In 1999 the Sisters of St. Mary were asked to include animal husbandry as part of their novitiate program for young women from the Anglican Diocese of Northern Malawi. From 2000 to 2003 the sisters raised dairy goats, producing milk and
cheese. The African sisters currently raise sheep and goats for meat on their 9-acre farm, and chickens for meat and eggs.
In 2003 the American sisters moved from metropolitan New York upstate to a rural, agricultural area and made the decision to continue their micro-farm enterprise in solidarity with their African sisters' farm which raises food for their ministry to local orphans. Our convent in Greenwich, NY, was completed by 2004 and a barn for small ruminants was built in 2005.
In 2004 we were given a start-up herd of
cashmere goats and made the transition
from dairy to fiber production. We keep
a small organic garden for our own food
production, and process vegetables, berries and fruit in the late summer. We
kept bees for a few years, and have raised
chickens
for eggs. In 2009 we expanded
the fiber
operation
to
include Blue-faced
Leicester
sheep.
St.
Mary's-on-the-Hill
products
support the
work and ministry
of
the
sisters in
America and central Africa.
The sisters' primary work is prayer with
the
farm providing labor for hands
and
hearts.
The fiber work draws the
community
together
in a common
enterprise -- part of
our
Benedictine
ethos. Stewardship of the
land
and
animal husbandry are seen as
facets
of a larger life lived to the glory of
God.
2010 Sheep and Goats for Sale:
Cashmere Goat Buck
Cashmere Goat Wethers
Blue-faced Leicester Sheep
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