Foundations for Farming USA Training for Trainers

May 2023 Training

(Monday, May 8th - Friday, May 12th, 2023)

There is a growing need in our troubled times for people to learn how to grow food in a simple, uncomplicated manner that produces joy and freedom in their life. But to really do this they also need the transforming hope of the message of Jesus. Foundations for Farming is an approach to food production that is based on the heart of Jesus and produces incredible yields through simple, low-tech methods. Through tools like the Well-Watered Garden we seek to give people simple approaches that enable people to grow food in a simple way that is easy to pass on to others. Our vision is to equip a network of trainers about the United States and world who can help meet the growing demand for solutions to the looming global food crisis.

This is specifically for people who feel called to impact others by hosting their own trainings in their own community or through existing mission or ministry work. This is 'training for trainers' and will be limited to a small group so that we will be able to cater it to the specific needs and situations of the students attending. We will need a minimum of 5 adult attendees and maximum of 10. We plan to offer these training multiple times throughout the year and students will need to attend one of the subsequent scheduled trainings if the registration for this training is too small or full. Follow up support will be available as graduates host their own trainings in the coming months.

What You Will Learn

We will be training students to teach others from a Gospel-based Biblical worldview using the Well-Watered Garden training curriculum 12-lesson program.

By the end of the training you will be able to:

Communicate how the gospel relates to agriculture.
Understand what it takes to have soil that produces abundant crops naturally
Manage your garden in a way that produces joy and makes a profit.
Use eight simple questions to create an easy, but effective garden plan.
Clear a spot for your garden without plowing or tilling
Make thermal compost and natural organic fertilizers
Layout garden beds with a simple system that allows for ease of management and space for a variety of crops.
Plant seeds or transplants with a simple spacing system that is easy to follow and remember.
Care faithfully for your garden with three simple tasks.
Share your faith in Jesus through your garden.
Train others in what you have just learned.

We will also be covering more in-depth topics like:

Scaling up for homestead-level food security
Growing for markets
Alternative (off-grid) energy
Backyard chickens
Home dairy operations

There will also be time for discussion and questions for more specific topics pertinent to the students attending.

Training Location

This training will be hosted at Rora Valley Farms in Goodwater, Alabama and will include both classroom and practical training as well as practice actually teaching others. No previous agricultural experience is required.

If you are flying in Birmingham, Alabama is the closest airport (1 hour from the farm). Atlanta can also have cheaper flights but it is a 2.5 hour drive from the farm.

Students will arrive for lunch on Monday and will leave after lunch on Friday. Housing will be in shared rooms on the farm or at a nearby camp (couples and families will get private rooms) and meals will be provided family style at our off-grid farmhouse. We will do our best to accommodate any food allergies.

Who is this training for?

Whether you are a full time farmer, part time homesteader, backyard gardener, farmer wanna-be, or someone interested in incorporating agriculture as part of your ministry or church, this training is designed to help you in the journey God has you on. Our goal is that you will leave equipped to live for Jesus, excel in agriculture, and make disciples!

Trainers

Noah Sanders Farmer, Homesteader, Author, Foundations for Farming USA Representative

Noah Sanders is a farmer, homesteader, and author in Goodwater, Alabama. He is a passionate follower of Jesus who desires to know Him more and make disciples through his daily life. Together with his wife, Dorothy, and six children, Noah has run a small farming operation producing vegetables and poultry products using all-natural techniques based on the design of God in Creation. They homestead and raise much of their own food.

Noah is the author of Born-Again Dirt, Farming to the Glory of God. In this book he attempts to encourage Christians to think about agriculture from a biblical worldview. He is also involved with Foundations for Farming, a ministry based out of Zimbabwe, Africa, that uses agriculture to make disciples of Jesus and bring hope to the poor. As the US Representative for Foundations for Farming Noah uses his farm as a place to train Christians in agriculture that starts with a heart for Jesus. He has also put on several “Redeeming the Dirt” conferences that included speakers like Joel Salatin of Polyface Farm, Chuck Bentley of Crown Financial Ministries, and Brian Oldreive of Foundations for Farming.

Noah desires to see the church equipped to be leaders in faithful stewardship of the land. He believes that agriculture can be a great tool to help make disciples and display the Glory of God to those around us. It is his prayer that God will raise up a generation of ‘born-again’ farmers whose excellence in producing food will enable them to bring hope to the hopeless and introduce people to the author of life Himself.

May 2023 Training for Trainers Registration

Registration

Adult ($800.00) [Join Waitlist]
Includes training and materials. Meals and lodging will be provided.
Accompanying Child age 3-12 ($250.00)
This is for children accompanying a registered adult.

Optional Early Arrival (adults) ($40.00)

If you need to arrive on Sunday you can choose this option. Includes an extra night's stay and you are welcome to join us for meals, Sunday evening and Monday Breakfast. Price covers any accompanying kids too, so do not select this option when registering them.

If you are registering your child, please put the name of the registered adult they will be attending with.

If you will be attending with your spouse please put their name here (they will still need to register separately)

Church or Mission Organization

Please describe any food allergies you have here.

Please list any physical limitations you have that you want us to know about.

Why are you attending this training and what do you hope to learn?

How did you hear about this training?

What is your previous agricultural experience?

What is your faith story?

Donation (optional)

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Running Total

$800.00

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$800.00

Refunds

We will not be able to refund any payments if you cancel your registration within one week of the beginning of the training. Thanks for understanding!

A signed waiver by event participant or parent/guardian will be required before you can download your QR code. A link to obtain waivers for all registrants will be shown on the confirmation page.

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