Our Mission
What does it mean to lay the ground work? As we expand our vision for our future – whether it’s ours, our children’s, our great-great-great grand-children’s future, or the future forests, grasslands, and harvests – we have to ask ourselves this question:
What does it mean to lay the ground work for that future today?
The work that we put into the soil today will change the way that soil functions tomorrow. It could hold more nutrients, absorb more water, be more resistent to erosion. The work that we do in our own minds, whether that’s shifting intergenerational trauma or rewiring our brains dopamine systems, will change the way our children and their children think, will rewire their neural circuitry. The work we put into our bodies, the ways in which we shift our diets and the toxin loads we’re exposed to, change our DNA through epigenetics, laying the ground work for generations to come.
And they’re all connected. The choices that we make for the ecosystems around us are reflected in the health of our bodies and minds. We are a part of nature, and in that, nature mirrors back our strengths and our weaknesses. We see a decline in human fertility at the same time that we see a decline in soil fertility. Nutrient density in soil has declined precipitously and it’s mirrored in the decline in the nutrient density of our food and, ultimately, the nutrients available to nourish us at a cellular level.
At Ground Work we believe that the work we put in now will pay dividends into the future. When we begin to heal the individual, whether it’s one acre of land or one person, we begin to heal the collective because we are all connected. Our soil, plains, and forests are connected through mycelial networks. Our individual organ systems and our brains are connected by chemical messengers and electrical impulses. And together, we are connected by the fabric of our communities. The communities we foster both in the 1 billion microorganisms in a single teaspoon of soil and the communities that we build together above soil.
All of these connections, the connection from our mind to our body, from our body to the land, and from our mind to the minds of others, have the power to change our inner terrain and ecosystems alike both now and in the coming generations.
This work is about fostering those connections.
So… what does it mean to you to lay the ground work?
MIND
Call it the witness, call it the individual or the collective consciousness, call it the observer. A single thread in a grand weaving, The seat of something at once known and unknown.
BODY
Interconnected parts of a whole, our tangible aspect in the physical realm. Our vehicle, flesh, meat suit.
SOIL
The universe beneath our feet. One billion organisms in a single teaspoon of soil. The ecosystem outside of us and the microbiome in us. Connecting us across broad landscapes and diverse inner terrains.
It's All One
Our minds, bodies, and the soil beneath our feet is connected in ways science is only now beginning to explore. We are interconnected beings, autonomous parts in a greater whole.
"You are not the drop in the ocean, you are the ocean in a drop." - RUMI
LAYING THE
GROUND WORK
Now you may be thinking that that’s all well and good… but what do you DO?
Ground Work Collective is a farm finder, using a powerful search engine and filtering tools to connect you to farms right Near Home. Ground Work is a podcast with guests that are musing on our interconnected themes of mind, body, and soil. And Ground Work is a growing platform for telling stories of both land and the people that live on and work that land.
We want to help connect you back to yourself and back to nature through food, storytelling, and information. Think of it as nourishment – in the forms of nutrient dense foods, stories about triumphs and hardships, and a sense of participating in your local ecosystem.
MEET KATE
farmer, butcher, holistic nutrition and root cause coach, and big time dreamer.
Hi, I’m Kate. Growing up in the city, I spent my days riding my bike, dreaming of the day when I was riding a horse in the country. I often feel like I wasn’t meant for the modern world. Some of my deepest desires are to slow down and take the long road home and to spend time growing and raising my own food and all that comes with it.
After studying biology and anthropology in college, I knew that there was something that waited for me beyond the world of academia. Early on, I found a deep sense of purpose in the regenerative agriculture movement. In 2013, I opened Western Daughters Butcher Shop in Denver, Colorado with my partner and now-husband, Josh Curtiss. We were devoted to saving the prairie one steak at a time through our mission of meat that was good for the land, good for our bodies, and good for the community. Almost ten years later, we’ve put over 5 million dollars back into the hands of ranchers along the Front Range. We’ve also spent a lot of time telling stories about food, cooking food, and researching everything possible about food. In 2019, we knew it was time for us to try our hands at farming. We run a small experimental farm where we raise low-PUFA pork and poultry alongside goats and a very small herd of cattle.
After years of learning, absorbing, and listening – I’m now stepping into the realm of sharing stories on the Ground Work podcast and exploring the amazing people that are laying the Ground Work for generations to come.
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