A Fond Good-bye to a Community Member

Milton Wallace arrived at  Whole Village in 2014 from Toronto to live his final years in an ecovillage. As an early resident of The Farm in Tennessee, Milt served in many capacities – farmer, gatekeeper, elder/counsellor.

He went on to live in other ecovillages and even co-create, with his wife Barbara, an ecovillage of their own called Sun Run.  They started the Ecovillage Network of Canada, running workshops, tours, and publishing a newsletter. Milt had a history of farming and construction to bring to our community too.  

Milt shared his experiences and learnings from community living at many Whole Village meetings.  He also was the first to bring rare breed cattle to the farm. His black Kerry cows were his pride and joy.  This project created lots of work in the pastures: building fences, weeding, and haying.  The community rallied around and now the herd has been extended and haying time has become an annual ritual.

Another important gift to our community and to other farmers nearby has been the establishment of a biochar project.  Milt and Barb taught us how to create a special char that could hold water, help soil fertility, and sequester carbon for years to come. We now have a large Kon Tiki kiln that can turn waste wood into a useful product.

Villagers will miss Milt and remain grateful for his counsel and support over the years.  He was a great example of living simply with a reduced footprint. We thank him for his gifts to us and to the earth.