Our Story
For as long as I can remember, I have dreamed of living on a farm, being surrounded by animals, and building a life close to nature. That opportunity finally arrived when I inherited the Pennsylvania property where I grew up, bringing me out of city life and back to the country where I have always felt I belong.
Today, we are turning that lifelong dream into Laven Thymes. We are combining our experiences, knowledge, interests, and willingness to learn as we build the homestead together, one thoughtful step at a time.
Our Mission
Laven Thymes is about creating a healthier, more rooted way of life by cultivating a living homestead ecosystem, growing organically, practicing thoughtful land stewardship and responsible animal care, exploring whole-person wellness, and balancing useful traditional knowledge with modern tools, research, and everyday life. We openly share what we do, research, make, try, and learn so others can follow the journey, learn alongside us, and use what speaks to them in their own lives.
The Bigger Picture
Laven Thymes will bring traditional knowledge and practical skills into balance with modern tools, research, and the realities of everyday life. As it grows, it will become a place for learning, creating, and connection through honest documentation, educational resources, hands-on experiences, courses, and thoughtfully developed products. With gardens, animals, working spaces, and eventually a commercial kitchen, Laven Thymes will offer a living example of how a healthier, more rooted way of life can be built realistically and responsibly, one thoughtful step at a time.
Our Values
Cultivating a Living Ecosystem
We are cultivating a diverse, productive ecosystem where people, plants, animals, fungi, insects, wildlife, and the soil all have important roles. Through organic growing, natural pest management, soil building, habitat support, and thoughtful animal integration, we aim to develop a food forest and homestead that are productive, balanced, abundant, and deeply loved and cared for. Our methods will continue to evolve as we learn what the land needs and what works in practice.
Caring With Purpose
We treat the land, animals, plants, and other living things in our care with respect and compassion. Whether an animal provides companionship, pest control, fertilizer, fiber, food, or another contribution to the homestead, its life and well-being matter. Productivity and humane, responsible care must exist together.
Practical Knowledge for Modern Life
We explore traditional knowledge and nearly lost skills, preserving what deserves to be remembered and applying older methods when they offer practical value, insight, or meaning. We value knowing how to grow, make, repair, preserve, adapt, and solve problems while also using modern tools, research, and methods when they make the work safer, more reliable, or realistically sustainable. Developing these capabilities builds confidence, creativity, and resourcefulness in everyday life.
Learning and Sharing Honestly
We distinguish between what we know, what we have personally experienced, what research suggests, and what we are still trying to understand. We openly share successes, failures, changes, and unanswered questions because honest learning is more valuable than pretending to have mastered everything. Others are welcome to learn alongside us and decide which ideas fit their own needs, circumstances, and values.
Supporting Whole-Person Wellness
We explore how food, plants, movement, rest, environment, mindset, purpose, connection, and daily practices can influence health and vitality. We recognize that wellness is personal and complex, and we share information carefully to encourage greater understanding, realistic expectations, and thoughtful individual choices.
Follow Our Journey
Get to know the people, projects, and everyday moments behind Laven Thymes. Browse our stories, see what we’re working on, and grow with us as we bring this dream to life.
