Fable is a fermentory, a venue, and a culinary company providing farm fresh prepared foods for various cultural events held on the farm. In the fermentory we aim to procure living wines from local fruits, herbs, saps, and honey. In the kitchen we use fresh wholesome food sourced directly from our farm and partner farms. And we host art events and live music for the public to enjoy the fruits of rural culture, as well as intimate private events such as weddings and dinner parties on the farm.

Our agricultural practices have become perennial-based, paired with value-added processing methods. Over the last five years, we’ve grafted and grown hundreds of cider-specific apple and pear trees in nursery beds peppered around Barnard. And for the next couple of decades, we’ll be planting many apple and pear trees, among other tree/shrub crops and herbs throughout the farm. We’re on a journey of designing, implementing and reclaiming a perennial agro-system of hedgerows, berms and swales, and orchards.

THE LAND

We’re located in the, piemonte, or foothills, of the Green Mountains in Barnard, VT. Situated at 1700 feet, atop the Broad Brook watershed, our farm is a mosaic of fields, forests, and gardens rich with ecological diversity. We work cooperatively with partner farmers and advocates to steward the historic Clark Farm. Now conserved by the Vermont Land Trust, this 450 acre haven is a living legacy of the european settlers who sculpted small farms out of an old-growth wilderness back in the late 1700’s. The farm is now managed by a network of dairy, livestock, vegetable, and fruit enterprises.

FEAST & FIELD MARKET

Through collaborative efforts, a proper rural venue has emerged known as the Feast & Field Market. It’s on the Clark Farm, at the toe of our knob garden, among an elder hedge of Maple, Apple and Hawthorne. Every Thursday from June through October, folks come out of the wood-work to listen to live music, buy farm products, enjoy farm-fresh tacos, and settle into community.

Fable Farm Fermentory

Fable Farm

Feast and Field Market

We really need help harvesting apples and grapes and pressing juice! This involves foraging, climbing and shaking trees for their apples, and pressing them for their juice. It’s a mundane task, but one which we love to do, as it provides a great space for deep heart-mind exploration.  We have a sweet cabin with a wood stove available for a couple and/or motivated individual who ideally wants to drop an anchor for most of the harvest season from now to the end of october- middle of november.

In general though, our areas of focus evolve with the changing seasons. April and May is a time for planting trees and smaller bushes and top-working others; the summer months a time for making beds for planting in the following year, prepping and processing food for the culinary arm, harvesting berries, clearing edge-lands to prepare for more perennial plantings, reclaiming old hedgerows and uncovering ancestor apple trees, and being with community; and September through November is a time for harvesting apples and grapes and making juice.  Cellar work, such as blending, bottling and labeling occur throughout the year, as well as hosting people for tastings and other meals at the fermentory.

We’re looking for people who display humility and a willingness to work and learn, and are open and flexible.