While most of the agricultural vendors at the Durango Farmers Market focus predominantly on selling what they’ve grown, Turtle Lake Refuge’s mission is largely community outreach and recruitment.
“Sometimes we really put the ‘non’ in ‘nonprofit,’” said Nate Reynolds, a member of the Turtle Lake community. “So bringing in people who are interested in volunteering or donating or getting involved at some level – it’s probably about 50% of what I do here.”
The refuge, started in 1998 by Katrina Blair on four acres northwest of Durango, grows, harvests and prepares “local, wild and living food” through its Turtle Cafe and Turtle Lake Community Farm, according to its website.
“We are a community that focuses on – I’d call it connection with the land,” Reynolds said. “What that means is raw, organic, local agriculture; regenerative agriculture. We forage as much as we can – so every one of our products has some kind of wild harvested ingredient in it.”
At the farmers market, Turtle Lake sells: microgreens, kombuchas, distillations of wild harvested ingredients, fermented products such as kimchi and kraut, dehydrated foods, granola bars and other kinds of treats, he said. They are mostly prepared at the cafe at 848 East Third Ave., a converted Victorian house that also hosts lunches on Tuesdays and Fridays from 11:11 a.m. to 2:22 p.m.
Turtle Lake Refuge also teaches classes and organizes events, including the Dandelion Festival in May. For more information, drop by the booth at the farmers market or visit turtlelakerefuge.org.
ngonzales@durangoherald.com