Raising sustainable pork as a new venture

Raising sustainable pork as a new venture

  • posted on: June 26, 2020
  • posted by: 21 Acres
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Greetings! My name is Masra Clamoungou. I was born, raised, and still live on the land that some people know as the Rainier Valley Neighborhood of South Seattle.

For the past five or so years, sustainable agriculture has grown from an area of interest sparked by an elective credit community college class into a rapidly developing passion. This passion has led me to an opportunity to produce a pilot project for a small farm enterprise: raising four feeder pigs on pasture, and providing local, ethically- and sustainably-produced, pasture-raised pork for my community. 

 

These pigs currently live on the 21 Acres farm and I’m looking forward to sharing more about what I learn here on the blog.

Part of the reason why sustainable agriculture was so appealing to me was learning about the concept of agroecology: finding ways that we, as humans, can interact with our surrounding systems in ways that allow for mutual flourishing. I look forward to exploring the ways in which agroecology can inform the ways we produce food, and how humans can interact with the wider world.

First and foremost, this is a hands-on educational experience for me. I will be drawing upon educational resources primarily related to animal husbandry and basic business practices, as well as consulting with nearby farmers with hog-rearing experience (some of you may know Tuk Muk farm in Woodinville).

In addition to these nuts-and-bolts areas of interest, this project will allow me to thoroughly observe and test the impacts of rotating hogs on pasture that is filled with invasive reed canary grass. In order to measure the impacts of the hogs, I will spend a significant amount of time recording the plant species distribution and the levels of impact the pigs cause – including benefits to the farm ecology. Through these practices, I’ll be working to improve my understanding of the ecological processes which occur on this portion of the 21 Acres farm.

Without further ado, let’s bring out the real stars of the show: the pigs!

What are the pigs like? First and foremost, you’ll notice that the four pigs (two male and two female) love to frolic in the mud. They are total snack hounds and you may spot them munching on snails or food scraps from the Farm Market.

Thank you for tuning in to our journey this summer! You can continue to follow the project on the 21Acres blog, Facebook and Instagram, as well as my Instagram page @thefarmwalk for more.

 


About Masra Clamoungou

Masra Clamoungou was born and raised in the South End of Seattle, and has spent the last five years learning about and working in sustainable agriculture. Until recently, he was attending Sterling College in Kentucky pursuing a degree in Sustainable Agriculture. At the moment, he is passionate about pigs.

If you would like to learn more or support Masra’s pigs and future farming ventures, you can follow/donate at these links:

Instagram: @thefarmwalk

Venmo: @Masra-Clamoungou

Paypal: paypal.me/mclam2