ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT-KALYN CAMPBELL ’10
Kalyn Campbell Alumni Spotlight for September 2023
Kalyn graduated in 2010 with a major in Environmental Science. She began working at the farm the summer of her sophomore year, in 2008. Then was a student farmer until graduation. Kalyn received a grant to build a little teaching garden there after graduation. And then was an apprentice at the farm for a season.
She did work study at the college. Her freshman year she worked in the dining hall. After working there, she wanted something different, so went on to work for ALLARM during sophomore year. She worked mostly on the computer there and decided that wasn’t for me. So that’s when she applied to work at the farm, she ended up loving it and knew it was her life path to work outside with the land.
After graduation she went on to work for various farms, dairy, veggie and meat. But she had a strong passion for dairy farming. So, she moved back home to VT in 2013 and she got an opportunity to buy an established dairy farm. She ran that for 3 years and then sold it to start homesteading.
Kalyn has been trying to hone her homesteading skills now for 7 years. Last year she started an Educational Homestead based on what she has learned.
Kalyn lives in Tunbridge VT and runs the HandSpun Cow Educational Homestead.
She milks a cow, raises sheep for meat and wool. Also, grows all her own veggies and grains. She is also working on making all her clothing and other necessities. Kalyn teaches others how to live this way too at www.thehandspuncow.com go check her out if you are interested in the homesteading lifestyle. Working for the farm helped create the path Kalyn’s life took. It opened her eyes to a way of life and passion for the land. Her hope is to homestead and live simply for the rest of her life. Her goal is to help and affect others to live this way too.
Kalyn has other hobbies in her busy life. She always loved singing, but has recently discovered Community Singing, so that is her new hobby. People get together and sing simply songs together and create harmonies and layer melodies. And conveniently she can sing while working!
A Dickinson Farm favorite was working alongside people in the fields. You get to know someone so well and quickly that way. She also really enjoyed harvesting food straight from the field and cooking with it. That was a pretty new experience for her during that time. During her time as an apprentice, they all would have canning parties and just get together in the apprentice kitchen to preserve food and have fun.