we are a kinship-centric farm, wildlife refuge, & duck sanctuary on 1296 acres in vermont

Our ducks react to the first snow of the 2019 winter with a big, "NOPE!" Video shot by duck caregiver Amelia Horn...(with laughter from both Amelia and Allison). This video has been shared widely on social media last year and this—over 15 million views and responses. Donations much appreciated, no matter how small!

Shawn & Bodhi

In October 2019, we rescued Bodhi, a male Pekin, who was dumped at a nearby public lake. He was left to fend for himself as a young and solo heavy “meat” bird, unable to fly, and with no intuitive survival skills like his wild duck cousins. Thanks to a kind and thoughtful gentleman who knew a large white duck didn’t belong on the lake, who knew the duck needed help, we were contacted. Bodhi was our first “dumped duck” rescue, and our first Pekin.

Since August 2016, Sanctuary at SHO has been a duck and wildlife refuge set within SHO Farm’s 1296 acres of abundant and pristine water, food and medicine in the Green Mountains of Vermont. We are Indigenous, BIPOC+ queer women-led.

SHO Farm is also a sacred space to connect with life in its many facets, deepen knowledge of self, and to find new ways to inhabit the earth in right relationship with all our kin. 

SHO Farm, LLC has an online farm store. Proceeds from our wild, regenerative + vegan farm directly help wildlife and sanctuary animals. Visit SHO Farm’s website here.

The Aromatic Plant Research Center Interviewed Sanctuary at SHO’s Melissa Hoffman about our entire farming system and approach to growing the highest-quality CBD Hemp—which we call CBDuck in honor of our sanctuary. You can visit our CBDuck farm shop here. All sale proceeds go to support wildlife and the ducks.

 

About us

We are not an ordinary sanctuary. Find out about our multi-faceted approach to land, animals, food, and health.

You can Help

There are many ways to contribute and share in the important work we're doing at Sanctuary at SHO 

Robin's nest on a poplar pollarded stump, to the right is the tree that never fell...hung up in the adjacent stem!
No-till garlic with dandelions. We don't mow until they've finished flowering!
My new favorite way to enjoy ramp leaves. Sealed under vacuum in 3% salt for one year. Sweet, lightly salty, with a port wine flavor. Like onion-y raisins. Time, the lack of oxygen, and a bit of salt really allow the inherent flavors to shine. It's s
5-year old acorn miso, with the addition of kiwi leaf protein concentrate (to supplement the lower protein, but carbohydrate-rich acorns) and chili d'arbol to create an amazingly balanced paste. Hand-harvested acorns, organic brown rice koji from Ver
Last night on the farm...
Listen to the land, and what she wants to grow. Work together, find a way. This is miso made from perennial and cultivated plants from our land. Perennial legume caragana koji, (siberian peashrub), no-till nixtimalized corn koji, and toasted naked-se
Siberian peashrub/caragana koji! This is a thrilling first--growing A. sojae on a perennial legume for making our own miso and 'soy' sauce. These perennial peas have similar protein-fat content as soybeans.
Two-and-a-Half Sisters Miso project: Maize, a perennial legume (caragana/Siberian peashrub), and squash (pumpkin seeds) going into a land-based miso...all ingredients except the salt and the koji spores are gifts from this land, grown at SHO.
Koji growing on our wood-ash nixtimalized maize. Going into a Two-Point-Five Sisters miso, with toasted pumpkin seeds and siberian peashrub (caragana) beans (a perennial legume).
Orange maize and a tortilla! We grew this short-season variety, then nixtimalized in ash water. The tortillas were delicious!
Maize ink made from the orange ash water after making masa. The corn's own starch acts as a thickener.
Spending Thursday shoveling 5’ of snow from our roof! Shawn at the end of her rope…
Miso-butter onions. Our own Siberian peashrub miso and our own cultured nut butter. Delicious. Thanks to whom ever posted the recipe here on Instagram!
Carrot charcuterie following the process in the book Koji Alchemy by Jeremy Umanski and Rich Shih. Carrots were cooked, smoked, cured, then cultured with koji, then partially dehydrated.