Former Yankees Suck-man and NYC-er Jamie Manza has relocated to the Hudson Valley where he lives on a former dairy farm. Manza is currently taking the 200-year-old Blough Farm off-the-grid, meaning it will soon be self-sufficient without reliance on public utilities. Medicine is planning on documenting Blough’s progress in words, pictures, and video, in a series called Mr Awesome’s Awesome Adventure.
By Jamie “Mr Awesome” Manza
Blough Farm is a 76-acre property located in central Orange County, New York. The old dairy and hay farm stopped producing as an active farm decades ago, as old Orville Blough’s physical abilities deteriorated. Now, as the current owner and resident, I strive to make the once postcard-like setting vibrant again by raising pastured animals and organic produce.Today, production of wholesome food only scratches the surface of my ambitions; self-sustenance is the goal. But I know that self-sustenance is more comprehensive than feeding oneself. To be truly independent of industrial capitalism’s reach, I’m striving to free the farm from the needs of “The Grid”. To do so, independence from municipal services is critical: no water, sewer service, OR ENERGY from outside the lines of the tax map.
As a developer (or antideveloper), I am R & D ing zero-emission homes and buildings that use only renewable energy captured on site. I have the education and most of the resources necessary to accomplish this task of independent living.
The lacking resource en route to my goal is (wo)man power. If one asks why I do not hire some bulldozers, loaders and excavators, I answer, “They use too much f*#kin’ petro”. I’m also disillusioned by the impact (noise, collateral destruction and disturbance) these machines wreak on the sensitive microclimates. Basically I don’t want to scare away the herons, swans, hawks, and eagles that reside on and around my lake and stream.
My principles create an opportunity for like-minded individuals who share this passion for protecting ecosystems; I need people with whom I can collaborate. I am looking for people to share a solution-searching dialogue and who have an affinity for certain aesthetics: architects, artists, chefs, gardeners/farmers, to name some probable candidates. All should have a viable work ethic in order to be considered.
Integral philosophies of the process are community service andfree, public education. I want everyone to “steal” these methods and the finished product so the proliferation of ideas is a result. The sooner “everyone” achieves these goals, the sooner my work is done.
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