Junebug Farmers and Handmade Goods

Come Together Trading Company
Cometogethertrading.com
At Come Together Trading, our mission is helping small micro-business artisans in developing countries find a market for their handcrafted goods. All of the items we sell are handmade with great love and every purchase helps provide a better life for the artisans who made it.

We were first exposed to extreme poverty up close and very personal while traveling to Africa with Compassion International back in 2009. That trip completely changed our lives and opened our eyes to the fact that there’s a great big world out there, and it’s very different from ours.

We met many amazing and incredible people who, although they were living in poverty, were filled with such joy, faith, and love that we quickly realized we were the ones who were poor.

Many of the women in the small humble churches we visited had set up tables and were selling beautiful hand crafted items they had made.

By purchasing their items we knew we were helping them but it felt different. It wasn’t charity. We were equals and we were engaging in trade. It was helping us and it was helping them.

Come Together Trading was founded later that same year to share their stories and products with the world. We have since grown to represent over 100 small artisan groups from over 30 different countries around the world. Thank you for shopping with us! Every purchase makes a world of difference.

Terry and Tammy Marshall – Founders – Come Together Trading

Hand Stands & Hula Hoops
Handstandsandhulahoops.co
I started learning to hoop dance and
making hula hoops in 2008 because I thought it would be fun to make hula hoops for a gymnastics summer camp. I discovered that hooping is good exercise, spiritually enlightening, meditative, and of course all out fun. As a gymnastics teacher I have discovered that hula hooping is a wonderful tool for motor skill development for children.

 

Henna by Kerian
Kerian is an illustrator by trade so doing henna comes naturally to her. She will have a booth with her artwork and comfy chairs to get some lovely henna done.

 

 

 

 

 

Gopher Knoll Farms, Athens, TX
Gardenfreshveggies.co
Gopher Knoll Farm is a family owned and operated farm, specializing in growing heirloom fruits, vegetables and melons for
our local market.  We use natural farming techniques comparable to recognized organic standards to encourage healthy vegetables and naturally discourage pests and plant diseases.  The farm is located in Athens, TX.    We use certified organic, or non-gmo, open pollinated seed and starts.  NO chemical fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides or herbicides are ever used.    Not certified.  Just good gardening.

In addition to our CSA, you’ll find our produce at Athens Organic Supply, Hwy 31 E, Athens.

 

Earthstead Farms, Ben Wheeler, TX
Earthstead.org
Sam Dodson- Sam grew up in the Dallas area and has an engineering background. He worked in telecom for about 10 years until realizing being part of someone else’s cube farm was not what he wanted for his life. Shortly after he moved to New Hampshire for 2 years to be a part of the Free State (drama) Project which sought to bring about greater liberty by encouraging like minded people to move to a general geographic area. In this time he gained experience as an activist, videographer,  nationally syndicated radio host, and a jailbird.
In 2011 Sam moved home to the family farm in East Texas to begin creating a homestead. There, he added several ponds, a 1/4 acre series of hugelkultur beds, worked on an earthbag dwelling, and ran his sawmill to utilize the dead trees on the property. Since then, he and Rebecca have obtained their own 30 acre farm in Ben Wheeler, TX, where they are currently focusing on their pastured poultry operation, as well as seasonal produce. Long term plans for the farm also include a market garden operation, greenhouses, pastured pork and sheep, an orchard, swales, and food forests, many of which will support their sustainable farming initiative.

Rebecca Visconti-Rebecca grew up living in the country-side with cows, horses, chickens, a large vegetable garden, home canned foods, and was very connected to the earth. Due to her scholastic achievement, she was encouraged to pursue the “American Dream.” She ultimately obtained her MBA and became submerged in a corporate lifestyle, which included both living and traveling overseas. She still works in the digital analytics industry and works as an adjunct professor at two local universities, which gives her an outlet for her passion for teaching.

Despite these accomplishments, Rebecca found that she felt very disconnected from the world around her and sought to regain a better balance in life. Over the past few years she has become passionate about gardening and connecting with nature and has become an advocate for both green living and nutrition. She and Sam are creating a sustainable life on their farm, with their beloved young daughter, where they can live in balance between the earth and the modern world. She hopes to continue pursuing her passion for teaching others to live in harmony with the earth and one another.  She also enjoys dancing, cooking, juicing, writing and learning something new every day.

 

Grow it Forward Farms, Edom, TX
Grow it Forward Farm on Facebook
We are a small family farm located in Edom, Texas. Our goal is to bring our community & customers fresh, locally grown produce that is chemical free.

 

Trystan Rhys- Kombucha and soaps

Black Beauty Ranch- Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch—operated by The Fund for Animals in partnership with The HSUS—is America’s largest and most diverse animal sanctuary in Murchison, Texas. With over 1,400 acres, it is home to almost 1,000 domestic and exotic animals, many of whom have been rescued from near-death situations such as slaughterhouses, biomedical research laboratories, trophy hunting ranches and the exotic pet trade.  Bison and cattle, horses and burros, antelope and apes, camels and tigers: all have permanent, safe homes at the ranch.

The Sanctuary is also home to the innovative Doris Day Horse Rescue and Adoption Center, which focuses on developing optimum programs to elevate the public perception of horses rescued from cruelty and neglect through hands-on rescue, rehabilitation, training and placement of equines.

The Sanctuary is not a zoo and is only open to the public for private, small, guided tours to respect the peace and privacy of the animals. To learn more about our ranch visitation program and purchase tickets, please visit our website.