our story

As “foodies” living overseas in the Middle East, we became absolutely captivated by a couple of regenerative farms in our search for supporting local farmers and avoiding chemical-laden food for our family. These farms literally turned Middle Eastern sands into thriving small-scale operations offering an abundance of produce, the quality of which we had not seen in the US. At first, we wondered why these market farms hadn’t become famous the world over. After all, the media was, and still is, fixated on climate change and associated issues such as desertification. But here was the answer in plain daylight! They are adapting to climate change using regenerative principles, including the usage of heirloom seeds that with each passing year became more and more productive! We also learned from these farmers that while it allowed them to enjoy a fulfilling and comfortable life, it certainly was not a big money maker. In other words, the type of agriculture that will rehabilitate our soils, restore biodiversity, and heal our chronic illnesses is not easily scalable for corporate agriculture, nor is it very profitable.

As we read, researched, and dreamed of one day doing something similar - regenerating soils, increasing biodiversity, and adopting permaculture principles on land of our own - our previous embassy job became quite unfulfilling in comparison. We began talking about changing careers and participating in healing the earth and, by extension, our own health. However, sometimes we need a kick in the pants to make such a drastic change. For us, that was the COVID era.

In the course of searching for a place to settle and to begin raising our own food, we discovered a lovely town called Greeneville TN nestled in southern Appalachia. In 2023, we plunged into a whole new way of living (thus our .life domain for this website). We are most passionate about partnering with nature to raise the most nutritious chemical-free food possible for our family and community.

Why Hillfarm?

We thought it would be the perfect name to capture the rolling hills of our farmstead and to honor the type of small-scale farming, on supposedly “undesirable” land, that we witnessed in the Middle East. Additionally, we thought it a nice way to honor our ancestry that farmed in Northern England’s Lake District, a mountainous area where the government has designated much of the land as “Less Favoured Areas” and where “hill farming” is still a thing. In short, industrial agriculture would never look at Hillfarm as suitable for agriculture! (More on this thought in future blog posts.)

Food Intolerances

Most of our family has struggled with food intolerances. As we have successfully worked on healing our guts, we have learned to cook around these issues. Our healthy baked goods, which are friendly to many of those with intolerances, are delicious outcomes of our experimenting and learning. In fact, many of the flavors you’ll try were perfected by our girls! We hope you enjoy.