Even when she lived near an urban area, Toniekia Poole said, she grew vegetables, had backyard chickens, made her own soap and lived a holistic and minimalist lifestyle. Now that she’s relocated to the Danville-Pittsylvania area, she sees more opportunities to be a good steward of the earth — and share that experience with the community.
Poole and her husband, Tim, are in the process of building a family-owned regenerative farm and agritourism business in the Dry Fork area of Pittsylvania County. She hopes to officially open the business, Native Roots Farm, next summer, but she’s already begun the work of raising livestock, raising crops and navigating a seemingly endless development process.
Especially in rural areas, agritourism is a growing trend in the tourism industry.
As the term would suggest, it’s a combination of agriculture and tourism that provides educational, recreational and entertainment opportunities for visitors at farms and other businesses.
But Native Roots is more than just a business, Poole said.