The Big Bend Community Land Trust is located in the heart of the Madesi Territory, which was horrifically and brutally stolen from the first nations natives who once thrived here.  The BBCLT stands firmly against colonization and genocide, and this organization and its participants condemn the racism, bigotry, greed, and violence that led to the European invasion and massacres.  Our sadness and anger about this disgusting part of local history help guide us towards a desired reconciliation and peaceful unity with all tribes.

BBCLT Historic Reports:
Activities, Progress,  Blogs, Updates & Events
(From Social Media & Amaze-n-Gardens Web Site)

From the “About” page of https://amaze-n-gardens.org/ :
Amaze’n Gardens is a nonprofit organization in Big Bend, CA that is a family and volunteer run farm which works to provide a sustainable food source in a shared learning space.  We are focused on organic permaculture methods, low-impact livestock raising, nutrition, food preservation, alternative forms of building, and promoting natural arts and crafts.  We hope to empower the community, especially the youth, to grow food and eat locally.  Come join us at one of our many events and explore our Amaze’n Gardens.
To contact us:  24973 Big Bend Road, Montgomery Creek, CA  96065  530-337-6617    amazengardensbbclt@gmail.com
Also on site: Amanze’n gardends belives livestock is an important aspect of farming. On the farm there are pigs, goats, sheep, yaks, chickens, ducks, rabbits, cats and dogs.

4 August 2016 ~ Join us for a community meeting and non-profit workshop 6pm, August 13th at The Big Bend Community Center. On the agenda is a discussion of our goals and purposes, including a public reading of our articles of incorporation, an overview of our current financial standing, and information on how to volunteer with the BBCLT and be part of the future of the organization. We will be answering questions throughout the meeting and we would love to hear YOUR visions and dreams about what we can offer the community, both local and global, with our work.

1 August 2016 ~ Our mission:
A) To promote and provide education of the public regarding permaculture, sustainable agricultural practices, nutrition, culinary arts and alternative forms of building and social organization.

B) To acquire and steward property in the Madesi Valley for the demonstration of permacultural principles and for the educational purposes of the corporation.

24 July 2016  ~ We are in the process of reconceptualizing the purpose and structure of our organization. We hope to restructure our non-profit board in a more coherent and beneficial way and to revisit our mission statement and set some realistic goals, grounded in the reality of the project’s status, that we can strive for in the near future. If you are interested in being on the board or just involved in the process please feel free to contact us.

8 June 2016 ~ Today on the farm, we started over 200 Blue Oyster mushroom plugs.

3 June 2016 ~ 80 new birds on the farm. 75 Cornish meat birds and 30 layers.

31 May 2016 ~ Last week we had a wonderful workshop on making goat cheese. Participants learned how to make mozzarella and ricotta cheese and how to milk a goat. A huge thanks to everyone who made it out to join us and a special thanks to those who filled out our questionnaires. We enjoyed getting some feedback and, due to your suggestions, are planning a hide tanning workshop for this coming fall. We hope to see you all at our next workshop!

26 May 2016 ~ We have been pickling radishes lately. The hugels have been producing them en masse and we need to find a way to enjoy them other than putting them in salad or coleslaw. Pickling the radishes has been a huge success.

23 May 2016 ~ Although we have been going dairy crazy (we’ve made ice cream, butter, chevre, mozzarella, ricotta, farm cheese, heavy cream, and paneer) we also took a little time to pickle some of the radishes in our garden. They came out so good they were all eaten before I could snap a picture.

5 May 2016 ~ Since our goats have been getting milked regularly, we have a lot of goat milk. To use that goat milk we have been making cheese! We plan to host a workshop on cheese-making around the end of the month. We will be posting the event on here and at other locations, such as The Pit Stop Store, soon.

28 April 2016 ~ Spring here, at the BBCLT, has been filled with flowers. Our orchard exploded with blooms filled with bees which has made us hopeful for plenty of fruit this coming year. We have been clearing the orchard of blackberries to make it easier to access.

25 April 2016 ~ A major undertaking for us here at the BBCLT has been to clean up the front of the property.
        
Over the years brush has grown up as well as many many blackberry vines. This has made the land look messy from the road and also allowed for these weeds to take over parts of our orchard and our grape vines.  The arbor for the grape vines were pulled down by other vines and had to be remade.

19 April 2016 ~ With all of our new kids, our herd has been growing and in need of a new grazing area. The animals have been picking the corner field clean and it was time to open up another one of our fields to them. Therefore, we have been busy, at the BBCLT, to fix some of our old fences and put in some new ones.
    Now, each morning, the goats, kids, and sheep are herded across a small bridge to a field full of grass. At first it was hard to convince them to cross the bridge, but now that they know a feast awaits them they are eager to go. The kids are now integrated with the herd and are enjoying the fresh green grass.
     In moving the goats and sheep over we will be able to cut down on feed costs. For now we are keeping the pigs on the corner field as that field is protected by electric fence which makes it easier to keep the pigs from wandering. We are also keeping the yaks there for now until we have a bit more fencing up.
For more information on the paddock system, see this post on our website: https://amaze-n-gardens.org/…/working-on-the-paddock-system/
Above the wooden fence, barbed wire has been added to secure the field better.  A bunch of new fencing has been added.  We are keeping the pigs on the corner field for now as it has an electric fence which keeps the pigs from wandering.  At first the goats and sheep thought that the hugels looked delicious.  The animals were wary of the bridge at first, but now they are pros.  They are all so happy for fresh, young grass.

16 April 2016 ~ One of the many projects we have been working on are creating new garden beds. In the back yard of the Volunteer’s house there was plenty of space so we added two new gardens. The ground was tilled and beds were dug. Then we went and gathered stones for pathways. Now we are adding wooden fences using some of the cut wood we have from cleaning up the front lawn. Some of our starts have been transplanted into them and a bunch of seeds have been directly seeded.
   

10 April 2016 ~ One of the ways we kept busy during the Winter months is by doing some improvements to the volunteer house. The flooring in the back entry way and laundry room was replaced and a wall was built in the back room. The wall in the back room separates the space creating an office and another bed room.

3 April 2016 ~ The poultry, goats, pigs and yaks enjoy grain as a part of their diets. Most of the grain we use is red wheat as it has a lot of protein but also add barley and corn. This grain mixture is bought in bulk and then transferred into barrels which are then kept in the barn to keep the it dry. Each barrel lasts roughly a week and contains around 300 pounds of grain.

27 March 2016 ~ Our Chickens and Ducks have producing a lot of eggs lately. The eggs come in all shapes and sizes…

24 March 2016 ~ Have I mentioned that we now have peacocks?

20 March 2016 ~ This year the hugels produced a huge abundance of pumpkins. In order to use as many pumpkins as possible we have made pies, breads, jams, dog food, fruit leather, and cookies. In addition we have given many to community. To keep the ones we still had from rotting we pureed them and froze the puree. To do this we half the pumpkins and remove the seeds to be saved for planting or roasting. Then we bake the pumpkins, remove the skin, blend them, vacuum seal them and freeze them.

17 March 2016 ~ While we are all slightly obsessed with the Kids, there is more than goats happening right now at the BBCLT. The other day a friend of the farm wandered through the hugels and came back with four Morel mushrooms. Intrigued we ventured out to look for ourselves. It is definitely the right time for them to be popping up and it had just stopped raining after a good four to five days of drenching the soil. The hugels are flooded which creates a great moist environment and the decomposing wood, which the hugels are formed with, is perfect for Morels.