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Elora Overbey’s face lights up when she talks about food and family. “Our family’s love

language is food,” she told me. “It’s a shared passion.” So, it’s no surprise that she eventually

ended up at the Allegheny Mountain Institute.

Perched against the clouds that drift across the mountains of Highland County, Virginia,

the Institute is remote, even by mountain standards, but the vistas, learning, and lifestyle are,

as Elora says, “magical and impactful.”

Founded in 2011, AMI’s motto is “Growing Food. Building Community.” Fellows, who

are typically young adults “near the beginning of their careers,” are selected “based on their

passion for creating a more sustainable food system and their change-making potential.”

Being a Fellow at AMI is all about the food and the community. It’s about learning to

grow, not only from seeds planted in the greenhouse and garden, but also from the community

of Fellows who’ve come there to learn with you.

Elora came to AMI by way of what she refers to as “a series of overlapping concentric

circles.” She began her post-college career as a freelance photographer and journalist in

Portland, Oregon with a desire to tell stories about communities. She supplemented her

income by working at an Israeli-themed food cart. There, Elora learned that she loved to cook,

and that she was intrigued by the way that food defined the quality of human life.

Then, Elora moved back to Virgina and began volunteering with her mom at Lynchburg

Grows. She became more interested in the idea of food deserts: urban areas where there is no

easy source of fresh produce. As she helped with the program’s Veggie Van, Elora ran into
people who didn’t know what to do with the vegetables that they were buying. She says,

“Something was missing. The tools I had weren’t helping me address the issues of teaching

people how to access good food and take charge of their own health.”

When Elora saw a posting for a Fellowship at Allegheny Mountain Institute, she realized

her life had come full circle. Not only did the program emphasize the same passion her family

found in sharing and preparing food, it’s also possible that one of the buildings was constructed

with the help of her mother, who attended timber-framing classes there when it was Bear

Mountain Outdoor School. Elora says that “life is strange and does full circles all the time.”

Recognizing the significance of those overlapping circles, she applied to the program.

First year Fellows arrive on the mountain just in time to begin the growing season and

spend six months working in the gardens and participating in workshops designed to expand

their knowledge of organic, sustainable gardening.

Elora says it’s also a time of “putting tools in your toolkit so you can take what you’ve

learned out into the larger community.” Fellows, who live as a family, “learn to have and

facilitate wonderful, but hard conversations so, that as we work to bring food to communities,

we also are equipped to work in community development.”

In their second year, or Phase II of the program, the Fellows move out into the larger

community and help start sustainable food-based programs. Some also take on leadership roles

at the Institute. In addition to her work with the local school, Elora serves as a mentor to the

new Fellows as the learning cycles, again.

Now, Allegheny Mountain Institute is widening its reach. While residents of nearby

counties have always been encouraged to participate in Wednesday workshops, the program is
offering its first year of “stay on the farm” experiences so that anyone with an interest in

sustainable organic gardening can come and learn with the Fellows.

There are two ways to visit. Those who choose to come mid-week will have the

opportunity to spend Wednesday in workshop with the Fellows. Topics in the past have

included beekeeping, perennial orchards, the soil web, raising chickens, seed saving and

fermentation methods.

Mid-week visitors eat all meals on the mountain with the Fellows. Elora described the

meals as magnificent because they are picked fresh and prepared by the Fellows who are all

“passionate food nerds.”

Visitors may also choose a weekend package. These are more relaxed because the

Fellows are off-duty. While there are no formal activities for weekend visitors, the Fellows have

prepared a list of “ways to interact with the natural beauty,” that include porch sitting, hikes,

and nearby bike trails and rock climbing.

If you are ready to experience a place that’s “still kind of wild,” or if you want to “play

and work in the dirt and learn where your food comes from,” then check out Allegheny

Mountain Institute. You’ll come away with a new sense of wonder.

Sidebar

Website: www.alleghenymountaininstitute.org

Rooms available: 4 with a mix of queens and bunks

Tu-Th stays include all meals

Fri-Sun stays include only breakfast with an optional packed lunch

Wifi available, but only limited Verizon service