Modeling Values

Les Barden and his handiwork

Les Barden has been living as a model sustainable farmer in rural New Hampshire for more than 40 of his 78 years. After a tour of duty in the Marine Corps and a brief career teaching math and science at the local school, Les returned to his true passion – farming.  Today he is almost an anachronism, a throwback to days when families had to be self-sufficient. From his barn to the woodworking shop, from his sawmill shed to the house in which he lives, Les has built every square inch of his place by hand using trees harvested on his farm. The trees were carried from the woods on a horse-drawn "scoot," a wooden sled, also made by Les! Each piece of wood used in the construction of these buildings and tools was cut by Les’ two hands.        

  
The hands and the wood that built the farm

Today, Les uses Percheron draft horses to plow his fields and pull his timber cart. For a grass mower, he uses a Depression-era mechanical cart and blade that is pulled by his team of horses. It’s an understatement to say that Les is not a fan of modern farm machinery. It’s not that he’s against progress; he just doesn’t see the progress of values in the post-modern age.

"Everyday when my son came home from school, he knew where I was and what I was doing," says Les when asked why it’s so important for him to do things this way. Though a man of few words, his actions speak volumes. From just a brief visit with Les, the overarching message one gets is this: It’s not what you say, it’s what you do – and that’s all that matters in the big picture. If you believe it, practice it, and that’s what Les has been doing all of these years. 

The handmade "scoot" that Les uses to carry the timber.

Ironically, it was a brief stint working in a plastics factory that allowed Les to save the money he needed to buy his land. "Those five years nearly killed me," says Les, still traumatized by the experience so many years later.

From neighbors to college interns, all sorts of folk have come to learn from Les the skills and knowledge he possesses, everything from soil conservation to how to make oxen yokes. But perhaps, even unconsciously, it is something deeper and more meaningful that they hope to learn from him?

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