White Rose Catholic Worker Farm

WRCW is committed to faith, hospitality to the homeless, education for social justice, peacemaking/nonviolence, sustainability, and gift economy. Started in 2009 in the Chicagoland area, the WRCW moved to Northeast Missouri in spring of 2014. We are dedicated to integral nonviolence (meaning to self, others, earth, institutions, etc.) including caring for those in need, striving towards electricity & petroleum free living, gift economy, communal living, simplicity, etc. We are part of Bear Creek Community Land Trust, which is a 190 acre off-the-grid community with our immediate neighbors the Peace & Permaculture Center as well as 3 other individual and family homesteads. We have three buildings on the land: a medium-sized workshop that has 4 season housing on one side and storage on the other, a small 4 season one-room cabin, and a small 3 season cabin. Planning to build more natural buildings to expand our housing options. Life on the farm includes home-cooked meals, composting toilets, hosting those in need, growing vegetables, planting trees, continuing permaculture design, candle-making, chopping wood, hosting college groups, and much more! Off the farm, we are involved in a variety of social justice causes. There are plenty of additional opportunities on the 190 acres like classes on permaculture, wild edibles, primitive skills, nonviolent communication, canning/preserving vegetables, natural building, etc. Plenty of self entertainment is available on the 190 acres … community plays, puppet shows, music jams, birthday parties, sports playing, craft nights, etc. The 190 acres hosts over 700 visitors a year … so there are plenty of opportunities to meet people from all over the country and the world doing fascinating things. The nearest town is La Plata, which is 6 miles away and has a public library and an Amtrak station! So it is easy to get to by mass transportation. We have extra bikes available for use. Kirksville is 14 miles away and is a small college town. The Catholic Worker movement is composed of over 200 communities worldwide of many different faiths (not just Catholic) that are committed to nonviolence, voluntary poverty, prayer, hospitality for the homeless, exiled, hungry, and forsaken, and protest of injustice and violence of all forms. To learn more about the movement, the best book is probably “Loaves & Fishes” by Dorothy Day (co-founder). Other skills – Our neighbors are often working on a variety of interesting projects like straw bale house building, hand tool repair, bike maintenance, canning, spoon carving, fermenting foods, horse care, etc. There could be opportunities to volunteer with some of these projects on occasion. What to do in town: Take Root Cafe (in Kirksville) is an amazing non-profit cafe started by our friends that serves local foods and is pay-what-you-can. Lots of workshops and community events. You can exchange an hour of volunteering for a meal. Our favorite place in town! —–2023 WRCW Calendar of Events—– 4/1 Sat, Workshop: Intro to Spring Organic Vegetable Gardening—–4/21 Fri, Earth Day Walk & Trash Pickup—–5/6 Sat, Workshop: Intro to Summer Organic Vegetable Gardening—–5/13-5/15, Field Trip: Baker Creek Heirloom Seed – Spring Planting Festival—–5/26-5/29, Memorial Day Weekend Camp & Craft (hosted by Bear Creek Community Land Trust)—–6/13 Tues, Workshop: Crochet Time!—–6/17 Sat, Summer Solstice: Block Party—–6/25 Sun, Workshop: Therapeutic Tremoring – Shake off stress & trauma—–7/22 Sat, Workshop: Natural Family Planning/Fertility Awareness—–8/12 Sat, Workshop: Intro to Fall Organic Vegetable Gardening—–9/1-4, Labor Day Weekend Workshop: Natural Plasters—–9/8-9/10, Field Trip: “Sugar Creek” Midwest Catholic Worker Retreat (Preston, IA)—–10/22 Sun, Roundtable Discussion: Death, Dying & Grief—–10/28 Sat, Halloween: Costumes, Games, Healthy Treating, “Gross Foods” Potluck—–11/11 Sat, Workshop: Intro to Firewood Processing/Using Woodstove—–11/24 Fri, Hike! Post-Thanksgiving day hike thru the woods—–12/5 Tues, Advent Reflection—–1/9/24 Tues, Epiphany Craft Circle—–1/23/24 Tues, Workshop: Crochet Time!—–2/6/24 Tues, Roundtable Discussion: The Catholic Worker Movement—–2/20/24 Tues, Song Circle—–3/5/24 Tues, Lenten Reflection (4p-6p) **Call for more details on any of the events. Individuals/Families of all ages are welcome to attend any workshops.