Sandhill emphasizes work that members enjoy; if something isn't getting done we either change our attitude or stop doing it. We operate without work quotas and with few schedules. Instead, we talk regularly about what needs doing and ask for help when we need it.

It is important to us that we feel fundamentally good about what we do and how we do it. We enjoy learning new skills, sharing old ones, setting our own pace, and taking breaks together.

Since much of our work and play happens outdoors, we've learned to flow with the seasons and the weather. Throughout most of the growing season and sorghum harvest we are aided in our efforts by a group of interns.

Together, we grow and process most of our own food including canning, freezing, dehydrating and live fermentation.

Mealtimes are a very social touchstone in our days. We also share in meal preparation, childcare, tending our animals (chickens, turkeys, cats and dogs), laundry, cleaning and meeting process.

Other things we do, such as construction, cutting firewood, gardening, food processing, bee keeping, poultry, farming, selling our products at fairs and community networking are based on a combination of individual interests and group needs.

All major household and business decisions are handled using the consensus model. We spend most of our time and energy on the farm,although two members travel considerably for their work.

Historically, our main income has been from the sale of natural food products: sorghum, honey, tempeh, mustard, horseradish, garlic, and other items we grow and process on the farm. In recent years we have developed outreach work as a major second income source. This includes work for the Fellowship for Intentional Community, process consulting and organic farm inspections.

Living close to the land, we often wrestle with issues around appropriate technology. We closely track the inputs we bring to the farm and value the products we are able to make from the farm. We try to hold a long term view of the impacts of our choices whether in land use practices, fuel usage, consumer goods or relations with neighbors. This past year we went through an ecoaudit process to both applaud our good efforts and inspire us to do more in both our own environmental practices and our outreach efforts.