Our Book

Many Hands Make a Farm traces the inspiring journey of organic farming pioneers Julie Rawson and Jack Kittredge. The couple met in 1976, working as community organizers in Boston. After falling in love and starting a family, they decided to use Jack’s occasional side-job earnings as a board game designer as a springboard to get out of the city and move back to the land where they could grow healthy food for their children. What began as a family homestead soon blossomed into the diversified Many Hands Organic Farm.

In this honest and entertaining memoir, two activists recount the nearly half century they’ve spent questioning authority, raising a family, starting an organic farm, building a community, leading a farming organization, and experiencing the struggles and joys of living a purposeful life.

In a time when society at large was “going along to get along,” Julie and Jack stood out as leaders and iconoclasts. They chose to buck the mainstream by minimizing energy use, raising their food organically, not relying on credit, favoring natural health care, and actively participating in the arts, believing that taking risks and making bold decisions can unlock one’s full potential.

Many Hands Make a Farm will resonate with fans of original thinkers from Henry David Thoreau and Wendell Berry to Lynn Margulis and Adelle Davis. The book shows the value of finding roots in a community, respecting the Earth, and combining social justice work with the joys and challenges of family. These themes shine through on every page, making this memoir a must-read for anyone seeking inspiration and guidance on finding meaning in this life.