Reminiscences from Camp Joy Apprentice Maria Jackson, 2016-2019
Camp Joy means a family away from my family. It means a place where I can feel at home– be surrounded by good people, fabulous food, beauty, and love. It is a place where you know someone will always be around (probably Jim), tending, talking, mending… and you are always welcome to join.
Camp Joy is where I have distilled my thoughts about the kind of homestead and community I want. It is so unique in that it really is more of a homestead than a farm; I have learned how to grow food, of course, but more importantly, I have learned how to live off the land. I know how to can my fruits and vegetables, how to dry flowers and make teas and salve. I know how to milk a goat and make cheese and yogurt from it. How many places still exist where you can learn these things? I am so grateful there is still at least one.
Some of my richest experiences have come from within the fences of Camp Joy–I have watched animals and plants grow. I have watched animals and plants die. I have watched parts of myself grow and other parts of myself die. Camp Joy is always changing and invites its inhabitants to change along with it.
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Maria L. Jackson
College of Charleston ’12
B.S. Psychology, B.A. Women’s and Gender Studies