About Us
"Our mission is to provide health to our region, healing to our earth and love to our community by growing the purest and most environmentally responsible food available."
Hi! We are Yosef and Havah Camire. We started Ahavah Farm in 2014 as a first-generation family-farm. Originally a homestead and a means for our family to connect to the land and raise our children intentionally, we have grown over the years to a 200-300 member, four-season Vegetable CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), ecological and educational farm.
When we started, our goal was to feed our own family the absolute purest food possible. We are proud that we have had much success in being able to do just that, not just for our family, but also for our community - YOU! Ecologically-pure means using absolutely no chemicals, no fertilizers, no pesticides or anything that resembles synthetics of any kind, growing a diversity of heirloom varieties, utilizing renewable solar energy to run our farm, being carbon negative, using water and input conservation and more! Our food is, by far, some of the purest, most wholesomely-nutritious and ecologically-friendly food that you can find.
When we named our farm Ahavah ("Love" in Hebrew), we wanted a name that resembled who we were both as Jews and as stewards, which to us goes hand in hand. As Jews we are called to love our earth and to love our fellow human. We cannot think of a better way to combine our hearts desire to do both than to farm in the manner in which we are building community around a love for our earth, for a love of pure food and good healthy wholesome, holistic, lifestyles.
These are our children from left to right, it is Asher, Israel, Aiden, Eliana, Ovadya, and Elisheva (and we have one on the way).
All of our children are involved in nearly every aspect of our farm from chores like feeding the animals (we have dogs, cats, alpacas, chickens, a horse, and a duck) to harvesting. They work hard, are homeschooled and are living a life of adventure and are so blessed to be surrounded by so much Ahavah (Love!) from our amazing community, employees and volunteers!
Ahavah, it means "Love." Not just any love, however. It means "To give of oneself." So who do we want to give to? YOU! When we named our farm Ahavah, it was because of a few ideals including the fact that, yes, we are Jewish and proud of our faith, our tradition and our heritage. As Jews, it is our obligation to take care of the earth, to care of our communities and our bodies and health. Our animals get fed before we ourselves do, and every decision we make must take into account the following three things:
1. Our Earth / Environment.
2. Our Community
3. Our Health.
Click here to read a blog post we wrote about the meaning of Ahavah Farm.
Want to Know More? Read on...
Sustainable (And Regenerative)
Every decision we make includes the impact on our world and environment.
Whether it is our 100% solar energy use to run all electrical power on our farm, our irrigation methods, no till, carbon reduction, tractor-free commitments, minimal fossil fuel consumption, deep mulching practices, and biological / biodynamic farming practices that build soils through composting and our animal by-product fertilization, our farm takes our commitment to sustainability seriously and our passion to regenerate our land and environment is at the core of everything we do!
Every ounce of support you give to Ahavah Farm goes not only to supporting our family and employees, but also to repairing the world.
Local
We pride ourselves on being more than just a farm - WE ARE A COMMUNITY! We are volunteers, customers, members, supporters and friends. We work together, love each other and are building a stronger local-food-movement as a TEAM.
Also, by being a "Local" farm, not only do you the consumer have the opportunity to "Meet the Farmer" and visit the farm and see first-hand what and how we are growing and producing our food, but you also get to support the local economy and support the "little guy." In addition, by being local, the food you get is usually picked either the same day, or pretty close to it. Ripe, fresh and not shipped in from Mexico, California or worse, China. You know where your food is coming from. You know that it is fresh. You know how it is produced. You also know who you are supporting and that you are not contributing to greenhouse emissions and pollution from the transportation of your food over thousands of miles.
Pure
Pure ties this all together. Because we use regenerative farming practices, your food is pure. It's not simply "organic," it's better-than-organic. No synthetic chemicals, fertilizers, sprays or genetically engineered seeds etc. are used. This means that it has not been altered in any way. In addition, we use row-covers, hand-tools and old-fashioned pure and natural farming methods to avoid pests and to control weeds. Your food is harvested fresh and ripened on the plant and not on a truck. The same goes for our animals. Our chickens and ducks get to roam the land eating bugs and grasses as well as our kitchen scraps and our left-over produce. All supplemented feed is certified organic, soy free and the animals are loved, well-cared for and simply the cleanest birds you have ever seen! In short, there is no possible way to get fresher, healthier and more PURE produce and eggs than you can from our farm.
Pay-What-You-Can-Afford
No, we are not subsidized. No, we are not non-profit. No, this is not a trick. Since we began this farm, we decided that we want ALL people to have access to our food. Let's be honest - pure, local and sustainable food is expensive! It takes much more labor, and much more overhead to produce the absolute purest food you will find. What does that mean for those on SNAP - for those who are of the lower income bracket? It means that, in general, Farmer's Markets and stores like Whole Foods etc. are reserved for those with money. This simply is not right! We want EVERYONE to have access to our food, and to do that, we allow you to Pay-What-You-Can-Afford. All we ask is that you understand that this is out of the goodness of our hearts and that we do not get subsidized for our generosity. We also have a family to feed, but we don't want our "Profit" to be a barrier for you to have access to our food.
