Analia Sanchez, Michael Wagner, John Martinez, Marco Zarate
Biggest Little Farm – Documentary on Traditional/Regenerative Farming
Background
A testament to the immense complexity of nature, The Biggest Little Farm follows
two dreamers and a dog on an odyssey to bring harmony to both their lives and the
land. When the barking of their beloved dog Todd leads to an eviction notice from
their tiny LA apartment, John and Molly Chester make a choice that takes them out
of the city and onto 200 acres in the foothills of Ventura County, naively endeavoring
to build one of the most diverse farms of its kind in complete coexistence with nature.
The land they’ve chosen, however, is utterly depleted of nutrients and suffering from
a brutal drought. The film chronicles eight years of daunting work and outsize
idealism as they attempt to create the utopia they seek, planting 10,000 orchard
trees and over 200 different crops, and bringing in animals of every kind– including
an unforgettable pig named Emma and her best friend, Greasy the rooster. When the
farm’s ecosystem finally begins to reawaken, so does the Chesters’ hope – but as
their plan to create perfect harmony takes a series of wild turns, they realize that to
survive they will have to reach a far greater understanding of the intricacies and
wisdom of nature, and of life itself.
Apricot Lane Farms is a traditional foods farm started by John and Molly Chester, a
husband and wife team, who left their jobs in Los Angeles to become farmers and
pursue their dream vision of starting Apricot Lane Farms in 2011. Located 40 miles
north of Los Angeles, the farm is dedicated to the mission of creating a
well-balanced ecosystem and rich soils that produce nutrient-dense foods while
treating the environment and the animals with respect. Apricot Lane farm residents
include pigs, goats, sheep, chickens, ducks, guinea hens, horses, highland cattle,
and one brown Swiss dairy cow named “Maggie.” Many of which, you will meet in the
Biggest Little Farm. The land consists of Biodynamic Certified avocado and lemon
orchards, a vegetable garden, pastures, and over 75 varieties of stone fruit.
Biggest Little Farm Worksheet Questions
NAME(S): __
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1.
How does the farm change from the beginning to the end of the film?
When they purchased that piece of land was very dry, degraded, and with a
lack of soil and vegetation. In the end, the farm changed a lot The
transformation is very evident the soil quality improved. There were a lot of
animals and insects that got attracted of because the healthy ecosystem that
they built and took care of for many years.
