Episode 258: Allie Barker

Greenhorns Radio

Allie grew up in Ohio on her parents' farm shoveling poop, climbing trees, and playing in the dirt. These formative years were not easy to wash off and stuck with her. She ended up studying sustainable agriculture, herbal medicine, alternative energy and sustainable architecture at The Evergreen State College. Most of Allie’s life has been spent in the out-of-doors, mountain guiding and growing food. She naturally migrated to Chickaloon, Alaska, in the heart of the Matanuska Valley at the age of 21. Striving to have more time than money, Allie focuses on off-grid living, chainsaw milling, and a "hunt-fish-gather- grow" lifestyle, where she wildcrafts plants into medicine, harvests berries, catches salmon, and hunts moose. Allie, her husband Jed, and dog Dylan, run Chugach Farm. Chugach Farm is a modern day homestead farm that focuses on growing nutrient dense, human powered, beyond organic, and off grid vegetables. Chugach Farm grows enough food to feed the family year round, sells at the farmers market and to local restaurants, runs CSA and CSF (Community Supported Ferments) programs, and sells a variety of value added products.