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Backyard Revolution is an operation of The SurLie Foundation (Adrienne Young, president).

Organizational Background

In “What Are People For,” Wendell Berry observed that like soil, a community’s core memories — and therefore culture — can erode, like precious, hard-​earned topsoil, unless tended and carefully preserved. His words have proven prophetic as, through the years we, as a society, have drifted further and further away from the practical wisdom that enabled people to lead highly self-​reliant, interdependently sustainable lives in their own regions. Our collective memory of how community operated pre-​petroleum, before the age of corporate giants and global supply chains, has been significantly compromised.

The mission of The SurLie Foundation (a 501[c]3 organization) is to bring together, preserve, and inspire the public about individual collective memories and cultural traditions specific to their own communities while encouraging the organized and intentional preservation of those memories through local culture, agriculture, and economy.

SurLie [soor lee], a French term for “on the lees,” or in English, “on the dregs,” refers to an old world style winemaking process which involves working with course sediment, allowing wild yeast to build a richer, more complex wine. This approach to winemaking, as it honors natural accumulation, is thought to encourage complexity, leading to wine that directly reflects the soil from which it grows. As this gives the wine a specific personality, so will the aims of The SurLie Foundation, as we endeavor to contribute to more vibrant communities by reviving the strengths of our living heritages.

Our purpose

  1. To preserve regional heritage while encouraging sustainable, local growth culturally, agriculturally, and economically.
  2. To demonstrate how community networks have functioned to sustain a localized, viable and vibrant way of life in the days before petroleum based economies.
  3. To present this essential cultural soil to a wider audience.

The SurLie Foundation is a non-​profit entity. These initial Backyard Revolution events are being fueled entirely from generous donations of time, talent, and resources. Our definition of “resources” extends well beyond paper currency but certainly does not exclude such offerings. To discuss ways on how you or your organization might contribute and/​or get involved, please contact us.

We thank you for your consideration!