decided what you wanted to create and sell?
Sandy Pond: Well, it's, it's funny. I got invited to a Cabot Cheese and Culture Event because Cabot cheese is here in Cabot. And I said, well, I, what can I make? You know? It's like, okay, I need to make something. So I thought, okay, well I've wanted to make crackers for a long time, so this is a great opportunity. So I made [00:12:00] savory crackers with dock, which is like a weed, and mullien and mullien seeds.
And amranth seeds. And I just looked around and thought, okay, what can I put in the crackers? You know? And then, some biscotti, some sage biscotti, you know? So it was like, okay. And people really loved it. I had too many eggs, so what can I make with the eggs that the campers would like? And I had the sage and I had the thyme and, I made quiche and so it's not the intention of, oh I'm gonna make this, it's like showing up and allowing it to manifest
Christa Hein: uhhuh. Yeah. Following where you're led.
Sandy Pond: Right and just showing up and taking advantage of that opportunity.
Christa Hein: Mm-hmm.
Sandy Pond: You know, like I just did a flower show the Vermont. Flower show, this big exposition, they had 13,000 people. And it was the beginning of February and I thought, okay, how am I gonna get through February? And I'd shoveled enough and so I thought, okay, I'm gonna sign up for [00:13:00] this show. What can I make? And I thought, okay, so I'm making these little clay discs that you put on top of a ball jar and you put flowers in so they splay. Right. Perfect thing for a flower show. Yeah. And I sold out and it's like, oh my God, this is a whole new product. It wasn't like, I need a new product.
Christa Hein: Uhhuh. Yeah. But it organically came as that need - the need was there. So I wanna talk about the health and wellness offerings that you have at the farm because, oh, it just looks incredible. I told my husband, if you can't find me, look in Vermont, I will be at Sandy's place. So you offer massage, yoga, sauna treatments, and sound therapy. So how did those modalities connect with the land and the farm that you've created there?
Sandy Pond: When I got divorced, I had to become something and make money, so I became a massage therapist, so I brought that skill with me when I [00:14:00] came to the farm. I've been a yoga instructor for many years in Florida and brought that, and then I love to learn and so I've been learning about frequency and I do a micro point stimulation, which is like a hybrid of acupuncture only instead of a needle, it uses a high frequency of a DC current, which is what our body is.
Okay? So, increasing your energy to a healed place, and so that frequency. Every plant, like the Rose of Sharon is the highest frequency of any plant. And so there's a whole learning of of what plants are emitting and how when we ingest them, what they do. And with that, I began to learn about the singing bowls and the frequency and what that actually does.
And so to me, bringing the singing bowls out [00:15:00] into the Sacred Heart chakra garden and playing a concert with a person sitting there among the court's stones that I found on the property, and it's like - sitting in front of a fire, bringing in the elements of earth, the water, the air, the fire, you know, is just incredibly powerful.
And so it's kind of like, it's just evolved and I'm showing up with what I've gained and loved and, what I bring to the table so.
Christa Hein: So how do you think that a farm like yours that has these different aspects, it isn't just about what you're putting in your body, but it's also what you're surrounding yourself with visually, auditorily, physically, through the different healing modalities.
How do you think that can play a role in both personal wellness but also community wellness? What would be your hope for that?
Sandy Pond: I think as a body, as me as a body, I am a [00:16:00] community. Yeah, I am a community of spirit of body, of soul, of emotions of my physicality. I am more than just my face.
And so as I heal my community and bring all levels of my community to a healed state, you know, whether I'm physically strong and I can go cut down a tree, but I'm mentally gonna cut my arm off because I can't stay focused, what good is that? Right? And so I think as humans can recognize the many different facets of who we are, and then by bringing and putting your hands in clay and grounding to the earth in a tactile way, instead of just saying, oh, go stand on the ground and ground, you know, what does that mean?
Mm-hmm. How does that, what do you, how. What is that? You know, but sticking your hands in a bucket of sloppy [00:17:00] clay and doing a meditation and just really experiencing the connectivity of the ancient women millions of years ago in the millions of years in the future, and that you're in this moment in the clay is holding your thoughts, your energy, your voice, it's a real physical way. That to me is what is happening here on the farm, is that I'm connecting in all of these different ways. So when I go out into the community, I'm going out as a fuller, richer, more complete person.
Christa Hein: Mm-hmm.
Sandy Pond: And then I can connect and whatever I do in the community can be more vivacious.
Christa Hein: Mm-hmm.
Sandy Pond: Or passionate or the time I have available can be more productive. And then the community can come in and experience these things. So it's a real give and take.
Christa Hein: Mm-hmm, and what those changed people who have had time at your farm can [00:18:00] then go out and share. Yeah, it's really a spiral, how it can just spread. So you are also an educator in that you offer pottery classes and invite people to tour the farm. When people come there, what is one of the main things that you would want them to either learn or experience while they're there
Sandy Pond: Connecting to themselves.
Christa Hein : Hmm. Nice.
Sandy Pond: You know, that they might leave knowing. They can smell at a greater capacity, or that they can feel textures of plants or that they've been inspired by color in the flowers or that they've, their ears have attuned to the birds and the fireflies and you know, the crickets and that they've seen the Milky way that, they've expanded their horizon in such a way that you know, like what they see in the minute is also the vastness. That they've been like their zoot suit. You know [00:19:00] in massage, I do some things and I and they say, oh, just you can't leave me like this. You gotta do the other side because it's like, we are contained by fascia.
Right. We have a body of fascia, and when we can stretch that fascia and open up, then it feels like our body is bigger. It's breathing wider. It's expanded, right? And so that's what I hope can happen to people when they come here, is that they're bigger, they're, they're lighter, they're thinner - the boundary between me and you or me and the air is more translucent.
Christa Hein: Ah that's amazing. So you also invite people to camp on your farm in Yes. The cabins, the rustic cabin, even in tents and I saw that last year you were even voted as one of the best campgrounds in the whole state of Vermont. So why is sharing your land for extended stays important to you?
Sandy Pond: In my experience in moving and going to a new [00:20:00] place, there's layers. You go and you see the first layer and it's like, oh, whoa, whoa. And then when you can stay for a couple hours. Breathe a little bit deeper. If you can stay overnight and you wake up in the morning and it's like, Hmm, maybe this is really, you know, I really wanna be here.
Let's just hang out on the porch, you know? And I think when you have an opportunity to really let go and sink into who you are and where you are, you smell a little bit more, you experience it all a little bit deeper. And I think I've had so many campers come with a one-day reservation and end up staying for three, and you know, people tend to come for one day and they run around and they go see all the things. Right. But by the second or third day, it's like they don't need to go anywhere.
They just wanna be here [00:21:00] and take a walk, and I think slowing down our world. The pace of our world is so fast that it takes time to separate. It takes time to come and come within. It takes time to hear our own voice. It takes time to feel what's within and what's coming out, instead of just being pounded by all the things that we're supposed to be feeling. Mm-hmm. You know, and and time. It is a weird commodity now. You know, it's like time. It is just the moment that we have, it's that's all we have, but it's how we spend each one of those moments that matters.
Christa Hein: Absolutely. So for someone else who is hearing this or maybe already had these thoughts in their head and is just inspired by what you've created and you know, would like to do something in any of, you know, those types of [00:22:00] modalities of what you're working, what advice would you give them on how you've blent farming, art holistic healing.
What would somebody else want to know that you've learned?
Sandy Pond: Who you are is precious. Who you are is so unique that for you to recognize the potential within you by showing up and trusting that, just trusting your journey, trusting that whatever that journey looks like, what you've learned is the most precious commodity that you have.
Because you can read a book, you can learn things, but until you show up with your authenticity, that's your truth. And truth doesn't lie. Truth is connected to other truth. So whatever your truth is, [00:23:00] whatever the drama that you've been through in your life that has caused you to become the person you are in this moment is perfect.
And to trust that and to bring that and know that people who come are gonna be the people who need what you have to offer. And, and that to me is the bottom line. Because when we can trust who we are and just show up, we can let go of the fear. We can let go of the expectations that we put on ourselves.
We can let go of, you know, like just anything that's gonna hinder you. The fear, the unknown, whatever. Just show up. Just do it. Just open the door and see what happens and don't judge it.
Christa Hein: Oh, that's such fantastic advice. So what are your hopes and plans for sacred connections at Back Roads Farm.
Sandy Pond: Well, I've learned [00:24:00] that one, I can grow things and that two, I can have fun doing the different things that I'm doing, and that if I do it with joy and just follow the day, it, it can happen. Mm-hmm. Okay. So I have that confidence now that, okay, this is working, campers are coming, you know, this year I am kind of raising the bar a little bit and I'm gonna be weeding and adding more compost and, you know like upgrading all of the gardens, which I think will be really awesome. And I'm putting up a second hoop house and last year, a couple years ago I got some organic, Chicago figs. So I'm growing fig trees. Nice. And so my figs are like my thing right now. And um, so I'm excited to be adding those and, you know, come to find out you can [00:25:00] actually eat fig leaves their protein and they taste like coconut and it's like really amazing to find out what the earth is really offering, you know?
So yeah, I decided in camping I'm not gonna be allowing dogs.
Christa Hein: Mm-hmm.
Sandy Pond: That I decided that I really want children. And so I'm creating like a architect, archeological dig site with my pottery shards. And then I have like 10 different, um, metal implements from the farm. This was the original urban farm, and so I have a scavenger hunt of learning about all of these different elements that people made and used. And so people can sit on them, they can drag them, they're really heavy, you know? But to learn how all of these different implements actually worked with the soil.
And you know, so I'm kind of creating more children oriented, you know, programs. [00:26:00] And I also do herbs and things for parents and, you know. Yeah. So I'm upgrading my offerings on every level.
Christa Hein: So there are so many things that your farm offers. Where can listeners find you? Can you share your website again in case they wanna know more about visiting or supporting your farm or purchasing your products?
Sandy Pond: Sure. If you wanted to sign up for camping or anything, you can go to my website, to the camping page and that will bring you to Hip Camp Art and Health Chill camping. And that website is sacredconnections.earth, E-A-R-T-H. And so that will bring you right to where you need to go.
Christa Hein: Great! Sandy, your story is so inspiring, not only because you started farming after a lifetime of travel and adventures, but [00:27:00] because of the way that you've created a farm that's about so much more than just food. You've built a place where people can connect with the earth, heal, learn, and experience something truly unique.
For our listeners who are thinking about integrating wellness, education or artistic elements into their own farm journey, Sandy is living proof that it's possible to blend passion, purpose, and sustainability into a thriving farm experience. Be sure to check out Sacred Connections at Back Roads Farm.
And you can go there for fresh, organic food, a rejuvenating retreat, or a hands-on learning experience that will surely leave you connected and inspired. Thank you Sandy, so much for sharing your wisdom with all of us today. I could have listened to you for hours. You seem like just such an amazing mentor, to learn [00:28:00] about connecting with yourself, connecting with the earth. So I just thank you for sharing yourself with us today.
Sandy Pond: Thank you for the opportunity.
Christa Hein: Yes, absolutely. And to our listeners, if you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review, and we'll continue sharing stories from incredible farmers like Sandy.
Until next time, follow your passions and build the farm and life that you've dreamed of.
Christa Hein: Hey farm educators. I hope you enjoyed today's episode. Before you go, I've got something special for you. If you're ready to build a farm education program that people are excited to book, grab my free guide, Five Simple Steps to Growing an In-Demand Farm Education Program. It's packed with the same steps I used to grow my own farm education business.
It'll help you get noticed, attract clients, and make an impact. Just head over to www.farmeducatorsroadmap.com/fivesimplesteps to [00:29:00] get your free copy. It's quick, easy, and will make your programs irresistible. I can't wait to see what you create. Thanks for listening, and I'll catch you in the next episode.
