New Frontier Farm Sharing a passion for pure food By Jennifer Miller Corsicana Daily Sun
I
f your first impression of Cliff Patterson and Betina Hawkins was from Dancing for Our Stars, the wildly successful benefit for Navarro College, it might be difficult to picture them in their natural habitat. They don’t spend much time in tuxedo and sequins and high heels dancing a tango. Rather, they prefer the earth, what comes from it, working it, and using their yield from it to sustain themselves. Many people around town associate Patterson with Miles Furniture. But in 2010, he and Hawkins started New Frontier Farm out of a desire for freedom and independence from the commercial food market, upon which consumers rely so heavily. Since that time, they have produced enough to sell to friends and at local farmers markets. Since the farm requires a lot of work (they have animals, too), they discovered a non-profit program called World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF), which allows people from all over the world to visit other places and gain new experiences by helping on the farm. New Frontier Farm has hosted several “wwoofers” from all kinds of locales. One in particular was Thomas De Troyer, who came from Brussels in Belgium, via New York and Bastrop, Texas. His primary reasons for joining the wwoofing movement were to see the world and learn about the true origins
of our food. In his home land of Belgium, genetically modified foods are outlawed by the government. The growing season is different there and it’s cold most of the time. “Your winters are like our summers,” he said. The weather is not the only thing he loves about Texas. De Troyer recently enjoyed his first Rice Krispy Treat and has even taken some lessons in dance at the local studio. A typical day in his life on the farm includes birthing goats, mending fence, gathering eggs, gardening, feeding animals, and eating the bountiful harvest of the day. In exchange, De Troyer gets to travel to America and stay on a farm at no charge. Hosts and guests make connections via the wwoofing website, as well as other forms of media like Skype. Lots of potential wwoofers have clamored to come stay at New Frontier Farm, but Hawkins and Patterson are careful to choose just the right candidate. “We learn about each other’s worlds,” Hawkins said.
And, once a candidate is chosen and arrives in Navarro County, they continue to learn about one another’s worlds. “I cook for them, and sometimes, they cook a meal from their homeland for me,” Hawkins said. The passion that links them despite their cultural (and sometimes language) differences is a desire for a simpler life with self-sustainability, healthier foods and placing value on living creatures. It is the shared aspiration to take not only better care of themselves, but of their world.
Published April 28, 2016