Dirt Pearls

09/07/2026

Let's Worsh-Up!!
We had a lovely gathering for the women of Dirt Pearls on Sunday. While this project is growing, I felt it was important to keep the women's voices at the table, fellowship, and most importantly : invite them to a dinner they don't have to prepare, cleanup, or curate- to truly celebrate them and acknowledge the invisible labor women often have to do just to put supper on.
After dinner, Sophie and Olivia of Jewelweed separated into two groups to record stories that will inspire future songwriting for the series.

Food was directly purchased by the Dirt Pearl Farmers and prepared by Ali Blair ✨

Shout out to:
🌱Susana Lein of Salamander Spring Farm, Mt Vernon
🌱Storey Slone of BC Farms of Irvine
🌱Lionheart Local Lionheart Local Ravenna
🌱Ruwen Chang Froggy House Organic Farm Berea
🌱Red Haven Farm Red Haven Farm Irvine

(And a liquor store 😬🥂)

📍: Red Haven Farm Irvine
🌼: Red Haven and Marietta and Perriee
🥗 : Ali Blair of Peg + Awl Public House
🎶 : Jewelweed
📝 : facilitation by Carrie Brunk of Clear Creek Creative

"Let's Worsh Up" dinner series was made possible by receiving the Kentucky Foundation for Women and Art Meets Activism grant 🙏❤️🌱

I'm beyond thankful for this opportunity,
my community and all the support from all of ya!

💋Erica

08/25/2026

Every bloom of the okra plant is a reminder of how our ancestors brought these seeds to this country. Braided in their hair. Hidden in their pockets. Bound in chains. They didn't know where they were going but they knew they would be able to feed themselves when they got there.

08/12/2026

"THIS IS IT! This is what we have to be doing.."
Never underestimate a woman's determination. Balancing student loans, motherhood, and the doubt of others, Emily Foster of Farmer Em in Wolfe County talks about navigating her way as an environmentalist and tourist to finding her purpose and building a life in the Red River Gorge.

This series would not be possible without the support and funding from Kentucky Foundation for Women Accelerating Appalachia Wildseeds Fund and Kentucky 811

07/22/2026

From traveling the world researching bugs and birds to retreating to an off-grid hunting cabin isolated deep in the woods, Sarah Barney with Among the Oaks Herb Farm in Wolfe County, Kentucky talks about leaving academia to pursue her calling and hillbilly certification in real fieldwork on the farm and in community. ✨🌱🙏

Dirt Pearls would not be possible without the support and funding of Accelerating Appalachia , Kentucky 811 , Kentucky Foundation for Women and Wildseeds Fund 🙌🏽

07/18/2026

Are ya from it or ya of it?
Poet, professor, and arts advocate, Amy Le Ann Richardson sets down with me to discuss her reason for coming back home to the hills of Carter County and the importance of raising her family there, the trade off and discovering the difference of being "from a place" and "of a place"

Dirt Pearls would not be possible without the support and funding from Accelerating Appalachia Kentucky Foundation for Women Kentucky 811 and Wildseeds Fund

07/16/2026

As data centers and development rapidly expand across Kentucky, women are emerging as some of the strongest voices defending the state’s farmland, water, and rural communities. In this episode of Dirt Pearls, we hear the growing pains of balancing economic development with the preservation of the land that feeds us. Through the stories of Kentucky women farmers like Mary Spraggs of Good Thyme Farm and Angel Ballew of Ballew Farms , we hear what is at stake, why these landscapes matter, and learn how ordinary people are organizing to protect the future of agriculture for generations to come.

Dirt Pearls would not be possible without the support of Kentucky Foundation for Women Kentucky 811 Wildseeds Fund and Accelerating Appalachia 🙏🌱❤️

07/09/2026

Way up in a holler in Hindman, Kentucky, Jenny Stamper brought me to tears and took me to church on her cabin porch. There's nothing more cathartic than a mountain woman singin' a gospel tune in a foggy holler.
🌱❤️🙏

Thank you Accelerating Appalachia for introducing me to these gems.

06/27/2026

My first interview was with Senora May . I knew she had been raised farming and was dedicated to living off the land. She had so much to say that I only shot a handful of photos and shifted to filming her with my phone intending to just use the footage for notes- but I realized quickly it was best to just hear it from her. While I didn't know it at the time, this would be the day, that Dirt Pearls went from a portrait series to a docuseries ✨ Senora owns Lionheart Local a "holler grown and Family owned" Grocery Store in Ravenna, Kentucky. Her sister Maya runs the shop supporting local and regional farmers and offering fresh food to the community.

Dirt Pearls is made possible by the support and funding from Accelerating Appalachia Kentucky 811 Kentucky Foundation for Women and Wildseeds Fund

05/19/2026

"We still need to feed people"...
When the pandemic shut the world down, still served and fed our communities. Meet Chef and learn how this Texan found her people and purpose in Lexington, Kentucky. ✨🙏

05/13/2026

Thank you, Cheri Lawson for tagging along with us at SLAK Market!

Stories of female farmers in central and eastern Kentucky is the focus of a new docuseries called Dirt Pearls.