Exploring Life & Business with MAMA TREE of MAMA TREE

Today we’d like to introduce you to MAMA TREE.

Hi MAMA, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Loren Bouchard and Holly Kretschmar founded MAMA TREE in 2019 with the goal of converting a conventional orchard into a regenerative organic farm. In 2020, Natalie Buckley-Medrano and Jeffrey Reidl signed on as Co-Directors, and in 2021, Abudu and Madeline Nenwero joined the team to lead our infrastructure and products departments.

MAMA TREE has grown because of the skills, curiosities and dedication of the extraordinary people on our team. As founders, we feel immense gratitude for the team’s passion and commitment, and we continue to prioritize developing a team of smart, high-integrity problem solvers.

We’re convinced that the way we grow our food is a powerful force for change – in our bodies, our communities, and our ecosystem. There’s no such thing as truly cheap food – most food produced in the US has a negative impact on our health and our climate. Growing food organically and regeneratively is a major lever we can pull in the fight against climate change; “conventional” food production accounts for a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions.

At MAMA TREE, we’re proud to grow organic olives, citrus and walnuts that are delicious and nutritious. Also, we love educating our community about how growing food thoughtfully, in sync with natural cycles, is a win for people as well as the planet.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Farming is hard work regardless of how it’s practiced. Given our mission to farm regeneratively and organically, we’re particularly focused on avoiding nearsighted shortcuts. Our goal of taking the long view presents constant challenges, but we see them as design opportunities. We’re practicing agriculture at a small scale in an area where most farms use “conventional,” chemical-dependent practices that deplete the soil and increase pollution. Avoiding shortcuts such as toxic chemicals means more effort in the short term, but it results in healthier outcomes in the long run.

Other challenges include: Lack of access to proper tools; a saturated produce market; economic instability; drought, flood and fire; finding people willing to do manual labor; finding customers willing to pay for good food grown well.

Also, the cost of living is high and finding affordable housing can be a challenge for our staff.

Finally, we’re ambitious and hungry for change – we face the challenge of wanting to do it all. We’re passionate advocates for positive impact and we sometimes bite off more than we can chew.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
MAMA TREE is a regenerative organic farm that brings ecology to people and people to ecology. We pride ourselves on providing our community with good food grown well, and for hosting perspective-shifting experiences: workshops, farm tours, petting zoos, natural building classes, and more.

Animals are critical to our farm, and we love introducing people to our goats, donkeys and chickens. Goats are instant bad-mood busters! Also, they’re extremely beneficial to the food we grow – they trim our brush AND they fertilize our soil. We think deeply about designing our farm so that each element of the system has multiple benefits. Goats are an excellent example of this.

We love seeing people’s eyes light up when they taste the peppery polyphenols in our olive oil, which has been grown, harvested and pressed with love. Our customers get especially excited about the fact that we swapped out sugar for honey in our jams, and our bittersweet maple walnut butter is unbelievably delicious and satisfying. We think you can taste the integrity and care behind our olive oil, citrus, and walnut butters.

Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
MAMA TREE has been fertilized by a rich community of inspiring collaborators: Quail Springs, Warren Brush, Connor Jones, Grace Malloy, Jim Churchill, Ojai Community Farmers Market, Ojai Valley Green Coalition, Ojai CREW, VCPBA. and others. We’re inspired and energized by their work, and we’re so grateful to their support as we build momentum together and change the way people think about growing food.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://mamatreeojai.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/mamatreeojai
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/mamatreeojai
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@MamaTreeOjai

Image Credits
Kate Bowen of Light Beacon Photography
Matai Blacklock
Natalie Buckley-Medrano