Round the bend Farm A CENTER FOR RESTORATIVE COMMUNITY 1

LETTER FROM THE It’s been an AMAZING monarch year for us here at RTB. We even offered CO-VISIONARIES a monarch class in July Desa & Nia Van Laarhoven and we’ve been hatching & Geoff Kinder some at RTB to increase s fall descends on Round the Bend Farm their odds. (RTB), vivid colors mark the passage of time. Autumn’s return grounds us amid Aeach day’s frenetic news cycles. It reminds us of the deeper cycle that connects us all to the earth and to each other. And yet one news story, from late September, has done the same. More than 7.5 million people came together in cities and villages across the planet to call in unison for an environmentally just and sustainable world.

This is a story that speaks to RTB’s mission and purpose and demonstrates the concept of Restorative Community that’s so central to our existence. You can see it in the image that juxtaposed September’s global crowds with the prior year’s solitary Swedish protester. You can hear it in the words spoken by an Indigenous Brazilian teen to 250,000 people lining the streets of New York City. Restorative Community is a force multiplier for our own personal commitments to justice, health and peace. It nurtures and supports us as individuals, unites and strengthens us as a movement and harnesses our differences in service of our common goals. In community, we respect, enjoy and learn from each other. As you page through this year’s annual report, we hope you experience the same! We’re This past year, we continued to expand our inspired and encouraged by what we’ve Restorative Community at RTB, more than accomplished this year and we’re honored to doubling the number of people who visited serve our community in ever new ways. As the farm. Among the activities you’ll read always, we are grateful for the support that about in this report are events like our first makes this possible. Garlic and Arts Festival, sustainable weddings, school field trips, workshops and more. One Thank you for being part of the RTB common thread that unites them all is the community. excitement we see in the eyes of visitors as they discover new paradigms of living and with love & positivity, working. RTB has a way of igniting their curiosity and engagement, creating new Desa Van Laarhoven & Geoff Kinder interests, passions, and possibilities. Co-Visionaries Benoit Laura 2 MISSION Azagoh-Kouadio Killingbeck Duncan Geoff We are a living laboratory that cultivates, educates, and & Ellen Kinder Nate Josh & Glenn Sander monica Bodhi Louro Shaun Van empowers people of all ages. We are devoted to the global Mcfarland Mejia Oliveira Laarhoven paradigm shift toward hope and abundance by valuing diversity, modeling nature and redefining wealth.

VALUING DIVERSITY With diversity comes strength, resilience and vitality. Whether this be within a human community or a farm ecosystem, it is diversity that is the key to success. RTB strives to reflect diversity in all that we undertake. Nancy MODELING NATURE Desa & Nia Dempze As we do our human work, we seek to Van Laarhoven model the inherent wisdom of natural systems. Nothing stands alone on this earth; each tree and each person is interconnected. When we model nature, regeneration springs forth. REDEFINING WEALTH Prosperity is not constrained to material Brie goods or dollars. We see wealth as equitable access to all that makes life meaningful. Thus RTB seeks to cultivate shared abundance and communal well- ROUND THE BEND TEAM being through our efforts. Our team is an embodiment Molly Adams, Seasonal Intern Glenn Oliveira, Board Member of our mission. In our words Erik Andrade, Youth Environmental D’Andre Quinerly, Seasonal Intern Justice Team (YEJT) Leader and actions, we strive to value Wanda Rodriguez Matos, YEJT Member diversity, model nature, and Benoit Azagoh-Kouadio, A special thanks redefine wealth. Much like Resident Foodie & Gardener Nate Sander, Education Manager a natural ecosystem, each Cristy DeFusco, Social Entrepreneur Antonette Santana, YEJT Member To Carissa Wills-DeMello, for her amazing support in writing this report and individual fits a unique niche Nancy Dempze, Board Member Tyler See, Resident Builder & Agripreneur interpreting Desa, Geoff & the RTB Team! on the farm, weaving an Tyresha Downs, YEJT Member Danielle Smith, Seasonal Intern To our incredible writing and editing crew, including Debbie Kinder, Marcy Wintrub interdependent web of roles Nilsa Garcia-Rey, Agripreneur Lucy Tabit, Agripreneur and Heather Zine. that allows RTB to function and (most of the time) thrive. It is our Beth Harrop, Bookkeeper Desa Van Laarhoven, Executive Director & Co-Visionary To our pro-bono photographer Erik Kowalski for capturing the essence of RTB in his hope that this model of work-life Laura Killingbeck, Food Systems Leader beautiful photographs. In addition to Erik, many photographers donated their work balance and interdependence Shaun Van Laarhoven, Geoff Kinder, Co-Visionary & Agripreneur for our use, including: Dennis Durette, Laura Killingbeck, Molly Burns Photography, will serve as a blueprint for our Executive Chef & Kitchen Director John Robson, Desa, Hannah Wylie, and Henry & Mac Photography. extended community, as we all Joshua Louro, RTB East Deconstruction Hannah Wylie, Ellen & Duncan McFarland, Board Member Marketing Manager & Agripreneur To all of you for making this beautiful annual report come alive! shift towards a global paradigm of hope and abundance. Rachel Medeiros, Social Entrepreneur Heather Zine, Executive Assistant 4 FOODS: We live in a vibrant TRANSPORTATION: 5 GATHERING FOR A PURPOSE agricultural region, where minimizing While food and folks alike our carbon footprint and stimulating must travel to each RTB event, (Sustainable Events & Weddings) our local economy is as simple as more conscious options exist. buying local. Any given event supports Guests are often bussed to and over a dozen local farms and food from the farm (or carpool), to Every event held at RTB is a mission-based As a non-profit organization, diversity of funding artisans, creating a unique culinary minimize the gathering; an opportunity for cooperative learning is important to stability, and the financial aspect of experience with a purpose. shared carbon and to showcase restorative living. It is our goal events is significant. However, the central reason footprint. to provide beautiful, memorable events that we are choosing to host weddings is that events And trucks align with our vision to the very core. We work (especially weddings) are an enormous and often Every libation invests are skipped hard at every event to ensure that at least 75% wasteful industry, but that doesn’t have to be so! DRINKS: altogether by of food, drink, and flowers are sourced within a in our community; from fair trade coffee and tea to whiskey and beer, utilizing solid 60-mile radius. In doing so, we are reducing our From single-use plastics to flowers traveling wood oak tables collective carbon footprint, contributing to the across the world, celebrations too often contribute drinks can be sourced from small local businesses. This also nearly and chairs that local economy, providing more nutritious food and to environmental degradation. But what if this are available meaningful settings, and creating a sustainable industry could be turned on its head? What eliminates the use of throw-away drink containers, since over 90% right on site. experience that guests can imitate. if weddings and other events fueled social, WASTE: Not a single economic, and environmental regeneration? of today’s “recyclables” still end event item has only one up incinerated or trashed. At RTB we are exploring what a sustainable use (except for toilet DECORATIONS: Adorning a space is an celebration looks like. We are striving to show that paper- but even that is opportunity to utilize the a better way exists, where aesthetics and function post consumer recycled). ENERGY: Music, resources we have and do not suffer in the exchange. With each event we Much of the local food is lights and electricity intimately involves hosts “Round the Bend’s enthusiasm and passion for host, the ripples are affecting guests and our local transported in reusable are completely in the process, rather than economy. bins. Plates, cutlery, hand powered by the sun, outsourcing creativity. sustainability, teaching and minimal impact towels and napkins are thanks to our rooftop From bar menus to guest washed and reused on-site, panel system. books, RTB works with to nature is contagious! After our fully local over and over. This keeps event hosts to identify chemical-laden disposables regenerative decoration and vegan wedding, we knew we’d take that out of our options. For instance, landfills, and TEAM: Events napkins can be made of passion home with us. We’ve been trying to buy encourages spread the wealth to our upcycled curtains, and thoughtful community, paying RTB only local, joined a CSA farm share program, organic flowers in vintage use of teammates additional wages mason jars make unique products. for their involvement, and and always think of how our actions will giving them the choice to DIY centerpieces. affect nature. Round the Bend will always participate. This fosters a CAPACITY: In order positive environment for all WATER: With every have a place in our hearts!” to create a remarkable and involved, making the event flush of a standard toilet, 2-7 intimate venue, we choose restorative to its core. gallons of clean water literally - DANIELLE & JOE SPOSATO to host a limited number of go right down the drain. weddings each year. We do Our composting toilets save this as a way of honoring hundreds of gallons of water our community, and our own per event, reallocating it all carrying capacity to host love- to cooking, animals, and filled and sustainable events. growing food.

While weddings are a focus of our creative energy, Our team learns from every event—from our RTB hosts a variety of events throughout the year. missteps as much as our triumphs. And our hosts, Other non-profits, businesses, and community too, share over and again that their lives and groups choose RTB, knowing that the threads choices have changed after their experience at of sustainability and ethics will run through their the farm. Creating a world that we can be proud entire gathering. of is accessible to each one of us, and we all have a role to play in restoring community. As we learn The simple act of coming together through these experiences, we joyfully share this blueprint with others: be they guests or other becomes an opportunity for inspiration venues. The opportunity to coach others is our and learning. mission in action. Partner Spotlight: 7 Paladar Catering “Getting married at Round the Bend was a beautiful & Meal Service experience from start to finish; we were working with Our partner in service and in celebration, Paladar Catering & Meal real people who were invested in our local community Service provides foods that are ethical and helped us have a wedding that felt true to the and sustainable. The alignment of our missions and visions makes owners Mary two of us. We strive to make sustainable choices in Ann and Chris uniquely suited as RTB’s sole wedding caterers. Each nourishing our daily lives which drew us to RTB initially­–but dish begins in the fields of trusted growers, whose practices build living we ended up coming away with the inspiration and soils that support healthy ecosystems. Paladar meals are value-driven: a simple knowledge to increase our efforts; so much so that a dinner speaks to a better way of living. Their commitment allows them to curate composter ended up on our wedding registry!” seasonal menus that tell a story and inspire connection. - TAYLOR & SHEAMUS MCNAMARA

are local food and beverage The following artisans and farms that we supported (directly and indirectly) by working with our caterers to provide libations and victuals for our “Our greatest joy is events. We believe that creating truly local events can stimulate consumer demand, cultivating a stronger SEEING OUR DOLLARS and healthier local community. GO DIRECTLY TOWARDS Acushnet Creamery Heart Beets Farm Alderbrook Farm Ivory Silo Farm BUSINESSES, FRIENDS & Arruda’s Dairy Narragansett Creamery Ashley’s Produce Nettie’s Bees FAMILIES WHOSE VALUES Bliss Farm Nilsa’s Herbal Teas Braley’s Orchard & Botanicals ALIGN AND HELP CREATE Brix Bounty Farm Old Stone Orchard A THRIVING SOUTH COAST Buzzards Bay Brewing Orr’s Farm Carolyn’s Sakonnet Vineyard Paradox Acres FOR ALL LIVING THINGS.” Coastal Roasters Peaceful Meadows Copicut Farms Peaceful Valley Farm -MARY ANN & CHRIS Cervelli Farm RI Mushroom Co. Dartmouth Orchards Robin Hollow Farm Dirty Water Distillery Roots Farm Empire Bottling Works Shy Brothers Farm Equal Exchange Sid Wainer & Son Eva’s Garden Simpson Spring Farm & Coast Market Skinny Dip Farm Flying Carrot Farm Sunrise Bakery Foley Sweet & Salty Farm Four Town Farm Teal Farm Golden Robin Weatherlow Farms Gray Grist Mill Westport Rivers Winery Great Hill Dairy Westfield Farm Hana’s Honey Wishing Stone Farm Wright’s Dairy Farm

At least $60,000 was spent this year at these7 farms as a result of our RTB events. 8 FORMALIZED EDUCATION 9 EACH ONE, TEACH ONE (education) EXPERIENCES AT RTB Learning-in-context is a powerful form of education that we continually seek Schools/School Groups: to make more available to our community. We know that even a single seed of inspiration can sprout into action and bear the fruit of impact for a single Bridge Boston Charter School (Boston, MA) person, a family, or an entire community. Bristol Community College (Fall River, MA) Camp Jack Rua - People Incorporated (Fall River, MA) As a living laboratory that cultivates, educates, While many children are introduced to novel Crystal Springs School (Assonet, MA) and empowers people of all ages, planting these experiences, many still are able to connect with seeds is absolutely fundamental to our mission. their heritage as recent immigrants or first- Dartmouth Middle School (Dartmouth, MA) And because our intention is equitable access for generation Americans. Through experiential Fairhaven Moms’ Club (Fairhaven, MA) learners of all ages, educational programming learning, students get their hands dirty—feeding is always offered on a sliding scale from $0-$20 animals, picking produce, and exploring compost. Nativity Preparatory School (New Bedford, MA) per person. Regardless of economic means, Each visit is customized to meet the groups’ New Bedford Parks & Recreation (New Bedford, MA) all learners receive the same rich educational needs, aligning our instruction to Massachusetts experience at RTB. educational standards. As students explore, we Our Sisters’ School (New Bedford, MA) touch upon Earth and Life Sciences, Engineering Thank you for“ the awesome and Plymouth County 4-H (Plymouth, MA) Field Trips plant seeds in each student who visits and Design, Farming and Agriculture, and “RTB the farm, opening their minds and empowering Passions.” All the while, children connect with Providence College (Providence, RI) enlightening experience at your farm. them to be solution-oriented. The foundation team members who look, think, act, and teach in Rhode Island School of Design (Providence, RI) of each full- or half-day field trip is a farm tour, a diversity of ways—all while living and working The students left inspired and super excited. acquainting children with the land and team. together. Southcoast Educational Collaborative (Seekonk, MA) I asked who enjoyed the field trip and they Stonehill College (Easton, MA) ALL raised their hands, which is unusual with Tabor Academy (Marion, MA) 95% OF FIELD TRIP During 2018 we engaged In 2019, we MORE THAN high school students by the way! You did an Trinity Day Academy (New Bedford, MA) CHAPERONES rate their 351 YOUTH AND 45 DOUBLED our visitors: amazing job engaging them!” experience visiting RTB as ADULTS in field trips and 810 students visited the UMass Dartmouth (Dartmouth, MA) EXCELLENT or VERY GOOD. service-learning on the farm. farm, accompanied by 123 University of the Azores/Nonagon - KATHLEEN GAUSMAN, TEACHER, educators and chaperones. UPPER CAPE COD REGIONAL Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical High School TECHNICAL SCHOOL (Bourne, MA) Whitinsville Christian School (Northbridge, MA) Wildlands Trust’s Summer Green Team (Plymouth, MA) William Taylor School (New Bedford, MA) 810 STUDENTS More than a 100% increase from last year! “It was really fun for me to be able to ask questions and to connect this work to the wider world and its implications on the planet.”

- LOCAL EDUCATOR 10 For the second year, RTB was home to the Youth Environmental Justice Team (YEJT) 11 led by program leader Erik Andrade. The youth’s diversity of life experiences bring a richness to the farm, with connections built, life lessons learned, and questions stirred among the entire team. For three days a week in July and August, the youth (17-18 years old) were working alongside the RTB team: gardening, “Seeing everything out there as feeding the animals, preparing food and even leading activities with the little ones from Elements Nature Program. Environmental justice and having value; each season or life leadership development are the foundations of this program, so woven throughout the summer were team building activities, workshops and cycle will offer you something field trips, film screenings, sharing circles, and connecting with other youth groups. different if you can see it. We’re not just weeding tomatoes; we’re The primary take-away from last year’s YEJT program was the need to provide increased trauma and healing support for the harvesting tea, feeding the pigs, young adults in our communities. As a result, YEJT program integrated Talking & Healing Circles into the daily routine. Talking loosening the soil so water can & Healing Circles are an Indigenous practice that help to create a absorb. We are explaining the safe environment for people to share their feelings, points of view, and experiences. This process helps develop a sense of trust and ‘why’! Even if our volunteers are is cathartic, healing, and an effective way to build communication within a group. YEJT’s work also focused on learning about African ‘just weeding’ it’s still a huge and Indigenous History and perspectives on environmental justice, opportunity to transmit knowledge, environmental sustainability, organic farming, food preparation, cooking, herbalism, tea making, tincture preparation, leadership development and to build relationships.” team building. -NATE

Each month we open our gates to people Workshops focus specifically on soft and hard skill RTB education initiatives as a working non-profit. from near and far, in hopes that our mission development, as we harness and share the lessons As interns plug into a working farm system, may speak through our actions, and that our learned here on the farm. The team recognizes they experience how a community functions transparency in our farming practices and ethos the privilege of living in a supportive community cooperatively within it. will inspire. Open Farm Days (OFD) offer family- of learners and farmers, and so workshops are friendly farm tours and workshops, visits with one way that we can extend this privilege while While nothing can replace the sensory experience the farmers, meat, vegetable and herb sales, cultivating relationships. The kitchen is home to of a farm visit, the next best thing is shedding light and samples of farm fresh foods. This year many of our workshops, given the connection on our collective work throughout our community. we’ve begun selling grilled prepared food at that we all have to eating nourishing food! But RTB strives to meet people where they are, so Open Farm Days. Grass-fed burgers, homemade workshops continue to grow along with RTB. our team often makes their way to local places of veggie burgers and non-GMO pork sausage This year’s workshops included: beef tallow soap learning, connecting the dots between farming and with garden fresh toppings, homemade rolls and making, seed saving and sovereignty, monarch day-to-day life. condiments make for a day that visitors are not butterfly stewardship, fermentation, tincture- apt to forget! In 2019, we saw major growth in making, cooking with stinging nettles, birding, This year we reached OFD visitors; we doubled the number of folks teacher trainings, and an eco-herbal medicinal walk. 579 students through who took a farm tour or attended a workshop in-school presentations, since 2018 (from 379 to 917), while hundreds Our seasonal farm interns learn through hands- more came simply to visit, shop local, and on work, in support of each RTB team member including our Marion connect. and the overall RTB mission. These modestly-paid Institute GROW positions, which include on-site room & board, offer Southcoast partnerships farm tours the unique ability to experience all facets of farm in New Bedford, K-12 We give educational to every field trip participant, during Open Farm living and working, including: permaculture, annual Days and privately requested tours. During each educational tour, conversations and food production, harvesting, animal husbandry, classrooms, community questions sprout organically, as our visitors feast their senses upon the farm landscape. systems thinking, and homesteading, along with colleges and universities. 12 EVERYTHING AND THE CROPS TO CANS:2019 Preservation on the Farm 13 KITCHEN SINK (Inside our Kitchen) Abundance is all around us! Preservation allows us to share and extend nature’s bounty. Different methods of food preservation have also long been known to enhance food flavor and nutrition.

CANNED Elderberry Syrup 102 Ketchup Blackberry Jam/Jelly Pasta Sauce galllons Blackberry Juice Pickled Asparagus Blackberry Lavender Jam Pickled Beets Blackberry Nutmeg Jam “I really appreciate RTB food, and Rendered Beef Tallow Blackberry Simple Syrup Rendered Lard the way that working with and Bread & Butter Pickles Spicy Pasta Sauce Chimichurri Sauce eating fresh food is a part of Tomatillo Salsa Cucumber Dill Relish (lacto-fermented) 16 our daily lives. I think this is a Dried Tomatoes Zesty Zucchini Relish galllons big part of redefining wealth in the workplace.” FROZEN 22 REFRIGERATED - LAURA galllons RTB believes that the healthiest food is the Learning is both an experiential and a deliberate Blackberries Blackberry Juice food that we can prepare ourselves (with love) process on the farm. The experience of a Corn Blackberry Simple Syrup and from ingredients produced right around nourishing meal that has its’ roots within our Pesto Elderberry Syrup us. Food that is grown in harmony with nature region can be powerfully paradigm-shifting. Fire Cider nourishes our personal and ecological health. This Each bite is a lesson that food is truly medicine! Ginger Scallion Sauce is fundamental to life! It’s why we take the time That is why every meal is full of healing herbs, DEHYDRATED to grow and preserve much of our food, source fermented vegetables, and of course, love. We Blackberries it locally, and buy in bulk (only when necessary) lead by example and teach what we practice in the from responsible sources. This leads to diverse kitchen. As requests to observe kitchen operations Beef Jerky FERMENTED meals that support all body types and truly grow, we continually expand our deliberate San Marzano Kimchi Tomatoes nourish us—our team and our guests. And most educational offerings. From fermentation and Sauerkraut Venison Jerky importantly, this effort supports the building of preservation to herbalism, the kitchen is a place of 246 systems and solutions for all to have access to empowerment and inspiration. local and organic foods. pounds

Sharing nature’s bounty and breaking bread together redefines wealth for our community. The ability to be generous is true wealth. That is why HERBS (TINCTURES AND/OR DRIED) we aspire to feed every single field trip student that steps foot on RTB. A simple vegetable- Ashwagandha Elderflower Peppermint packed meatloaf has been a powerful instrument Basil Golden Rod Persian Basil of education for local students during our lunch Bacopa Gotu Kola Pineapple Weed pilot project. And when a child enjoys a nutritious Borage Lemon Balm Prickly Lettuce and lovingly prepared lunch, he or she is directly Calendula Lemon Basil Red Clover connected to the burgeoning field in the distance or the bustling barn they visit. This Chamomile Lemon Bee Balm Sarsaparilla spirit of connection and sense of place must Chinese Mint Lemon Verbena St. John’s Wort be experienced to be appreciated. When Chocolate Mint Mrhani Basil Thai Basil we eat seasonally, as creative cooks and Cinnamon Basil Mullein Thyme curious eaters, our perspective shifts. As we Cleavers Nettle Tulsi share this experience with more visitors, we concurrently work to support local schools in Comfrey Oregano Wormwood reinforcing these experiences beyond RTB. Dandelion Oxeye Daisy Yarrow Elderberry Parsley Yellow Dock 14 POWERED If we are to truly change the course of OUR EXTENDED TEAM 15 our society, we must look to the wisdom (Agripreneurs & Social Entrepreneurs) BY SUNSHINE of nature as our guide and model. (Solar Power) Meaningful work is vital to the human spirit and members of our community a thriving community. Work that not only feeds continually inspires our team, The fossil fuels that we are fiscally wise. As a non-profit, The transition to renewables is one’s aspirations but also builds environmental as we see intergenerational dangerously reliant upon today a shift from $15,500 a year in feasible for many. And should health and social equity is what RTB strives to relationships as fundamental to are nothing but the twice- energy expenditure to actually it not be possible on your own make available through our “prenuers”. Since community restoration. digested remains of ancient making money off solar is no home, we can each advocate RTB began, our “preneurs” have been making a plants, who had stored the small feat, and significant in our for our municipal buildings to difference in local food practices and restorative RTB’s very first seasonal festival power of the sun within their fiscal stability as an organization. go solar. From there, each of living. In establishing food, education and farming sprouted from the mind of long- very roots and shoots. We, too, us has the choice of where we businesses at RTB, they have the ability to define time Agriprenuer Nilsa Garcia- Rey, now have the power to harness RTB made an additional invest our resources; fossil fuel success in terms of their values and vision while of Nilsa’s Herbal Teas & Botanicals. The simultaneously mutually benefiting and giving back Garlic & Arts Festival brought over 550 folks to the sun’s rays for our energy $12,000 in revenue this divestment is a powerful way needs; a much more elegant and to catalyze change and support to RTB. Agripreneurs and Social Entrepreneurs the farm for an autumn equinox celebration of direct solution than fossil fuels. year from extra energy climate solutions. are empowered to address social, cultural and abundance; of delicious garlic and of local creators! RTB is proud and grateful to production for a net gain environmental issues through their ventures, Nilsa enlisted the support of RTB teammate and produce the entirety of our of $27,500 for RTB, a backed by the support of the RTB team as they fellow artist-turned-farmer, Nate Sander, to plan energy needs through the payback that is possible navigate their unique career pathways. this one-of-a-kind gathering. As the long time Executive Director of a New Bedford art gallery, sun. Our system, installed by even from panels on a Cotuit Solar, is not only a sound Elements Nature Program, now its own non-profit, Nilsa’s curator background found an eclectic match ecological choice, but also private home. has grown from a seed of inspiration into a living with RTB’s love of garlic! Under Geoff Kinder’s organism, led by educators Rachel Medeiros & leadership, RTB has been planting and saving Cristy O’Brien. The founding duo provides local seed garlic for over a decade—an effort worth children with a holistic, joyful and child-centered celebrating. Garlicky dishes abounded at the zero- learning experience immersed in nature. In the waste event, as did art of all kinds. The festival was spring, summer and fall, RTB is Elements’ outdoor evidence that social entrepreneurship can be a classroom, where children grow food, learn to powerful foundation for collaboration in service to cook in the kitchen, interact with farm animals, a vision. Through commitment, shared passions and encounter critters and connect with wild plants. community ties, a new local tradition was born. The opportunity to share RTB with the youngest

“I have been changed by working in nature at the farm. I love that there is wildness where I grow food and medicine. The constant struggle with the other critters that inhabit the diverse ecosystem of my gardens can be In 2019, RTB’s renewable energy daunting at times, but that is an important production was equal to planting approximately 1,056 TREES. part of the challenge of working on the land in its natural state.” Our use of solar panels prevented - NILSA the release of 88,950 POUNDS of carbon into our atmosphere. Brie is a lynchpin in this system, but not the only significant relationship 16 between humans, land, and animals on the farm. The concern of our 17 LESS IS MORE... extended community when she went missing was beautiful and humbling; our call for help on Facebook led to an unbelievable 100,000 views and more than 5,000 shares. So how can we all expand on that deep empathy, and widen our perspective to include a connection with an entire farm, watershed, ecosystem, planet, and humans?

When we consider the ease with which we can appreciate a dog, can we also consider the service so many other animals offer us daily? Cows give us milk, cheese, compost and meat. Chickens eat pesky bugs and offer us tasty eggs. But too often these animals are raised solely for food, disconnected from the land or their other important roles. So while Brie might be seen outwardly as a pet, she, too, is a tool in our working farm system that we appreciate no less than any other. In the same way, our pigs, cows, butterflies, and bees are also our partners in mission here on the farm.

...is a classic paradox; a seeming contradiction Our farm dog, Brie, is a crucial teammate who that upon investigation proves true. What seems garnered much attention when she went missing absurd about the notion of seeking less, and earlier this year. And it makes sense—Brie what is so true about the abundance it offers? contributes valuable work to the farm. She keeps RTB seeks to show each day that, despite what our farm protected, so that other working animals consumerism preaches, more is not always better. can do their jobs of restoring pasture, building Less consumption, less waste, and less struggle compost, and eventually, becoming food. really is more for all of us. We see our work at RTB as unraveling the many misconceptions of Paradox Acres, one of RTBs agriprenuer what matters in life, as we work to value diversity, operations, leads this system on our land. redefine wealth, and model nature.

As we work towards exemplifying our mission Not only does Paradox Acres seek to make high- through action, each team member brings a quality meats available locally, but co-founder diverse set of skills to this equation. That team Geoff seeks to do more with less. Animals are used includes not just those living on the farm; it on RTB in place of heavy, fossil fuel-dependent includes our connections with other non-profits equipment (rototillers and lawn mowers). With and farms, with local schools and professionals, less input, there is a much greater benefit for even with our native pollinators and working ecological and human health and well-being. animals.

Non-humans, like microbes and dogs, are part of the web, too. 18 RESTORATION & RELATIONSHIP 19 (MA Audubon Collaboration)

Our neighbors at Mass stewarding the land through reducing consumer waste, Audubon’s Allens Pond systems that mimic nature, the enhancing the local food shed, Wildlife Sanctuary have long Allens Pond grasslands are fostering community health, and been partners in vision with gradually more suitable for supporting sustainable farming RTB. A primary goal at Allens native wildlife and grassland livelihoods. Pond Wildlife Sanctuary is the birds like the Bobolink and management of the grasslands Eastern Meadowlark. A The cross-sector collaboration upon which native wildlife structurally diverse landscape between Mass Audubon and rely, particularly birds. Once offers places for birds to forage, RTB signals a cultural shift. maintained through periodic hide, nest, and rear their young. It heralds a new chapter in disturbance by native herbivores, land stewardship, where land fire and early agricultural The benefits of rotational grazing conservation and agriculture techniques, modern agriculture extend beyond the natural are integrated. At Allens Pond and suburban development has environment. Regenerative Wildlife Sanctuary, farmers contributed to major grassland interactions between grazing and ecologists are devoted habitat loss. herbivores and the land promote partners in the aim to protect functional diversity within this wildlife and conserve the land. Over the last 9 years, in ecosystem, molding a landscape We see here, and hope to see collaboration with RTB, Mass that is attractive to visitors and increasingly elsewhere, that Audubon has practiced more wildlife alike. Grazing cattle also diverse stakeholders can sit nuanced and place-based support a shared commitment at the table together and find management at Allens Pond to climate change action; their solutions only possible through Wildlife Sanctuary: rotational carbon-recycling power reduces synergy: solutions that value a grazing combined with timely methane release and Mass vital local ecology and thriving hay harvest. Rotational grazing Audubon’s reliance on fossil- food system, while embracing encourages the development of fueled machinery. Eventually, the far-reaching opportunities of natural landscapes that cannot these animals become available collaboration. be duplicated mechanically. By as high-value, local meats,

Collaboration“ is absolutely intrinsic in how to create a restorative community. We can’t do any of these daunting things–work on climate change, work on resource scarcity–without each other.”

- DESA 20 THANKS TO OUR Grateful FINANCIALS 21 Fiscal Year 2019 (Oct 1, 2018- Sept 30, 2019) CONTRIBUTORS Fundraising

Gary Koller Bridget McGuiness FINANCIAL Christine Kondoleon IN-KIND Taylor & Sheamus DONORS & Frederic Wittmann Erik Andrade McNamara Kondoleon Wittmann Mary Ellen McNamara American Family Insurance Beveridge & Diamond, PC Family Fund Moby Dick Brewing Co. Susan Crary Babcock Trust Peter & Dana Bullard Administration Educational Mark & Heather Kowieski Justin & Adele Morreale Michael & Margie Baldwin Buzzards Bay Brewing Nancy Kurtz Ron & Sue Motha Program John Barber & Neils Blok Maxine Chapman Tina Maa Paradox Acres Michael Barbosa Derek Christianson Edith McBean Patagonia Boston James Bevilacqua Clif Bar & Co Duncan McFarland Jennifer Perry & Connie Bacon Equal Exchange Ellen McFarland Faye Rogers Baron The Bromley Great Hill Dairy Bridget McGuiness Charitable Trust The Harrop Family Shy Brothers Farm Joan Menard Christopher & Margaret Alonzo Jason Eva Somarippa Justin & Adele Morreale Campbell Susan Killingbeck Elizabeth & Mac Stanton Charles E. Millard, Inc. Nancy Dempze & Dan Bailey Erik Kowalski of Nancy & Hank Van Fidelity Charitable DAF Joan Novack EDK Studio Laarhoven Robert & Rebecca Taylor Oatis Thomas Loftus Shaun Van Laarhoven Forrester Palace Head Foundation & Patricia O’Hearn Stephen Wolfe RTB The Four Leaf Clover Melanie Racine & Joe Boyd R.L. Massucco Marcy Wintrub Foundation Robert & Amelia Rands Peg & Mark Gildersleeve Will & Kerry Saltonstall Tom & Jody Gill Paul & Christine Schmid 2019 Betsy Grant Schwab Charitable Fund COLLABORATORS Harvey Building Products Jamey & Laura Shacoy (supported RTB by farming on the land or by having mission-driven events) Walter & Gloria Healey Charlotte Sudduth Ashley’s Produce (RTB) Holdcroft Charitable Fund Vanguard Charitable DAF Joe Cappellano & Hannah Kanstroom Cappellano Cheryl Holdcroft & Girls Yawkey Foundation Britt Kinder & Brian Derr Jean Carney Elements Learning Collaborative (RTB) Flying Carrot (South Dartmouth, MA) Freed Seed Foundation (Westport, MA) Owen Harrop GROW Southcoast (Marion, MA) VOLUNTEERS Ben Kilburn Hana’s Honey (RTB) Molly Adams Debbie Kinder Island Foundation (Marion, MA) Ian Bailey The Kowalski Family Leadership SouthCoast (New Bedford, MA) Brendan Curran Angel Lopez Marion Institute (Marion, MA) Merri Cyr Rachel Medeiros Farming Mass Audubon-Allens Pond Wildlife Sanctuary Peter DeFusco Monica Meja (Westport, MA) Program Hartman Deetz Cristy O’Brien Taylor & Sheamus McNamara Nilsa Garcia-Rey Glenn Oliveira MIT (Cambridge, MA) Brian Graves Diane Parent Nilsa’s Herbal Teas & Botanicals (RTB) Ted & Jackie Halunen Paula Peters NorthStar Learning Centers (New Bedford, MA) The Harrop Family Robert Pittsley REI (Southern New England) Revenue: Expenditures: Diana Raphael Renaissance Community School (New Bedford, MA) Skylah Reis Suzanne Samuels Educational Program $75,689 13.5% Educational Program $281,545 49% Sandy Rogers SEMAP (South Dartmouth, MA) Farming Program $22,993 4.1% Farming Program $175,986 30.7% Jennifer Snyder Sister Rose’s House (New Bedford, MA) Kayla Sudduth South Worth Yacht Club (South Dartmouth, MA) Fundraising & Other $462,512 82.4% Administration $106,001 18.5% Juliette Terry Joe Sposato & Danielle Dahan Fundraising $10,612 1.8% Emilio Tirado Elizabeth & Mac Stanton TOTAL REVENUE: $561,194 100% Jane Vieira Urban Farming Institute (Mattapan, MA) TOTAL EXPENDITURES: $574,144 100.0% Women’s Fund of Southeastern MA (New Bedford, MA) 22 SERVICE & COMMUNITY (volunteers) LOOKING FORWARD 23

Since a few of our teammates and this takes time and heaps Juliette Terry, a teacher at New This year RTB has settled into a major upfront investment among the orchards and pecking have volunteered and served at of energy. RTB is grateful to Bedford’s Our Sisters’ School, our rhythm as a non-profit of funds and time, and many chickens, quaint farmhouses will various Americorps and Peace our volunteers who invest began her RTB journey as a field and working farm. Many of farmers simply do not have stand. To ensure that farming Corps programs, volunteerism their hearts and resources (of trip chaperone. Having long the necessary pieces, from enough of either. So, an RTB and education continue to is very close to our hearts. many kinds) into the farm­­—we been interested in community our Learning Center to our orchard would offer a needed prosper at RTB, we must invest Authentically supporting an couldn’t do this work without building and cooperative living, team dynamics, are in place to local crop while reducing in people. organization as a volunteer you. We have approximately 40 she felt instantly at home on the function as a living laboratory. competition with other farmers, takes commitment and humility; volunteers that help throughout farm. When an unexpected brain How our team enacts our as they pursue production of Farming as a stable livelihood true service is quite nuanced. the year and the following surgery meant a break from mission and how our systems other sorts. is inaccessible to many young Because the investment into is a sampling of some of our teaching, RTB became Juliette’s support that work will continue people, who simply cannot each helping hand is significant, incredible volunteers! space for healing. Working in the to evolve, as we host more Trees are an irreplaceable afford the rent and commute there is a fine line between gardens and fresh air allowed farm visitors and plant seeds of source of long-term security— that comes along with an helping and hindering (the point Working alongside Co-visionary, her to feel strong and useful, change well beyond our fields. every world culture knows this. already tough job. For those in which the volunteer is truly Geoff Kinder, each Saturday restoring her health with nature’s They offer human and animal facing systemic oppression and benefiting the organization). offers a hands-on education that help. Though she’s now back We are proud of the leaps we nutrition, carbon sequestration, centuries of injustice, the barriers To that end, we strive to create makes sense to Owen Harrop, to teaching, Juliette continues take each year, but there is so windbreaks, shelter, lumber, are even greater. We see RTB as many long-term and quality the youngest RTB volunteer. At to spend each Wednesday at much to come. RTB East, the and the air that we breathe. East as a source of opportunity volunteer experiences as our 13 years old, he is already aware RTB, where she can continue 55-acre parcel acquired in 2017, An orchard is a community where we stand, an offering capacity can handle. of how significant agricultural cultivating the land, lessons, and is fertile ground—for growing scale effort, the apex of food along the long road towards experience is, in the context connections. not only food, but also farming production. And thus, the clear equity. How this will all unfold Volunteering is a sort of service of modern issues. The daily livelihoods and community. With next step of maturity for RTB. remains to be seen, and each learning; an opportunity for experience of a healthy body and our eyes on the big vision for discovery, as visitors dig a healthy environment has attuned this land, we’ve begun land into the daily operations of a him to the benefits of working reclamation slowly: board by working farm. As a Wildlands with the land, and under the “Mentally and emotionally RTB is board. The standing structures Trust member harvests garlic, mentorship of passionate farmers. such a good place for me to be. on RTB East are in disrepair, she is pulling weeds that feed but not beyond redemption. the animals, which feed the I always leave with new ideas! As we disassemble dilapidated community; she is face-to-face structures, we recycle or with the interconnectedness of I’ve learned so much, especially upcycle all that we can. Sturdy nature, which we seek to mimic “I like learning how certain plants with my health, about foods and asphalt shingles will become at RTB. This service requires a are used, or how animals help the road pavement, and reclaimed good dose of patience and hard plants as medicine...” wood will be resurrected in labor, so that a few hours on soil. I think it’s healthy! The way - JULIETTE future farm structures. That the farm are beneficial for the which cannot be used for its volunteer and RTB alike. people make food today, it’s full For Ted & Jackie Halunen, life highest good is disposed of as is an experiment and RTB is responsibly as possible. Working together towards of chemicals. But at RTB everything their laboratory in which to a mission cultivates learn through service. Children This process has brought interdependence and is natural, so it’s really good for of the 60s, the duo remembers us face-to-face with our community. Trust is built, roots people! And inspiring...” - OWEN when people-powered change cultural priorities; short-term Cultivation has begun, as Flying community will rightly have their are grown, skills are shared— was alive and well in our profit and speed over long- Carrot Farm’s chicken flock own path. But RTB looks East for culture. They see RTB as part term sustainability and health fertilizes soil with their droppings one solution. The way in which of the modern revival of those is today’s norm. Too much and our team seeds their minds we live as a global community ideals, as increasing connection ends up in a landfill, without with education and planning. is shifting, and new structures promises more lasting change. another option. As old barns must be modeled. From weeding the garden and are reclaimed, so, too, is the With our first chapter at RTB feeding animals to setting up farmland. It is slow and trying East underway, the big picture For every solution and dream, for events, working on the farm work. But we are acutely aware calls for our attention. In a we uncover countless more empowers them to be change that access to land endows RTB time not long ago, farmers questions. For all that we agents themselves, even in with a gift and a responsibility shared resources, shared envision to take root, an the humblest of ways. So they to act, especially when so many responsibilities, and shared investment of time, humility, and share inspiration wherever they lack that same opportunity. We life. In fact, many communities communal support is needed. go; whether that’s suggesting are privileged to manifest the across the globe still do. This is So together we will patiently rainwater catchments to a friend latent dreams of our community: a sustainable and responsible compost our lessons, feed our or reduced paper towel use at a one being an organic fruit way of life that we can restore. roots, and amend our soil with local fair. orchard. Planting trees requires We hope that soon enough, restorative community. What an interesting time it is to be a “Center for We hope that this report encouraged you to see Restorative Community”. Since we first stepped what is possible when we slow down, embrace our onto this land we now know as Round the Bend differences, and act deliberately on our values. We Farm, the world has changed quite a bit. We have certainly been encouraged by all that we have are increasingly connected by technology, and accomplished this year, as our circles widen and our more aware of the impact each choice has on our work evolves. community and the planet. And with this increased connectivity, we have an opportunity to act Thank you to my amazing team, which includes together on climate change, resource depletion, and my board members and co-visionary, all of our disenfranchisement. contributors in any way, to my daughter for inspiring me to do my best and those of you that have taken We are certain that there is no single answer, on the work to manifest a better today. no quick fix. In fact, we hope that this report challenged you to consider that assertion. Just as Thank you for your support and all you do to create our grazing cows ruminate and our perennials take a more restorative, loving and just world. many seasons to grow, let us take nature’s cue to slow down. We challenge you to have the slow idea, the thoughtful dialogue, the measured response. Being open to the complexity of our world allows new possibilities to take root. That is what we see as restorative, and it takes a community to shift paradigms! A living laboratory that cultivates, educates and empowers people of all ages

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