Stories of Strong Markets

New Leaf Paper

Jeff Mendelsohn took on one of the most polluting industries in the world, the paper industry, with the goal of producing the best environmental paper.

Ecohaus

Matt Freeman-Gleason acted on his commitment to sustainability and started Environmental Home Center, now Ecohaus, an eco-friendly building materials supplier.

Emma's Eco-Clean

A group of low income women in Northern California banded together to create a successful co-op cleaning business using environmentally friendly cleansers.

Inaba Produce Farms

Lon Inaba explains the history of the Yakima Valley farm and continuation of family values: nurturing the workers, the crops and the insects that pollinate.

Mike and Jean’s Berry Farm

Mike and Jean Youngquist are beating the odds by evolving with the marketplace, and lobbying consumers and policymakers for support of domestic food sources.

Sakuma Brothers

Three generations of the Sakuma family have built a fruit business operating in two states with a farm, research laboratory, and processing and packaging plant.

Shepherd’s Grain

Fred Fleming and business partner Karl Kupers are Food Alliance certified, use no-till farming, and sell their Washington wheat to local markets.

Willows Inn, Nettles Farm, Lummi Reefnetters

From pasta hand-made with organic Nettles Farm eggs to reefnetted salmon, Riley Starks and Judy Olsen bring quality local food to diners at Willows Inn.

Leonetti Cellar

Leonetti Cellar winemaker Gary Figgins and his son Chris, the winery's lead viticulturalist, cultivate soil health to create quality wines.

IronStraw Group

Michael and Spring Thomas founded IronStraw Group to educate about strawbale construction and now teach building skills to disadvantaged rural youth.

Mobile Meat Processing Unit, Lopez Community Land Trust

A revolutionary innovation in small farming on Lopez Island, WA - a mobile meat processing unit that allows consumers to support small island ranchers

Peshastin Creek Growers Association

Dr. John Dunley helps the Peshastin Creek Growers Association develop a soft pesticide program for their orchards and move away from conventional farming.

Quillisascut Farm School of the Domestic Arts

LoraLea and Rick Misterly use small-scale farming methods to provide high-quality products and hands-on education for aspiring chefs.

Rendezvous Reclamation

Sam Lucy reclaims abandoned Methow Valley farmland using crops rather than chemicals to bring weeds under control and the soil back to fertility.

Rebuilding Center

To reunite and meet the needs of the neighborhood, Shane Endicott started the non-profit Our United Villages, and the Rebuilding Center was its first success.