November 30, 2016

The Giving Tour: Vista del Canon



When looking into places to volunteer in Santa Fe I emailed countless organizations. I got a response from Kirsten at Creativity for Peace. She was incredible! Thank you, Kirsten! She didn't have any opportunities for our family but was able to recommend a ton of places that might have something for us. One of those opportunities was with a sweet family managing a farm in the mountains outside of Santa Fe. We connected with the family and we scheduled a time for a visit.


Ryan, Cassandra and their almost 2 year old son are living in the main house on the property of Vista del Canon. The story begins when they moved into a cabin on the property a few years back. They realized that the farm is truly a gold mine. The land is covered in apple trees, peach trees, apricots and so much more. They also noticed that no one was caring for the property and the people living in the other homes had no interest in doing so. They contacted their landlord and shared their vision. They want to create a planned community full of people and families who care for the land and live off of it. It would have tiny homes, gathering places, teepees and just a true sense of community and sustainability. The landlord, whose family has owned the property for more than 100 years, believed in them and he quickly became their boss. They now live in the main house (as they remodel it) and relentlessly work towards fixing up the property and making their vision a reality.  


We arrived and were given the grand tour-- we walked the property and were very intrigued by the ins and outs of it all. We ate the end-of-season apples, crossed creeks, picked cat-tails (that quickly became light sabers) and just had a lovely walk listening to what Ryan was planning. They have so much work to do and can use all the help they can get. Cassandra mentioned they removed 4 dump trucks full of garbage from the property before they could even get started.That's a lot of garbage!




Ryan had the kids and I get as many of the apples off the trees as we could. I was climbing trees and throwing them down to the kids-- we got into it. Understandably, he didn't want to waste any food! Edson helped by clearing and digging a trench for water drainage. We probably gained more than we helped but we did something and were happy to be a part of such a great vision.



We hope you'll consider helping either with Ryan at Vista del Canon or in your community. Every bit helps! Be sure to post pics and #givingtour2016!

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