Growing a Farmer Part 1
Reading the first part of Growing A Farmer by Kurt Timmermeister, I was amazed by how much Kurt's journey from restaurant owner to full on farmer relates to the journey of life as a whole. His story emulates the ideal American Dream; one of being able to solve a problem he identified in his work by taking calculated risks and being resilient.
Kurt talks at length about what his farm Kurtwood means to him, as well as how he has evolved with it. A lot of what he describes about his relationship to his farm is very applicable to human relationships. First and foremost, relationships require love. They also require a lot of sacrifice, pain, and patience. Like any good relationship, businesses require compromise and a strong ability to accept some lack of control. As Kurt mentions in the introduction, this book is not a definite "thing"; it is not a cook book, and it is not a business book either, rather it is a collection of his truths. It very much tells the classic story of a young person starting their career in their early twenties and trying to figure out who they are. His career as a restauranteur started from his passion for food in general and for creating a relationship between people and the food they eat. As we learn in the first chapters of the book, this passion is what sparked a great personal transformation both for Kurt and for his farm.
Kurt explains that every journey starts with some sort of conflict. Whether the conflict is feeling lost and unsure about one's purpose, or having a very specific problem in mind, there is always some sort of internal longing for something to change. For Kurt, conflict came after he opened his first restaurant. From what he has told us, it seems like growing his business and reputation as a chef was a pretty easy and seamless experience for him. However, it was not until he realized that there was a strong disconnect between his food and the people consuming it, that he recognized a need for action. There was something missing in his story that he needed to find.
One of his initial main concerns was being self-sufficient. He relied so heavily on other sources for produce that his message of wholesome and original cuisine was lost in translation. His message was not being told because he didn't have a relationship with the food sources he was using in his cuisine. He also could not afford to live in Seattle and needed to find a better financial situation. The plot of land he found in Vashon Island was the first solution to many of his problems.
When he first started to develop his land, he realized he could use it for more than just his home. He could turn it into something greater than that, which could connect his own personal life with his livelihood. He realized that all aspects of his life are interconnected. He also found that all of the problems that he encountered are interconnected. As he continued to grow his farm, he encountered new obstacles that forces him to find a solution and adapt. He explains how he never was told how farms tend not to be good financially either.
So far, this story not only changes the way I think about food, but it also changes the way I see life and the relationships I have with my passions and the people and places in my surroundings. I relate to this story very much, because one of my own fears is of not being able to do everything that I want to do in life. Kurt's story provides great insight about how to cultivate strong relationships as well as a brand. It was only years after the start of his home-building process that he realized that he wanted to transform his land into a farm. This is what happens in a lot of situations, where you don’t really expect certain things to come until they come.
Kurt talks at length about what his farm Kurtwood means to him, as well as how he has evolved with it. A lot of what he describes about his relationship to his farm is very applicable to human relationships. First and foremost, relationships require love. They also require a lot of sacrifice, pain, and patience. Like any good relationship, businesses require compromise and a strong ability to accept some lack of control. As Kurt mentions in the introduction, this book is not a definite "thing"; it is not a cook book, and it is not a business book either, rather it is a collection of his truths. It very much tells the classic story of a young person starting their career in their early twenties and trying to figure out who they are. His career as a restauranteur started from his passion for food in general and for creating a relationship between people and the food they eat. As we learn in the first chapters of the book, this passion is what sparked a great personal transformation both for Kurt and for his farm.
Kurt explains that every journey starts with some sort of conflict. Whether the conflict is feeling lost and unsure about one's purpose, or having a very specific problem in mind, there is always some sort of internal longing for something to change. For Kurt, conflict came after he opened his first restaurant. From what he has told us, it seems like growing his business and reputation as a chef was a pretty easy and seamless experience for him. However, it was not until he realized that there was a strong disconnect between his food and the people consuming it, that he recognized a need for action. There was something missing in his story that he needed to find.
One of his initial main concerns was being self-sufficient. He relied so heavily on other sources for produce that his message of wholesome and original cuisine was lost in translation. His message was not being told because he didn't have a relationship with the food sources he was using in his cuisine. He also could not afford to live in Seattle and needed to find a better financial situation. The plot of land he found in Vashon Island was the first solution to many of his problems.
When he first started to develop his land, he realized he could use it for more than just his home. He could turn it into something greater than that, which could connect his own personal life with his livelihood. He realized that all aspects of his life are interconnected. He also found that all of the problems that he encountered are interconnected. As he continued to grow his farm, he encountered new obstacles that forces him to find a solution and adapt. He explains how he never was told how farms tend not to be good financially either.
So far, this story not only changes the way I think about food, but it also changes the way I see life and the relationships I have with my passions and the people and places in my surroundings. I relate to this story very much, because one of my own fears is of not being able to do everything that I want to do in life. Kurt's story provides great insight about how to cultivate strong relationships as well as a brand. It was only years after the start of his home-building process that he realized that he wanted to transform his land into a farm. This is what happens in a lot of situations, where you don’t really expect certain things to come until they come.
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